Felicia Palanca landed her dream job when she was just 16.

At the age when most of us are lucky to be schlepping coffees for work experience, Felicia became the youngest member of The Australian Ballet Company. It was a goal she’d been working towards since she was five years old (!) and in her twelve years as a professional dancer she was promoted through the ranks to perform coveted roles she had dreamed of. 

But the work was tough - 13 hour days, 7 shows a week - and physically gruelling. So when Felicia decided to take her final curtain at 28, she swapped pirouettes for a major pivot, moving into a different industry for the first time in her life. It was a collision of babies, ballet, and business that saw her establish her dancewear line for children, FLO Dancewear. And as her children (and business) grew, so did the possibilities. FLO Active came about when she realised “all the kids had stopped wearing jeans and started wearing activewear instead”. And Felicia’s business instincts paid off when she saw the gap in the market for dancewear in department stores. They stocked just about every other category, but dancewear was notably absent. With a slow and measured approach, FLO now counts Myer, David Jones and Macy’s as clients.

And although the challenges of being her own boss are different to the challenges of her ballet days, Felicia is no less busy. As a business owner, she says, “You will have to persevere and be ready for many challenges, but it can be very much worth it if successful, and you will learn a lot along the way, even through the harder times. Be ready to never get to really switch off - it will be your new baby, so you will have to be prepared for that.”

Here, Felicia tells us what it’s like to be a teen prodigy, her memories of being on the cover of Dolly magazine as a 14 year old, and how motherhood inspired her to step away from the stage and into the world of design...

Felicia in performance with The Australian Ballet

You started ballet at just three years old and went on to be the youngest student at the Australian Ballet School at 14, then the youngest member of The Australian Ballet Company at 16. Did you have to grow up fast?

Yes I did. I think that I was so passionate and determined to become a professional ballet dancer, that that outweighed my age. I had been aiming for that chance since I was very young, and I am an only child so I was also very independent for my age. 

Tell me about your work ethic - where did that come from, and what was it like being completely immersed in your work at an age when most teenagers are just starting a casual job?

I think honestly I was so laser focused to be a ballerina - and not just an average one either - that I pushed my body to the limits to make sure I became as good as I could. I never had to be pushed to do it; it was an inner drive and love of ballet and dancer that drove me. 

What did you love about being a dancer? How did it fulfil you, and did it shape your identity?

I loved how I felt when the music would come on and my body would follow it. I loved working on my technique, and always pushed myself to be training harder so I could improve faster. My love of performance was probably the driving force, it fed my soul I guess and then the audience reactions to my dancing was always an amazing feeling, especially knowing how hard I had worked to get there. I loved working with the other dancers and choreographers. Seeing what my body could do was always exciting to me. 

I have always thought of myself as a dancer first, then a mum, then a business owner; but always I will feel I am a dancer at heart. It was an escape to the real world - my own world that I focused my energy into, and also loved giving joy to others through such a beautiful artform. I would not be the owner of a business like mine without that background. It taught me true grit, and never to give up, and always to try and work on something you love, which I do now too with my business and being a mum.

Photo: Joe Armao

You were on the cover of Dolly magazine which would have been a dream for so many Australian teenagers at the time. What do you remember from that shoot?

I remember the first day it came out and I walked into school and everyone had a copy of it. I went to a performing arts school in Sydney, Mcdonald College, so everyone was very excited and encouraging. I actually found it quite embarrassing because it was out for a whole month and even though I liked attention on stage or as a dancer, I didn’t love it at that age, about me in real life! I loved Dolly too and would follow the Dolly cover girls too, so I was proud of it even if a little embarrassed.

Did you have specific career goals at the time, or were you just happy to be doing what you loved?

Yes I did have goals. From the age of 5 I would say I was very certain I wanted to become not just an average ballet dancer, I wanted to be  a professional ballet dancer for my job, and again I wanted to be one of the best in the world. I knew it would take hard work, and some luck too, but I had no doubt I would work as hard as possible to make my dream come true. 

Tell me about the challenges you faced during your incredible dance career? What were the hardest parts of the job?

The hardest part was the hours! When I joined the Australian Ballet, I danced 12 to 13 hours a day. We did 7 shows a week; two on Saturday, so only Sunday off. So having a life outside of the ballet was near impossible, and the Australian Ballet also does some of the highest number of shows a year, so that was also very taxing on your body. Ballet as an art form is one of the hardest there is, and there was a lot of pressure on yourself and competition within the company to get those roles. I was lucky as I got to dance all the time, and the main roles as a senior artist and soloist, that I had always wanted to dance. 

You retired at 28, which outside of the dance world is so young and a time when many people are only just hitting their stride at work. What was that transition like for you? Was it hard to let go of your dancing?

You pivoted into design, working as the lead designer for an international dancewear company. I know that many dancers face a really difficult transition out of their professional dance careers, so how did you gain your design experience or qualifications, and did you find many of your previous skills applied easily to your new profession?

I was lucky to have been given an opportunity  to work with a global dancewear company straight after dancing which gave me an wonderful experience in the business dance world. I had always had an interest in design. My first hand knowledge of wearing all the products made it an easy transition, as the products had been my tools for my whole life. I also went to a performing arts school in high school so that also gave me quite a lot of experience in designing - art was my favourite subject after dance and music.

At what stage did you start to think about creating your own label? What did you feel was missing from the market?

I only started thinking about it after I had my daughter, as I could not keep travelling for work after she was born. I began thinking about whether it was something I would try. I knew I wanted to focus on the dance kids market, and really it came from my passion for dance and me wanting as many children and people to dance as possible, without being stopped by the costs of doing it. It is usually a very expensive sport for a child’s parents to bear the costs of. I also wanted to bring dance into the fashion world for kids, as I don’t think you have to be a dancer to want to play and use their imaginations wearing the clothes. I love seeing so many children smiling, happy in my clothes.

How did you go about setting up Flo Dancewear?

I began only with an idea of a little girl dreaming of being a ballerina. I took a photo of my daughter lying on a bed of tulle on my camera, and showed it to a couple of fashion agents to see if they felt it would be a good idea for me to start a dance fashion brand for kids specifically, and they in turn showed some of their customers the image and idea and they loved it! I didn’t realise how many women had wanted to be a ballerina, or had experience with dancing themselves or within their family's men also. So it started from there. Then I started to source a main fabric that I knew would be perfect, and different to what was currently on the market. I wanted one that had all the correct content it needed to dance in, but I also wanted it to have features like super super soft hand feel and easy to clean in the washing machine, and that it was durable for the parents. I built my range around that main fabric and sourced a factory in China. It took me a few trips there to look for the type of factory I wanted that had perfect quality and the right skill set and prices, as all of that mattered to me. 

What was it like being a founder and your own boss, after such a long time working as an employee?

I would say it is different each week! Sometimes I would love to work for someone, so that I don’t bear all the pressure of succeeding. Then the next week I am so happy that I get to choose exactly what direction it goes, and what the brand stands for - it depends on what the challenges I am facing each week are, to be honest. I am obviously proud of what I have built as my own boss.

You initially launched Flo into boutiques before seeing a gap in the department store offering - they had just about every category except dancewear. Tell me about how you went about getting Flo stocked at department stores like Myer, David Jones, and Macy’s?

My amazing right hand person and one of my closest friends, Kate Lally, helped me start working with the department stores. We both felt it was a more stable model of business. It did not happen all at once - we started with Myer. Once they saw the products and the marketing and branding which we had always had a big focus on, it was just about them ordering it and seeing the sell through, which was always very strong. We waited until one customer was happy, and selling well and set up, and then we would start working on the next and so on. It took a long while; it’s not a fast process. My passion and confidence in the brand is always behind it, so usually when we get in front of a buyer who was already interested in what I had sent them, and show them the sales in other big stores, they usually fall in love with it which is lovely.

I know that motherhood really inspired you to start Flo Dancewear. Tell me about that?

I guess my love for my daughter Isabella and son Ben made me realise that I did not want to go to an office every day. I wanted to work and use my background, but still be with them also. I worked from home even with a team for 10 years. The juggle was and is never easy, but it was what made sense to me as a mother and also as a person. I knew I would want to do both - work, and be a very hands on mum. It probably slowed the business down a little, especially when they were young, but it was a trade off I was prepared for. I really  didn’t push forward into the USA until I had both kids at school, so when my second child Ben had finished his first year in prep. 

As Flo Dancewear grew you saw an opportunity to extend into activewear for tweens, especially being a mother of a teenage daughter yourself. Why is this category so close to your heart?

Isabella has been my muse all the way through from that first picture. Having said that, I did see a clear gap in the market when I started FLO Active, when all the kids had stopped wearing jeans and started wearing activewear instead. I had always been like that, because of being a dancer, I would wear activewear when I was on the way to dancing, to warm up and to leave. I saw the same in other sports and activities, and I could see that so were the tweens and teens and certainly my daughter was one of them, and all her friends.

What does an average day look like for you?

A week day starts with me waking both kiddies, getting them breaky, and getting them ready for school. After I drop them off or they leave for school I come home, get ready for work, and eat breaky usually at work! Then I work all day until 5ish, and train sometimes after that, or before I leave for work. I come home, cook dinner and be with the kids. I do pick them up from school once or twice a week. It depends on how busy my work week is. I am a single mum so when they kids are with their dad I work all day until late, and go and train, and see friends or my partner. I don’t do normal hours because it’s my own business, so I can work after I put kids to bed and on weekends too. It’s just part of trying to balance both work and motherhood. I like being busy.

What’s your advice for anyone dreaming of starting their own business?

I would say make sure you know every part about the business you are thinking of starting, as much as you can before you begin. Be very very passionate about the product you are selling or the business you are getting into. Also ask lots of questions before you start, so you have as many people around you who have been or are masters at what they do, so you can hear their advice before and during the running of the business. 

Make sure you have people working for you, when you can, who are specialists in the field you are not, and know that you can rely on them. Then I would say be sure it is what you want as it will not be something that is successful overnight. You will have to persevere and be ready for many challenges, but it can be very much worth it if successful, and you will learn a lot along the way, even through the harder times. Be ready to never get to really switch off - it will be your new baby, so you will have to be prepared for that.