Ella Havelka


Ella Havelka is an Australian ballerina and artist, the first indigenous dancer in the Australian Ballet company.

Early life

Ella Havelka was born in Dubbo, New South Wales in 1988. She is a descendant of the Wiradjuri people. and began dancing when she was seven years old. Havelka attended classes at the Dubbo Ballet Studio and was accepted into the Australian Ballet School in Melbourne when she was aged 15.

Career

Ella Havelka graduated from The Australian Ballet School in 2007 after touring with The Dancers Company. From 2009-2012 Havleka danced with the Bangarra Dance Theatre making her first appearance in Fire – A Retrospective in 2009. Havelka joined the Australian Ballet company in 2013 becoming the first Indigenous dancer to do so. Ella guest starred with Bangarra Dance Theatre in their 30th Anniversary season '30 Years of 65 Thousand'.

In popular culture

Ella Havelka featured in a 2015 documentary film Ella which was released at the 2016 Melbourne International Film Festival. It can be watched today and is about 1:15 hours long.