On March 11-12, internationally acclaimed ballerina Mara Galeazzi will grace the stage at The Concourse Theatre in Chatswood to perform with the Melbourne Ballet Company.

A former Principal Artist at The Royal Ballet in London, Mara has enjoyed a long and successful career among the finest dancers from around the world.

Born in Chiari in the northern Italian region of Lombardy, Mara has been immersed in the world of ballet since her childhood.

“My mother was very passionate about ballet when she was young, but she never had the opportunity to pursue her passion because those days were quite tough,” she explains.

“I don’t know whether she gave it to me or not, but I come from a family of artists so that passion is probably in my genes.”

Though the natural performer began training at Milan’s famed La Scala from the age of 10, it wasn’t until three years later when she saw a video of Romeo and Juliet being performed that she realised her dream was to become a ballerina.

It was in 1992 that a star was born, when an 18-year-old Mara joined The Royal Ballet.

“During my first year in the company I didn’t expect to perform any big roles,” she says.

Things didn’t exactly go as Mara had anticipated, and before she knew it she had been handpicked to perform in a creation by the great choreographer, Kenneth MacMillan.

“I was thrown straight into a main acting role which was quite challenging as a young artist,” she recalls.

“I have wonderful memories of the performance and the rehearsal process, dancing with already mature artists and in such an intense role.”

Interestingly, Mayerling would not only be the first major ballet that Mara performed with The Royal Ballet, but it would also be her last.

In 2013, after 21 years with the company, the accomplished ballerina closed her career as Principal Artist performing the same role.

During her career, Mara travelled to all corners of the globe, performing myriad roles from Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, to the title role in Fokine's The Firebird.

Upon her retirement from The Royal Ballet, Mara moved with her family to Oman, where her husband works at the Royal Opera House in the country’s capital of Muscat.

Though the talented dancer admits that her new home is completely different from anything she had previously known, she is happy with her decision to resettle there.

Having spent a year apart, while Mara was working in London and her husband was in Muscat, the couple decided that they needed to be together with their child as a united family.

When it came down to the crunch, Mara decided that the best solution was for her to move to Oman.

“I had an amazing career in The Royal Ballet and I was satisfied with reaching the highest level, so I wanted to give my husband a chance to fulfil his own career,” she explains.

“He wanted to challenge himself and I thought it was important for him to also have that experience.”

Retirement certainly didn’t mean hanging up the ballet shoes for Mara.

She has since returned to The Royal Ballet to collaborate on various works and to star as a Guest Principal Artist at the Royal Opera House.

In 2014, Mara met Australian choreographer Tim Podesta, and the pair felt an immediate connection, both as friends and as artists.

“I’m the kind of dancer that likes to explore different things and it’s not about success and money, it’s about fulfilling your passion; Tim shares that value,” she says.

Since first working together on the film ‘ADOR’, Mara and Tim have built a strong artistic partnership which has seen their collaborations shared with an intercontinental audience, from Africa to Europe.

The duo of masterminds have even founded their own dance group, M&T in Motion, with the aim of having a positive influence on people’s lives through the art of dance.

“Now that I’ve had my career I’m not looking for success,” Mara says.

“All we want to do is create something special and give young dancers the opportunity to explore their passion.”

Mara’s upcoming performance in Sydney is also a product of the artistic pair’s formidable partnership.

She will join the Melbourne Ballet Company in the performance of Being and Time, a compelling World Premiere triple bill created by Tim Podesta, Lucas Jervies and MBC Director and Resident Choreographer Simon Hoy.

“I’m very excited to come to Sydney, as it’s been many years since I last visited,” Mara says.

“I’m really looking forward to working with the company and with such a great group of dancers...and with Tim, of course!”