Amber Scott, a professional ballerina with the Australian Ballet Company, who has now had a child, tells us things are a bit different to what they once were in her career.
‘’I was getting ready to do sugar plum fairy for my first show and I was like expressing breast milk while I was in my tiara waiting for the show.’’ She said.
She is now getting used to managing mum life and ballet life, as well as juggling this within a pandemic.
Amber has been dancing with the company for 20 years now and is the only one left still dancing from her group, who got accepted into the company.
Amber usually does six months straight of shows most nights and the company all together does 180 shows a year.
She started dancing as a young girl in the creative arts, in which her mother got her into, however she always felt she belonged in the ballet.
‘’I think I definitely did other styles, it was pretty common to do tap and jazz along side ballet. Growing up we didn’t have hip hop and all those cool things back then but yes I did jazz and tap and I think I knew early on my strength laid with the ballet. Especially with tap I found difficult because your ankles work in a different way.’’ She told us.
As she has always been dancing since she was younger, her first inspiration came from a VHS tape when she was eight. She would watch this documentary over and over again of French Ballerina Sylvie Guile.
‘’Seeing her documentary on a video when I was really young and seeing her dancing amazing ballets and in the Paris Opera and the Royal Ballet, that really opened my eyes to where ballet can take you as a career.’’
Amber finally managed to achieve her dreams to become a principal dancer, which is quite a challenging career to pursue. When performing Amber told us it’s a lot more then just putting on a costume.
‘’It is mentally draining especially if you’re learning a new role or if you’re working with a choreographer who is throwing new movement at you.’’
She also mentioned that although it is tough, it is a rewarding craft.
‘’It is very draining but it’s also very uplifting.’’ She said.
It is often a misconception that ballerina’s have to stay an unhealthy weight and are pushed to stay in a tiny physique due to the company. Amber made this clear that the Australian Ballet Company are very supportive of their dancers and encourage them to stay healthy.
She also told us that Australia in general is very supportive of ballerinas and appreciate them as artists, not as models.
‘’Australia has a pretty healthy body culture which is great. They are more about the movement and to be strong and healthy enough to keep up’’
‘’There are still some ballets I would like to do. Our company is having a new director next year so its going to be a exciting new phase to see.’’She said.
‘’I feel like at this point in my life the roles I might of played earlier I wish I could do them now because I think I’ve grown up more and I could understand the character better.’’
One of the most admirable parts of Amber is being a mother and serious dancer all at the same time. She mentioned that her social life took a ‘’downward turn’’ when her daughter came, but she really didn’t mind spending more time with her bundle of joy.
‘’Before I never would of imagined leaving a rehearsal. But now I cant imagine anything before Bonnie.’’ She said.
Although Amber loves being a new mother she found it quite tricky planning mothering and shows at the same time.
‘’It was tricky, last year was the year I had to return for a show and take Bonnie on tour it takes a lot of time organising.’’
The ballerina pointed out that ‘’Ballet is a very self focused art form.’’ And it takes a lot of your energy and attention, but so does mothering. Amber had to put faith in her 20years of experience and not put as much time in as she couldn’t possibly do both 100%.
‘’I had to trust myself more that my body new how to dance and that I didn’t need hours and hours everyday.’’ She said.
When COVID 19 safety measures were first put in place in Melbourne Amber’s ballerina life wasn’t changed too much, as they could still go into Southbank and rehearse for their shows, just with social distancing. Amber was lucky because she could still practice partner work because her and her husband lived in the same household.
‘’We were able to go to the centre in groups of ten.’’ She said.
However, with current measures the company is lying dormant and no dancers can go inside, this means that rehearsals are done from home over zoom.
‘’Each day there is class delivered through staff members.’’ She told us.
The company also offers their dancers plenty of mental health resources to help within these difficult times, which Amber has found quite helpful.
After going through all these life changes it has proven how much of a resilient person Amber is and that she can always bounce back and come back stronger. She said that especially now more then ever she has felt the struggle to continue.
‘’There have been times especially recently having to come back after my baby I was just like I don’t know if I can do it, ballet is so hard and I cant do it the way I want to do it and I’m tired or I just want to be with my daughter.’’
She told us that in the past of her ballet career she has had injuries and felt like it was impossible for her to keep dancing and reaching her goals and aspirations.
‘’There were younger times where I had injuries and they just seemed like they wouldn’t go away and I thought I’m never going to achieve my dreams I’m never going to achieve the level I want to because my bodies holding me back.’’
Amber told us that she was very supported through those times by family, friends and the company which helped her push on and keep going.
‘’But then it heals and you progress its just at that moment you feel overwhelmed’’ She said.
From seeming as such a fearless person, it was a wonder if professional dancers still get stage fright after all these times going on stage and performing.
‘’Its just natural. You get so used to being on stage … I find once I’m out there I’m fine, I am so much better on stage.’’
However, Amber did say she still does feel that little bit of nerves just before she goes on stage, waiting in the wings and anticipating before she goes on.
‘’That moment when you hear the orchestra tune up, I love that sound but it terrifies me so much.’’ She said.
Being a performer it is very rare to have a show go completely perfect as there is so much that needs to be done and so many people to be relied on. Amber did have one of those performances in her career.
‘’There was a performance I did of swan lake in New York at David Koch Theatre. My partner Adam Ball he actually said it was his favourite show, one of his favourite shows he’s ever done.’’
‘’it was one of those shows where everything came together. Most performers say you can count those amount of shows on one hand because we are pretty hard on our selves and there are a lot of elements involved.’’
Ballerina’s are like actors and actresses in a way as they portray a character and have to spend time doing research on the character they’re embodying. Amber follows these steps before a show.
‘’If it’s necessary I always try to read as much as possible and watch movies if there is movie adaptations of the stories.’’
Just before a show Amber uses the technique to try not to think about the show and ‘’keep a lot of energy in and keep quiet.’’
After such a crazy past few years within her career and outside of it Amber has remained as a strong dancer and shown resilience. She is a great role model for young dancers to keep going.
‘’I am really still amazed I have been dancing for 20years I didn’t think I would make it this long’’
