Lucette Aldous has received a Companion (AC) of the Order of Australia in the 2018 Australia Day Honours – the highest honour in the Australia Day awards. It was bestowed on her for “eminent service to the performing arts, particularly to ballet, as a Principal Artist at the national and international level, to dance education, and as a mentor and role model for young performers”.

Lucette Aldous. Photograph supplied by Australian Dance Awards © Barry Moreland

Aldous is now 79 and lives in Perth where she continues to teach ballet, having already taught generations of young people at institutions including the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA). A former Principal Artist with The Australian Ballet (1971-1976), she also danced with The Royal Ballet in London and was a Principle Artist with London Festival Ballet and Ballet Rambert.

Born in New Zealand, Aldous moved to Australia in 1941 and trained in Sydney and Brisbane before a scholarship to The Royal Ballet School took her to London in 1955. At 1.52m tall, she was short for a ballerina but her stunning technique and radiant energy made her a favourite with the likes of Robert Helpmann...