Tim Harte’s story: from ballet to a career in research

For Tim Harte, ballet was everything – until, suddenly, it couldn’t be.

Having spent his life dancing, training and studying ballet at the highest level, Harte found himself faced with neurological symptoms that suddenly cut his promising career short.

But for the tenacious, driven and brilliant Harte, this tragedy was just the beginning of another inspiring chapter.

Now breaking ground with a career in research and work as a disability advocate, Harte’s story is a reminder that we all have the potential to shape our own lives, even in the face of significant change.

Because, as Harte tells Dom Hennequin for the latest Stories of Wonder podcast, ‘Adversity has shaped me, but it has not stopped me.’

Ballet: where Tim’s story began

Harte spent his first years of life in England, and it was here that he first discovered ballet.

‘I started ballet when I was three because it was part of school in England, and there was a choice where I could go outside in the cold and play soccer, or I could stay inside in the warmth with nice piano music,’ he says. ‘And I quite liked the warmth and I liked piano music.’

When Harte’s family packed up and moved across the world to Australia when he was five, his growing passion for ballet followed.

The family settled first in Kyneton in country Victoria, before moving to Geelong. Here, Tim Harte discovered that he didn’t just like ballet – he wanted to do it full-time.

‘The turning point happened when I was about eleven when I did a summer school at the Australian Ballet School in Melbourne,’ he says. ‘And at the end of that week, I told my mum, I said, “You know what? I want to do this every day.” And basically, my mum was very supportive, and she put in place what I needed to do to get there.’

Getting into a career in research: an unexpected turn   

Ballet became Harte’s driving force as a teenager.  

With dancing taking up 20 hours each week, he completed his schooling by correspondence. At 18, he accepted a position at the Australian Conservatory of Ballet to begin an Advanced Diploma of Dance, before transferring to the National Theatre Ballet School. This elite-level study should have taken him to the professional level but, towards the end of his course, Harte found his life rapidly turned upside down. 

‘I started passing out, I started having weird neurological symptoms,’ he says. ‘I was having dizziness from a low blood pressure heart condition called postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, which is quite common in young women presenting in puberty, but less common in men. And then that was combined with low blood pressure initial orthostatic hypertension, which is where you stand up and your blood pressure drops extremely.’ 

With ballet on hold and, eventually, ruled out for good, Harte decided to take up a Bachelor of Science at Deakin University. Despite his unorthodox schooling, Harte excelled academically, graduating with a Chemistry major and completing an Honours year. It put him on the path to his current challenge: a PhD and getting into a career researching sustainable energy storage materials. 

‘The whole pitch of my research is that you have what’s called structural energy storage,’ Harte says. ‘If you imagine a car that has carbon fibre components – say you have a door that’s carbon fibre […] because it’s much lighter. You can have that door not just as a structural door, but you could incorporate a structural energy storage system in there, which is part of the actual structure. So, it’s not as a separate battery in the door – the battery is the door.’ 

How advocacy in disability plays a part in Tim’s story   

While his PhD and research career is a hugely important part of Harte’s life beyond ballet, it’s far from his whole focus.  

Navigating life with a disability means Harte has become keenly attuned to the struggles that many people face every day – whether that’s being unable to queue for long periods of time, trouble accessing essential services, or important apps not being appropriately accessible. As a result, Harte has become an important advocate for those living with disabilities. 

‘I joined the Board of Physical Disability Australia, which is a disable people’s organisation,’ he says. ‘I describe disabled people’s organisations almost as a union for the disability community. So, we advocate for our members.’ 

Harte says his disability advocacy is still evolving, too. Now, he recognises that disability issues can be broader than just the experiences of one individual.  

‘For example, if I have an issue navigating the Public Transport Victoria app, that’s not my issue – that’s a systemic issue for every person with disability and every person who’s not disabled as well,’ he says. 

From Ballet to a career in research to the UN: where Tim’s headed now   

At one point, Harte’s mastery of ballet might have put him on the world stage – and his career in research still might. Now, though, it’s his disability advocacy that’s putting him in the spotlight.  

Though international travel can be tough for him to navigate, this year, Harte got the chance to speak at the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (COSP), a yearly event at the United Nations in New York. 

‘It was quite a pinch-me moment,’ Harte says. ‘There are those things you contribute to, you put a lot of time into, and it can be kind of nice when you get to that point at the UN where you’re sort of like, yes, I’m feeling imposter syndrome thinking, wow, I am in this room speaking next to a dignitary, or the delegation from Peru before me or something.’ 

It’s clear that, despite the adversity he’s faced, Harte is moving forward in life with passion and purpose. Fresh from his brush with world leaders at the UN, another high-profile appointment potentially awaits: 2026 Young Australian of the Year. 

‘I’m still kind of coming to terms with it all,’ he says. ‘From what I understand, I’m the third nominee in that category who has publicly disclosed that they have disabilities. And no one so far has ever won that category who’s been a disabled person. So, you know, it’s great recognition for our community.’ 

With his advocacy and academic research career set to continue into the future, it’s likely there will be much more worthy recognition for Harte and his community to come.

Rapid fire questions with Tim  

To finish off their chat, Stories of Wonder host Dom Hennequin lobbed some quick questions at Harte around his PhD and research career, disability, and his proudest moments so far. 

What’s something that most people don’t know about your career in research? 

Harte’s research career in sustainable energy storage materials deals with advanced chemistry. In one part of his research, he had to ‘recycle’ a polymer material that contained electrolytes – but not in the way you might imagine for a scientist. 

‘I bought a highly sophisticated piece of scientific equipment for that,’ he jokes. ‘I went down to a local electronics retailer, and I bought a Nutribullet blender. I definitely pushed it past its limits; I definitely voided its warranty. I gave it many ice baths, but it worked for a whole paper where I recycle things for six cycles in total. It just shows research doesn’t need complicated tech.’ 

What’s one myth about disability that you wish more people understood? 

Besides his PhD and career in research, Harte’s disability advocacy has become his driving force. He has some myth-busting advice about people living with disability: 

‘I have mentioned this previously, but polite questions are completely acceptable and don’t make assumptions.’

What’s a moment in your journey that you are most proud of? 

‘I did toss up around this, but I really narrowed it down to my co-option to the board of the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations in December 2024. So that was really the first time where, on a board, I was not elected to that position – I was appointed by the board for my skills as a young person with disability. The message that sent was that the organisation was stronger with the young person with disability involved than without.’  

Feeling inspired by Tim Harte’s career in research? Discover more about Deakin Research today. 

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