The Australian Ballet’s media relations manager (and newest addition) Kitty Walker was one of a lucky handful who got to attend the taping of the company’s performance on So You Think You Can Dance. She braves the hot lights of the studio to write about the experience.

I’m not what you would call a ballet aficionado. You could say I’m heading towards the path that leads to the Promised Land, but to be honest I’m still learning my pliés from my pirouettes. So, when I snuck into Studio 5 of The Australian Ballet’s Melbourne headquarters to take a peek at what was planned for our looming guest appearance on So You Think You Can Dance, I decided to gauge impact on bodily reaction rather than technical prowess. Ten minutes later, when my heart dropped to my guts and I involuntarily broke out in goose-bumps, I had a feeling we just might be onto a winner.

Robert Curran, under the experienced tutelage of Damien Welch, was throwing Leanne Stojmenov around his head and she was screaming with delight (I say delight but it may just as well have been terror) as they attempted their first full run of Stanton Welch’s Divergence pas de deux. They had but a handful of hours over a week to rehearse one of the most technically technical of routines before whipping on Vanessa Leyonhjelm’s costumes and giving it a crack in front of 1.1 million viewers. Not to mention that their appearance coincided with a trip to Brisbane for a one-off outdoor performance in front of 10,000 people and intense rehearsals for The Australian Ballet’s first Sydney season of Firebird and other legends. No pressure.

Heading straight to CarriageWorks from the airport we arrive in time to see Robert and Leanne limbering up for their first camera run-through. The studio is much smaller than it looks on the tellie; the stage surprisingly so. I’m worried there won’t be enough room to give this piece the space it needs. Even Artistic Director David McAllister looks nervous as he watches every preparatory move (prime giveaway: he’s just met Natalie Bassingthwaighte and has barely mentioned what she’s wearing). It’s suddenly apparent that there’s much more to this than putting on a grand performance. Cameras are everywhere getting as many angles as possible: in the air, to the side, down below, whirling and twirling and begging for attention. How on earth do you spot safely with a camera centimetres from your face?

All things considered, it’s a seamless set-up. The SYTYCD crew have seen it all before and barely glance as our two dancers go through their paces. The studio is empty bar us (and the crew) and a sense of calm soon settles as said cameras swing into action and a run-through begins … if they weren’t looking before, they are now and my goose bumps are back. We try to watch the multiple TV screens to ensure there are no hideous camera angles being captured. Coast clear, camera-run over.

David and I sit in the front row as the studio begins to fill with a few hundred audience members (around a third of capacity) for the afternoon pre-record. The plan is we do our bit, then the Top 8 thrash out a group routine as there’s no time to do it on the live show tonight – how on earth could they scrape the make-up off, remove wigs and costumes and still have time to dance for their life? A camera is positioned smack-bang in front of David to capture his reactions. I debate whether to snuggle up and pretend to be his girlfriend, but decide against this and go for the ‘lean as far as possible to the left’ approach (I’m willing to admit this may have been why said shots were eliminated from the final cut that night. Sorry David, my fault, I made things looked ridiculous).

The audience is 95 per cent 14-to-17-year-old female dance students. “Oh my goodness, are you … David McAllister?” utters the young lass sitting to David’s right. He only has time for a quick nod and a smile with that chiselled jaw before Ms Bassingthwaighte is onstage announcing Robert and Leanne’s performance. And it’s good. It’s really good. It’s so good I want to stand up and declare “I WORK FOR THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET!” I don’t, but the judging panel do, rising to their feet in a standing ovation – apparently it’s the first time they’ve done so for a guest appearance. I’m still chuffed at this when I watch it all again further up in the crowd as they splice us into the live show that night and an 800+ audience goes as wild for our Divergence pas de deux as they do for Timomatic’s final hurrah.

Prior to hundreds of girls gathering at Carriageworks that night I watch an exhausted Leanne shovels an impressive meal of gourmet sausage, onion and bread into her tiny frame as we sit next to the Kaiser Chiefs. “Now that’s a meal fit for a ballerina,” quips her fiancé Marc Cassidy who’s been a part of the support team today. As she dabs the crumbs from the edge of her mouth she gently informs me that she can’t bear to watch the performance live in the studio and would I mind terribly if she and Marc gave up their seats and retired for the night? Goodness no and said seats are promptly filled by new Corps de Ballet members Kristy Corea and Brett Chynoweth who know they owe you, big time.

Due to popular demand, the performance will be replayed as part of the So You Think You Can Dance Easter special show on Sunday 12 April.

Divergence is being performed as part of the Paris Match season in Melbourne from 24 June – 4 July