Innholdsfortegnelse for December-January 2020 i Dance Australia

“DANCERS are made to be on-stage,” said West Australian Ballet’s artistic director Aurélien Scannella at the company’s 2020 launch, and his program for next year certainly reflects that sentiment, with the company introducing a sixth season to its annual program. A seventh, in the form of a tour to China, is on the cards, subject to funding. Entitled “State”, the new season will take place at WA’s State Theatre Centre in June. The theatre is known for its contemporary dance seasons, and in keeping with that theme, the program will be a contemporary triple bill, headlined by Graeme Murphy’s Air and Other Invisible Forces. Garry Stewart’s Reincarnation, created for WAB and Co3 for 2019’s Quarry season, will be remounted for this season, with a new duet Galatea and Pygmalion, by…

LIZ LEA (49) is a performer, choreographer and producer, based in Canberra. Her dance training began with ballet classes at age seven (she made her stage debut as a mouse), later training with Carol O’Connell in Manly (Sydney, NSW), before completing a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) at the London Contemporary Dance School. While in London, she also trained in Bharata Natyam (classical Indian dance) at Akademi, and continued that training in India. Lea’s speciality is working with classical Indian dance and martial arts. She has worked with Ranjabati Sircar, Mavin Khoo, the Royal Opera House and English Bach Festival and been commissioned in India, UK, Australia, South Africa, Singapore and the US. At the time of writing, Lea was working on a large-scale community project, One Giant Leap, which enagages…

For some time the board of EDC has wanted to update the company’s name. Now, with the appointment of a new director and new vision, it has been decided the moment has arrived. As this issue goes to press, EDC will be announcing a new name that Hollingsworth and the board feels will freshen the company’s “brand” and be more clearly descriptive of the company’s artistic vision, as well as its location (especially necessary when the company is touring overseas). The change has been made with a great deal of thought and consultation, Hollingsworth says. “We all have such great respect for the heritage of the company and we consider this a step in the company’s journey; it is certainly not a stepping away from the past.”. See our website…

Wash ‘n’ wondrous Broadly speaking a costume designer works alongside the show’s creative personnel to craft outfits that enhance the physical appearance of the artists and performers in the show. The outfits provide another layer of context for the characters created by the artist and within the visual world their performance inhabits. The costumes must not only look good but also aid all necessary movement/ choreography – which is especially important when creating for dance. The garments also need to be durable and washable enough to maintain their appearance for the run of the show – which is a serious consideration with long-running musicals. For designers to be successful, they must possess strong artistic capabilities as well as a thorough knowledge of pattern development, draping, drafting, textiles and fashion history…

WHEN he was only 12 years old, Rhys Kosakowski was one of the original four Billy Elliots in the Australian premiere of the musical in Sydney in 2007. He even won a Helpmann Award for Best Actor – not a bad way to start a career. By the time he finished with the musical he was 15, and studying classical ballet and contemporary at the National College of Dance in his hometown of Newcastle, with coaching from Brett Morgan, the owner/artistic director of the school. “The training there really set me up for taking the next step in my career,” he says. His goal was to go overseas and land an apprenticeship with a major ballet company. It didn’t take him long. “After going to Houston, Texas, and doing a…

MELBOURNE-BORN Liam studied at the Australian Conservatoire of Ballet under Christine Walsh and Ricardo Ella and then later at the English National Ballet School. His training taught him the importance of hard work and of “pushing himself on a daily basis”. As a result, he found it easy making the transition into a professional career. “My training prepared me not only physically but mentally as to what is expected as a professional dancer and how to push myself.” Liam applied to around 45 companies. “Birmingham Royal Ballet and the Romanian National Opera offered me the chance to audition. I was then fortunate enough to receive a contract with the Romanian National Opera”. He is now in the Estonian National Ballet – and loves it. “We are a medium-sized company under…

WEST Australian Ballet first performed this visually beautiful production of Giselle in 2014. A traditional interpretation remaining true to the work’s 1841 origins, it is a quintessential Romantic ballet set in both human and metaphysical worlds, and explores the consequences of deception and the transcendental power of love. Staged by Artistic Director Aurélien Scannella and Artistic Associate Sandy Delasalle, after Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot, the production is a perfect fit for the company of 30 dancers and six young artists, and the relatively small confines of His Majesty’s Theatre stage. Opening night [September 13] was impressive by the entire company, featuring first-class dancing and some outstanding individual performances. Gloriously lit by Jon Buswell, the work’s scenic stage settings are based on original designs by Peter Cazalet. Act I reveals…

What are your teaching qualifications? I have a degree in Ballet Pedagogy (Vaganova) from the Munich University of Music Performing Arts and I also hold teaching qualifications in the Australian Conservatoire of Ballet syllabus (now Ballet Conservatoire syllabus) along with relevant VET training and assessor qualifications. At the Melbourne Conservatoire of Ballet (MCB) I teach the current first year Advanced Diploma of Dance students along with all classes and levels of the Junior School. What was your pathway to becoming a dance teacher? After graduating from the Australian Ballet School, I moved to the Netherlands, dancing professionally with Introdans for seven years before moving on to the Staatstheater am Gartnerplatz in Munich in Germany. While I was in Munich, the University was offering teacher training, so I studied for my…

What was your pathway to becoming a dance teacher? I went to the Victorian College of Arts Secondary School for Years 9 to 11 and then to the Australian Ballet School (ABS) for three years. In my last year with ABS I was chosen to work with Sydney Dance Company and, following that year, I joined Queensland Ballet and eventually became a principal dancer. I then moved to Expressions Dance Company [and also] Leigh Warren and Dancers before relocating to Perth and commencing as a Lecturer in Contemporary Dance with WAAPA. For the last two years I ran the Link Dance Company. In 2006, I went back to Brisbane to run Expressions Dance Company while the Director, Maggi Sietsma (AM), was on sabbatical for a couple of years and I…

THE concept of perfectionism is ingrained in dancers. On a daily basis they strive for precision and mastery. They approach their artform with great discipline and work extremely hard with little or no complaint. They are often push their bodies beyond their limits, with a “no pain, no gain” mentality. But is this a healthy attitude? Perfectionism can have both positive and negative impacts. There is a fine line between working to improve and pushing so hard that you lose all perspective and motivation. According to the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science, for those dancers focused on elite performance, “It becomes important to navigate the narrow path between a healthy striving for excellence and the ultimately detrimental striving for unrealistic perfection”. As clinical psychologist Dr Harriet Braiker says,…

NSW DOLLSPOINT/RAMSGATE Deidre Bronner School of Ballet Principal: Deidre Bronner, ARAD (Lond) Solo Seal. Classical (grades and majors), character, jazz, contemporary. Hawthorn St, Ramsgate. P: 02 9529 7545 M: 0412 529 755 NEWCASTLE National College of Dance Artistic Director: Brett Morgan. Delivering national accredited courses in Dance Performance – CUA40111 Certificate IV in Dance, CUA50111 Diploma of Dance (Elite Performance) Studio Cnr Young & Lloyd Rd, Lambton NSW 2299 P: 02 4952 9294 E: nc.dance@optusnet.com.au www.mwmdance.com North Shore Dance Academy Principal: Anne Gray, ARAD Teaching Diploma (DIST) RAD ballet, jazz, character, contemporary, pilates and hip-hop. Children from 3 years to advanced and Solo Seal. Studio: St Ives P: 02 9983 0365, PO Box 509, St Ives, 2075 www.northshoredanceacademy.com.au NORTH STRATHFIELD The McDonald College Australia’s Leading Academic and Performing Arts College: The…

IN 2020, The Australian Ballet is embarking on “a year of limitless possibilities”, showcasing productions that carry ballet brightly into the future. In his 20th and final year as Artistic Director, David McAllister has programmed a rich assortment of Australian and world premieres alongside established works that have made an indelible mark on modern ballet history. Audiences can expect two inventive contemporary choreographers, Wayne McGregor and Alice Topp, in the triple bill, “Volt”. A stunning new ballet version of the Russian literary classic Anna Karenina will make its Australian premiere. “Molto” will bring together three landmark works from the past 50 years. The long-awaited The Happy Prince, by Graeme Murphy, which was postponed last year, will grace the stage, as will Alexei Ratmansky’s new incarnation of Harlequinade.…

ROSS Philip, former Sydney Dance Company luminary and presently member of Australian Dance Artists, has carved himself a career as a visual artist and sculptor. Most recently he held an exhibition at the Wallarobba Arts and Cultural Centre in Hornsby, Sydney, demonstrating the reason he received the Wallarobba Outstanding Local Artist Award in 2018 with a sculpture of retired ballet slippers and acupunture needles. His creative visual arts practice explores beauty and passion, movement and decay.…

This photo is of ‘Body’, choreographed by Sue Healey and performed by Victorian College of the Arts dance undergraduates. The dancers (from front to back) are: Jason Pearce, Molly Davies, Tamara Bowman, Cobie Kinnish, Lauren Sunley, Rebecca Berry, Phaedra Brown and Tim Kirsopp. “Everytime I am photographing dance I ask myself ‘why do we want to photograph something that is meant to disappear as soon as it happens?’ It fascinates me – the idea of capturing something that fades into a glimpse of memory in the very moment we witness it. It will never happen again no matter how many times we repeat that movement. This image of Sue Healey’s ‘Body’ reflects this continuum of dance, where photography plays a big part in how we experience dance in a live…

THE Style of Movement: Fashion and Dance is a stunning collection of 250 photographs which brings together a celebrated dance photographer duo in sumptuous combination with some of the world’s top fashion designers and leading ballet dancers, such as Misty Copeland (see our cover) and Daniil Simkin. Ken Browar is a renowned fashion and beauty photographer, whose passion for dance began when he lived in Paris and photographed dancers for the Paris Opera Ballet. His partner in life and work is Deborah Ory, who began her photography career photographing rehearsals while she was injured as a dancer. Together, Browar and Ory are the creative team behind NYC Dance Project. “One of my very first jobs was at a fashion magazine called Mirabella, where I worked as a photography editor,” writes…

Where are you from? Brisbane. Where did you undertake your full-time training? Jason Coleman’s Ministry of Dance in Melbourne. What level of education had you attained before beginning your full-time training? OP3 from Brisbane State High School. CSTD Jazz Teachers Certificate. How did you find the transition from full-time studies to the profession? Ministry of Dance makes the transition very easy for all of its full time students by providing them with professional work as a collective throughout the two years. All teachers are current industry professionals as well, which kick-starts the networking prior to graduating. Being mentored and having access to an abundant amount of knowledge from the entire faculty allows you to ask questions, make mistakes and grow throughout the two years, preparing you for the professional world.…

• Operates 40 classes a week equally in two permanent locations. • Music for dance classes (provided by subscription to Spotify): $350 in 2 locations = $700 • Average number of students: 500. • Chelsea Private Performing Arts Dance School uses Apple Music in classes: $2.02 per student x 500 Average Student figure = $1,010 for Digital Copy/Delivery • One event a quarter: $400 • No event filmed, copied or distributed • Music on the Chelsea Private Performing Arts Dance School website: $550 • No Telephone on Hold music • Total licence fee: $2,660 (less than 9 cents a student a day…

Tatiana Pevneva’s Russian Vaganova Ballet expertise found the perfect fit when she joined the Charlesworth Ballet Institute in Perth, WA, in 2004. Pevneva studied ballet at the Vaganova Ballet Academy in St Petersburg for nine years followed by a professional ballet career performing as a demi-soloist with the St Petersburg Theatre of Classical Ballet and a soloist with the St Petersburg Ballet Theatre of Konstantine Tatchkin. A hip injury resulted in Pevneva needing to focus on teaching rather than performing and she joined the faculty at the Charlesworth Ballet Institute. “There were not many schools teaching the Vaganova syllabus in Australia and I was lucky to find a home [here],” she says. “Charlesworth Ballet is a unique and very special school where students have such a great opportunities to participate…

SYDNEY Dance Company (SDC) is starting 2020 with a bang: with the renowned choreographer William Forsythe. The company will perform his N.N.N.N., a work that presents the mind in four parts, represented by four dancers. The same program will feature two works from SDC Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela. The first is Impermanence, in which he joins forces with Bryce Dessner of American rock band The National to make a new work with a specially created score, performed live on stage by the Australian String Quartet. The second is E2 7SD, the duet that launched his choreographic career. Conceived as a performance and sound sculpture of an emotionally charged landscape, E2 7SD is based on personal diaries – it was awarded UK’s Place Prize in 2004. Entitled “Bonachela/Forsythe”, Season One will…

1 KEIR RECIPIENTS ANNOUNCED The eight artists and collectives who have been commissioned to make new work for the 2020 Keir Choreographic Award have been announced. 2 FIRST NATIONS CELEBRATION Australia’s fifth annual First Nations dance competition, Dance Rites, will see more than 300 performers from all over Australia converge on the Sydney Opera House forecourt for a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance, language and culture. 3 JOAN HALLIDAY: AN APPRECIATION 9 February 1919 – 22 August 2019. Joan Halliday and her twin sister Monica were a driving force in Australian dance in the 20th century, as it developed from little girls dreaming of being a ballerina to become a community of professional performers across a wide variety of styles.…

FEW in the dance world would not know of Robina Beard. Over her long career she has been involved in most aspects of Australian theatre, and particularly dance. Through her life her enthusiasm for all things theatrical has never waned, nor has her commitment to dance – in the past she has been National President of Cecchetti Ballet Australia and President of Ausdance NSW. She has a Medal of the Order of Australia for “service to the arts, particularly through dance”, as well as Life Time Achievement Award from the Australian Dance Awards, of which she was Chair and a founding organiser. And for those who don’t know her, mention a certain Madge from the Palmolive Dishwashing Liquid ad from 1968 and her face will immediately spring to mind. Beard…

IF there was one word Amy Hollingsworth might use to describe her plans, it would be “ambitious”. Or, given two: “incredibly ambitious”. Appointed as the new artistic director of Expressions earlier this year, Hollingsworth is bursting with ideas. She describes her plans with a laser intensity combined with a similar articulation that used to mark her technique as a dancer – nuanced, subtle, an ability to smoothly callibrate the separate parts. Hollingsworth’s career has touched on dance from a multitude of angles – dancing, choreographing, directing, coaching and mentoring in a range of genre – classical ballet, contemporary, commercial dance and film. It is difficult to encapsulate all she has done in one paragraph; briefly, she began as a classical dancer with the Australian Ballet, the Royal New Zealand Ballet…

Where are you from? I was born in Lismore, NSW, but only lived there for a couple of months before my family moved to Tamworth, which is where I spent my childhood growing up and started attending ballet classes. I also spent a few years in Newcastle in my early teenage years. Where did you undertake your full-time training? My mum, dad and sister moved their lives to Newcastle from Tamworth so that I could further my dance training. I am so grateful and really appreciate that my whole family has always been so supportive and really gave me the best chance at fulfilling my dancing dream. I trained full-time in Newcastle at the Marie Walton Mahon Dance Academy for a year-and-a-half. As part of the full-time course we made…

WAIT, do not go away! Think of movies and great roles like Spartacus and Dracula. Ballet similarly requires the gladiator and vampire, like Kirk Douglas and Gary Oldman, to inspire and scare our audiences. Or maybe you prefer playing romantic characters? We also need princes and Romeos. Ballet also requires athletes who can jump, turn and partner, swordfighters and the occasional magician. As a professional dancer, you will be trained to elite fitness levels. You get paid well (fairly well), and could appear in magazines, newspapers and TV as a minor celebrity. Sold? No? Okay, enter celebrity number one: Batman did ballet. Yes, Batman – aka Christian Bale – took ballet lessons as a young man. Action hero two, Arnold Schwarzenegger trained his muscles using ballet. Now introducing the knock-out…

IT is a rare and proud achievement for any school to have a pupil accepted into the Royal Ballet in London. It is even more astonishing, then, to have three dancing with that prestigious institution. Yet Alegria Dance Studios in Sydney has achieved just that. Alumnus Steven McRae joined in 2004 and is now a well-established and internationally renown principal dancer. Harry Churches joined in 2016 and is now an artist. The latest recruit is Brayden Gallucci, who has just joined this year as a member of the Aud Jebsen Young Dancers Programme. Brayden started dancing at the age of three at the Lake Macquarie Dance Centre in his home town of Newcastle. From the age of 15 he began studying at Alegria. “When I first saw Brayden,” recounts Alegria…

What are your teaching qualifications? I have a Degree in Linguistics as well as an Advanced Teacher’s Diploma with Distinction with the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD). I also have my Solo Seal and MdB with Distinction (Spanish Dance Society) and a Licentiate Diploma with Honours (Cecchetti Ballet Australia). What was your pathway to becoming a dance teacher? From when I first started dancing as a child in South Africa, I was one of those children that was always helping other kids in the class. As I got older, I would help polish my friends’ dances for eisteddfods. Often my ballet and Spanish teachers would say, Hilary, please help this student or that student. Teaching was just a natural part of my makeup. At 16 years of age, I moved…

What is your teaching experience? In my tenure with Sydney Dance Company (SDC), I taught masterclasses internationally and for the company daily. I was lucky enough to teach Baryshnikov when he was in Sydney for performances some years ago. What was your pathway to becoming a dance teacher? I had an extensive professional dance career in which I was privileged to dance soloist and principal roles with the Australian Ballet and then SDC. There were a couple of opportunities under Maina Gielgud (AO) to teach when I was with the Australian Ballet but I really started teaching at SDC. When I was on tour in Europe with SDC, I sustained an injury and Janet Vernon suggested I take class, so with my foot in a boot, I took class and…

92 YOUNG dancers were selected to compete in the 2019 Brisbane International Contemporary Dance (BICD) Prix, which took place in Brisbane, September 29 – October 4. This is the second time the event has run. The event saw contestants take part in a week-long program of workshops and classes, viewed by a panel of five judges: Victoria Columbus, from the New Zealand School of Dance, Adriaan Lutijen, from Introdans company in Holland, Rhiannon McLean, from Expressions Dance Company (Brisbane), Jason Beechey, from the Palucca Hochshule fuer Tanz, Dresden (Germany) and Anna Chan from the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts. The candidates worked with coaches from Sydney Dance Company and Projection Dance, learning repertoire, creating solos and performing on stage. This year BICD Prix also offered training forums where dancers…

JACK Riley found his way into dance through martial arts. Since graduating from the Victorian College of Arts in 2016, he has performed with a number of companies and has presented two major works of his own – Contact in Canberra (QL2 Theatre) and Melbourne (Dancehouse), where he was nominated for best dance award as part of Melbourne Fringe, and the Second Alone in Canberra (Canberra Theatre Centre), Melbourne (Chunky Move Studios) and Perth (State Theatre Centre). He also had the opportunity to work for QL2 in Canberra in its Chaos project, and previously to that was the recipient of the Ralph Wilson Residency where he performed his duet work with a musician in Canberra. He was most recently a performer in Chunky Move’s Token Armies at the Melbourne Festival.…