When dancer Lucien Xu walked away from the biggest opportunity of his life, he didn't realise what he had done.
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During the prestigious Youth America Grand Prix Finals in New York City in 2013, the director of the Australian Ballet School approached the then 17-year-old with the offer of a much-sought scholarship.
"I couldn't understand a word of English and I just walked away ... it was so big and I just missed it," Lucien told AAP.
The misunderstanding, quickly fixed when his teacher realised what had happened, became the start of Lucien's burgeoning career in Australia - which has now been recognised with a nomination for the Telstra Ballet Dancer Awards.
The 26-year-old follows in the footsteps of Li Cunxin, the subject of the hit film Mao's Last Dancer, and Australian Ballet principal dancer Chengwu Guo, who played Li as a teenager in the popular film.
"Knowing Li and Guo's work definitely helped choose the Australian Ballet and to be here in Australia - they are such amazing dancers," Lucien said.
At a young age Lucien would dance to DVDs of Swan Lake at home in the northern Chinese city of XuZhou, and the years of dancing lessons that followed led him to the prestigious but notoriously strict Beijing Dance Academy, where Li and Guo also studied.
Lucien said the road to becoming a professional dancer has at times been tough, and while he has not seen his family in two-and-a-half years, he feels fortunate to be dancing with the Australian Ballet.
"Australia and China have different cultures but I feel that we share the same language, dance is everywhere," he said.
Also nominated for the prestigious awards is soloist Rina Nemoto from Japan, who has experienced the ups and downs of life as a professional dancer too.
After 11 years with the Australian Ballet she scored her first lead role in Alice in Wonderland in late 2019, just before the pandemic hit.
A few months later Melbourne was in lockdown, and the 30-year-old found herself rehearsing in the kitchen of her tiny apartment, using a temporary dance floor.
"It was so difficult, but practising every day helped," she told AAP.
The extended break from performing has made her determined to get the most out of every minute on stage in 2022.
"It's so special because I can feel a connection with the audience and also I feel so happy, as though I am living in the moment," she said.
Nemoto began dancing at the age of three, and was contemplating a professional career by the age of 12.
She left Japan to study in France at 15, and at times being far from her family had her questioning her lifelong commitment to dance.
"At that time I couldn't speak French ... languages are very hard for me, but ballet is my language too and I express myself by dance," she said.
The other three nominees for the awards are Corps de Ballet dancers Thomas Gannon, Adam Elmes, and Lilly Maskery.
The winners will be announced at Sydney Opera House on April 5, following the opening night of the Australian Ballet's production of Anna Karenina.
Australian Associated Press
