Her love affair with literature continued during her relationship with well-established jazz pianist, Tony Gilbert.
“We always read, Tony and I, even though he was a jazz musician and I was a classical dancer.
“It was music that bought us together, but it just happened that we both read,” Annette recalls.
It wasn’t long before their respective careers took off, Annette working tirelessly to perfect her ballet technique.
“I trained with Leslie White (Royal Ballet School London), then Joan and Monica Halliday.
“I’m not naturally turned out, so I had to work harder. Everyone else could work four days a week but I had to work six,” she recalls.
Her professional career began at the age of 17 with Australian Dance Theatre, which, at that time, performed classical and modern.
She appeared as one of six dancers on the Reg Livermore Show and then on Bandstand, just as newcomer, Johnnie Farnham was premiering with the now-famous ‘Sadie’.
When the alluring lights of London beckoned, Annette chased her dream, landing a coveted spot with a Swedish ballet company.
She never saw the plot twist until it was upon her, forced to make a heart-wrenching choice between career and love.
“There’s a movie called Turning Point where one marries and one continues – I married,” Annette says.
“When I said I would marry him I cried for six weeks because I knew subconsciously it was the end of my career.
“The bond with Tony was too strong and I came back home.”