“Will she be a diva? Will she judge my non ballet dancer thighs?” These thoughts swirled before sitting down with The Australian Ballet’s principal dancer Lucinda Dunn, but within minutes of our meeting  my diva alert was switched off by her refreshing honesty and natural charm.

Dunn is regarded by her peers as gifted, you only have to look at the photo above to work that out. In a few months she turns 40, becoming the oldest full-time ballerina in the company’s history.

It’s an extraordinary accomplishment in an art form where perfection is fiercely pursued. She returned to the stage within six months of giving birth to her children now aged 5 and almost 2. They are the brightest lights in her life.

Meet Lucinda..

Martine Harte: What do you make of the media’s pre-occupation with women in the public eye turning 40 and 50?

Lucinda Dunn: Everyone ages, it’s a number!  If you haven’t achieved what you want before you’re 40 or 50 then you can beat yourself up about it, or you can just get on with life and celebrate where you’re at. I don’t understand the whole concern about older women being on tv, they’ve got more experience, if they’re in front of a camera and interviewing people that’s a good thing. We all have wrinkles, we all have age spots. I’m happy for what I’ve achieved, I don’t know what’s around the corner.

You’ve been described by artistic director David McAllister as “a dancer of unique talent, with powerhouse technique coupled with true star quality.” Can you remember back to when you were a little girl with big dreams, did you ever think you would be here?

Lucinda Dunn: My upbringing was an idyllic, suburban happy childhood, younger brother, single mother. I had everything I could have possibly wanted or ever asked for. I danced most days after school because I liked it, I did ballet, jazz, tap, modern, I was a good all-rounder. My mother was in the West End of London in musicals and my ambition was to follow in her footsteps. To sing, to dance, to act, to be on stage.

I never once remember saying, “mummy I want to be a ballerina.” To be in this position now is somewhat surreal – the career I’ve had and the decades that it has lasted. As I get older my ambitions haven’t decreased but I haven’t put as much emphasis on what is next, purely because of the disappointment aspect. I don’t have a 5-year plan for instance. I have worked really hard for every opportunity I’ve been given but it hasn’t been, “I’m going to be a principal ballerina one day.”

I’m finding through these interviews that we are all essentially the same. We all have moments where we think we rock and then we have moments where we struggle, so what skills do you employ to get through those days?

Lucinda Dunn: To work hard as much as I possibly can. As a dancer if you take it easy a day or two it takes you double that time to get back to where you were. If you take a week of being slack it takes two weeks to feel good again. To maintain a level of technique, physical fitness, mental health and all that is just to keep pushing, if you push today you’ll feel better tomorrow.

On behalf of mothers I thank you for smashing that pre-conceived notion that ballerinas can’t dance after having babies. How has the ride been for you?

Lucinda Dunn: I am fortunate to have an adaptable nanny that looks after my little one and a husband who travels with me, (Dunn’s husband is the associate artistic director of The Australian Ballet and a former star of the stage himself)  If I didn’t have their support I’d struggle a lot more to juggle it all. The company is fantastic we can bring kids into work with us, we don’t have a crèche but it is very child friendly.

A child friendly office at the Aus Ballet?

Lucinda Dunn: Yeah, all the girls love having the babies in the common room or the dressing room.

Some days I think I can cope but I’m not ashamed to admit that other days I feel like I’m sinking: thinking about rehearsals, doing my choreography, what’s in the fridge, oh my goodness is there enough milk? It can be absolutely exhausting and I find that my personal time is zero. I don’t have any time to recover. It’s tough, but it’s also the most wonderful thing that a woman can do, to have children and be able to work if that’s your choice.

Are you the type of person who works to portray the image of “perfect” family life  or do you surrender to the chaos?

Lucinda Dunn: Oh chaotic, absolutely! (laughs) I got home after the show last night and my 5-year old’s up at 10.45pm, having a tea party.  I’ve never been one to be on a strict routine, it has sort of bitten me on the bottom now, my 5-year old has never gone to bed at 7pm.

Is there any advice you wish you had have ignored?

Lucinda Dunn: Yes. When I was at the Royal Ballet School I was in a plaster cast because I had fractured my spine and the director of the school at the time said maybe I should go into tap dancing …. obviously I was injured, my future was unclear … I did ignore that advice.

What made you ignore it? 

Lucinda Dunn: I obviously still had people who had faith I could still make it and I had this drive that it was still something I wanted to pursue. To be a dancer in this capacity you have to like your job and I feel fortunate coming to work most days, not hating where I’m going. There have been dark periods in my life, in my career where I thought, “I don’t want to do this anymore, I don’t want to go to work,” it hasn’t all been rosy. I’ve had some hard times: nearly about to resign, performances I wasn’t happy with, roles I wanted and didn’t understand why I didn’t get them. But in the end if I really didn’t like my job I would’ve left a long time ago.

How do you keep in such good shape?

Lucinda Dunn: My body is my instrument, so that’s the main thing I need to keep in perspective, the fuel I give it is for my job. I’m lucky I don’t like 2 minute noodles, fried foods, I couldn’t eat a pizza. I know I work really well on good proteins, a few carbs and I love fruit and vegetables.

I cook all my own meals and  we hardly ever eat out. I’m very big on grilled steak before a big show, it’s such good fuel for the body.  I tend to graze a lot as well – dried fruit, almonds, cheese and biscuits. I don’t get a lot of sleep, I don’t like sleeping so I’m quite tired a lot. In slow times if I’m not working that hard I’ll jump on the exercise bike. A few years ago I’d jog around the Tan or I’d jog around Manly beach if I wasn’t getting the cardio. Obviously the most important thing is you have to burn more calories than you’re taking in if you want to lose weight.

Were you fascinated with how your body bounced back after pregnancy?

Lucinda Dunn: I bounced back by sheer hard work, I don’t believe in the bikini 6 week body, god knows what those women have to do! I did lots of pram walking: pilates, daily ballet class. When you come back from pregnancy it’s about layering, you have to get those internal muscles working again. It’s about putting back together your core. I did bounce back but it was through me wanting to do it the right way and also the hard work.

Image: James Braund

Image: theaustralian.com.au

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Main Image: Justin Smith