Dimity Azoury is no stranger to the stage.
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As a principal dancer with The Australian Ballet, her whole life revolves around the stage. But the former Queanbeyan dancer has never experienced it quite like this before.
In fact, when she first started workshopping her latest production, she was terrified. After all, it's not every day a ballerina is asked to speak on stage, let alone sing.
Still, when Australian Ballet artistic director David Hallberg approached Azoury and some of the company's other dancers with the idea of attending a singing workshop for a production of An American in Paris - which they are producing with GWB Entertainment - she figured she had nothing to lose.
But to say that this was out of the norm for these dancers would be an understatement.
"We know each other so well, and yet singing in front of a few of my colleagues, like that was the most terrifying thing I've ever had to do," Azoury says.
"It was even worse than my first shows in front of an audience because by that time I had some rehearsals.
"One person had a panic attack and they refused to open their mouth. We're not used to it and it was definitely out of our comfort zone."
So why does a ballerina, who hasn't so much as done a school theatre production, want to do musical theatre?
It wasn't something the performer set out to do. But, having been with the Australian Ballet for 15 years, it did provide a unique opportunity to take her skill set and add to it.
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"It's very much learning on the job in terms of lines and speaking. But I feel like overall it's an extension of what we do at the ballet - we're storytellers," Azoury says.
"I think what's been most difficult is the actual technique behind speaking. It's a whole other muscle set and the same with singing.
"These guys have been training their vocal muscles in the same way that I've been training the rest of my body all this time. So in terms of resonating and being able to project your voice and allow emotion through your voice, there's a huge technical aspect to it, which I love."
The four-time Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, An American in Paris tells the story of a young American soldier and a beautiful French girl, set against the iconic backdrop of the most romantic city in the world. Dimity takes up the lead role of Lise Dassin - which she alternates with Broadway actor Leanne Cope.
"It's a classic cinematic role, but in this musical, she's been given a lot more depth to her," Azoury says.
"In this musical, she's Jewish and she's been hiding in Paris for the war. And then the war's over and she's suddenly emerged into life and back to her dream of becoming a ballerina.
"I enjoyed researching this role and that's one thing I have learned - actors love talking, and they love researching. I enjoy that to have the time to go into a role in depth. With the Australian Ballet we do five or six ballets a year. And this is just six months on the one thing."
An American in Paris is now at Theatre Royal, Sydney.
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