
Acting
Ako was born in Nagoya, Japan in 1991. At three years old she began her training at the Shiho Kanazawa Ballet Studio. In 2005 Ako won second prize at the Japan Grand Prix, and in 2006 she studied at The Royal Ballet School’s International Summer School. In 2007 she was awarded The Australian Ballet School Tuition Scholarship, which was announced at the Youth America Grand Prix. Ako toured with The Dancers Company in 2008 and in 2010 joined The Australian Ballet. She was promoted to principal artist in April 2015 following her debut as Giselle, becoming The Australian Ballet's first Japanese principal artist. Since joining The Australian Ballet, Ako has performed a variety of classical and contemporary works by choreographers such as Forsythe, McGregor, Murphy, Ratmansky and Wheeldon, and danced principal roles in ballets by choreographers such as Ashton, Balanchine, Lifar, MacMillan and Wright.

Transporting you from the everyday to a magical world, Coppélia is a spectacular production, set to Leo Delibes’ cheery score, that’s perfect for the whole family.

Oscar©, a powerful exploration of the life and writings of literary legend, Oscar Wilde. A spectacular new full-length ballet by Tony Award-winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon In a celebration of the beauty and complexity of love in all its forms, Oscar© brings queer romance to life through Wheeldon’s innovative and heart-stirring choreography. Oscar© journeys through the extraordinary life of Wilde – a man who dared to live and write with unapologetic boldness – while masterfully integrating two of Wilde’s best-known works, The Nightingale and the Rose and The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Peggy Van Praagh directs Coppélia, a ballet by Arthur Saint-Léon inspired by Hoffmann’s haunting short story The Sandman. The story narrates the adventures of Swanilda (played by the sublime Ako Kondo) and Franz (the majestic Chengwu Guo), two lovers put to the test by the magician Dr. Coppelius, a manufacturer of automaton dolls. In Van Praagh’s production, Franz falls under the spell of Coppélia, the daughter of the ill-intentioned Coppelius. Swanilda manages to save her fiancé from a sinister fate, and the two lovers marry and seal their union with a tender pas de deux. The magnificent décor of the Sydney Opera House, the sumptuous costumes by Kristian Fredrikson, and the highly theatrical nature of the ballet and the music by Léo Delibes make it easy to be swept away into this magical world!
