Mali Comlekci

Introducing Mali

Mali was born in Sydney and comes from a Turkish background. He started dancing at the young age of 3 years old, with music being his key influence. As a child he loved watching the Video Hits channel and dancing to artists such as Michael Jackson and Jennifer Lopez. 

At the age of 10 Mali started to formally train in all styles of dance except classical ballet. He did not pursue training in classical ballet until the age of 12. Mali did much of his dance training at Newtown Performing Arts High School in Sydney from Year 7 until graduating Year 12. 

From there, Mali wanted to pursue full-time ballet training and attended New Zealand School of Dance. In his two years of full-time training, he was invited to be a guest dancer with the Royal New Zealand Ballet Company for two of their performance seasons, performing in soloist roles for both ‘Wizard of Oz’ in 2016 and ‘Three by Ekman’ Triple Bill in 2017.  

Mali joined Queensland Ballet as a Jette Parker Young Artist in 2018. He was promoted to Company Artist in 2019.

Mali's love and fascination for dance is consistently influenced by music, the way it makes him feel and the characters and emotions it allows him to portray.

Repertoire Highlights  

• Bethena Waltz Australian Premier of Kenneth MacMillan's Elite Syncopations
• 'Renfield' in Krzysztof Pastor's Dracula
• Jack Lister's B-Sides
• Liam Scarlett's Firebird
• 'Chinese' and 'Spanish' in Ben Stevenson's The Nutcracker
• Jack Lister's Giselle Pas De Deux
• Alexander Ekman's Cacti
• Alexander Ekman's Tuplet
• George Balachine's Allegro Brillante

Professional accolades  

• 2017 Barbara Webster Memorial Ballet Scholarship

Did you know…    

Initially, Mali didn't want to pursue classical ballet. His love for ballet grew as he watched ballet performances, listened to classical music, and began to love the feeling ballet gave him. He eventually realised he wanted to pursue it as a career.

“Always remember that ballet can be just as demanding mentally as it is physically. A healthy mindset will result in enjoying your dancing, staying consistent, and feeling better than you've ever felt. Naturally, you will have doubts on your off days, but it's important to avoid getting worked up. Take a step back, and remember what sparked your love for dancing in the first place.”