Innholdsfortegnelse for February-March 2019 i Dance Australia

THE Adelaide Festival’s 2019 program includes some great treats for dance aficionados. At the centre of the dance line-up is the internationally renowned ballerina Natalia Osipova, Russian-born but now a principal with the Royal Ballet in England. She will be performing in the acclaimed solo work Two Feet, originally created and performed by Meryl Tankard as a solo for the World Expo in 1988 and recreated now especially for Osipova. This solo is a tour de force in which Tankard merges her own experience as a child growing up in Australia with the Russian dancer Olga Spessivtzeva, who was driven insane by her own perfectionism. Olga’s preoccupation with the role of Giselle led her to become, like her character, a prisoner of the dance. Two Feet isn’t the only Tankard…

Dance Inside Out (2003); Out of Water (2004); One Extra Dance Company Gossamer, SDC, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane (2006) Figment, Sydney Festival (2008) Out of Water, LINK Dance Company, Perth (2009) In Glass, Spring Festival (2010), Sydney Opera House, and Dance Massive, Melbourne (2011). Foreseen, Bangarra, Sydney (2011) Close to the Bone, Expressions Dance Company, Brisbane (2014) Hiding in Plain Sight, Sydney (2014). Film On a Wing and a Prayer (2003). POD, by Narelle Benjamin and Samuel James. The Shape of Water (2007). Sun in the Kwoon (2012)…

Directed by American Francesca Zambello, the Sydney production of West Side Story will be performed at an outdoor pop-up venue on Sydney Harbour, with the Sydney city skyline forming a brilliant background for this iconic story. Award-winning set designer, Brian Thomson, has created a spectacular vision for this production of West Side Story which features a giant 15 metre tall highway overpass that will soar 30 metres across the length of the stage, symbolising the gritty underbelly of New York’s urban gang culture.…

Tell us about you. What is your prior experience? I have described myself as a dancemaker, educator and a producer, which pretty well sums up the last couple of decades since I began dancing in Launceston with Stompin youth dance company. From there I headed to the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne, as there was no dance course in Tasmania. That was a crucial step as it exposed me to a range of dance artists. From there I took up opportunities as a dancer and a choreographer with Chunky Move (under Gideon Obarzanek), Lucy Guerin Inc, Tasdance and Opera Australia. Most recently for Stompin I co-created Fully Grown with Caitlin Comerford [Stompin’s artistic director]. I have always been interested in the development of emerging artists and of youth…

Navigating diet changes • Get support from an experienced professional – this might be a specialist dietitian, nutritionist or naturopath. • It is often not necessary to eliminate foods – please seek more information if the advice you get is “cut out this, this, and this…” You need to know what you can eat, and your professional should be able to provide this support, including how you can put nutritious meals together. This is our job! • If you’re noticing that thinking about foods is becoming a dominant feature in your life (and particularly if it’s causing you to miss out on occasions, or you get very worried), one suggestion is to take a step back and re-evaluate. How might you be able to look at your situation more kindly?…

OVER 20 international ballet companies and a growing number of professional ballet schools have endorsed the recently established guidelines for pre-selection auditions. The Committee to Standardise Audition Procedures (C-SAP) has released the new international pre-selection audition guidelines to assist young dancers with the audition requirements and to make the process more accessible for all. Among the endorsing companies are American Ballet Theatre; The Royal Ballet; The Australian Ballet; Houston Ballet; Queensland Ballet and Royal New Zealand Ballet. Garry Trinder, director of the New Zealand School of Dance, is a C-SAP committee member. He says that the guidelines will mean that students can be better prepared and really focused on meeting one set of requirements, rather than having to meet different requirements for different schools and companies, a process that he…

“I asked myself, why another ‘Carmen’? What could be new and unique and make it matter?” What sources have you used in creating your version? My main source was the book from Prosper Merimee, which is told from the point of view of Don Jose awaiting his execution for the killing of, among others, Carmen. Then I also flirted with some [ideas] from the opera, such as amplifying the Toreador and making his part larger then in the book. I also have the luxury of living in Seville, where a large portion of the story takes place, so I could physically walk through the same places as did Carmen and Don Jose. What is your take on Carmen’s character? I see her as an early feminist – financially independent through…

1 AMY HOLLINGSWORTH NEW DIRECTOR OF EDC Brisbane’s Expressions Dance Company (EDC) has announced the appointment of Amy Hollingsworth as its new artistic director. www.danceaustralia.com.au/news/amy-hollingsworthnew-director-of-edc 2 THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET’S PODCAST IS BACK If you’re a podcast fan, you’ll be pleased to hear that The Australian Ballet’s Meet “Me at the Barre” podcast has returned for another season. www.danceaustralia.com.au/news/the-australian-ballet-spodcast-is-back 3 SHARP SHORT DANCE WINNERS ANNOUNCED Congratulations to the winners of the 11th annual Sharp Short Dance Festival. Presented by FORM Dance Projects, the finals were held at Riverside Theatres, Saturday 17 November. A record number of 170 dancers competed in 53 dance works, of which 17 were selected as finalists. www.danceaustralia.com.au/news/sharp-short-dance-winners-announced…

RAW MOTION DANCE Convention is an opportunity for young dancers to learn from internationally acclaimed commercial dance choreographers Trevor Tordjman (The Next Step, Disney Zombies) and Jordan Clark (The Next Step, So You Think You Can Dance Canada season four winner), Marty Kudelka (choreographer for Justin Timberlake, J-Lo, Janet Jackson) and Nick Lazzarini (So You Think You Can Dance US season one winner, dancer for Adele). The convention will kick off in Sydney on April 6 and 7 and head to Melbourne on April 9 and 10 before finishing in Auckland on April 15 and 16. Tordjman, Clark, Kudleka and Lazzarini will make their way from Los Angeles to lead the convention’s workshops, industry-style audition classes and solo competitions, in styles ranging from contemporary to hip-hop and jazz. Raw Motion…

ASSISTANT BALLET MASTER OR MISTRESS The Artistic Director of West Australian Ballet, Aurélien Scannella, is searching worldwide for an exceptional, passionate and enthusiastic person with exemplary experience in the art-form of ballet, to join the Company in the role of Assistant Ballet Master or Mistress, in Perth, Western Australia. ABOUT WEST AUSTRALIAN BALLET West Australian Ballet (WAB), based in Maylands, is a leading State Flagship Ballet Company, and Australian Major performing arts Company, presenting a dynamic and extensive series of ballet and contemporary dance works in metropolitan Perth, regional Australia and beyond. ABOUT THE POSITION The Assistant Ballet Master/Mistress is responsible for providing assistance to the Artistic Director and Artistic Team in the implementation of the Artistic Vision of the Company and in the preparation for and mounting of all…

Q Dear Emma, I’ve been having digestive problems and my doctor thinks it is Irritable Bowel Syndrome. How do you recommend coping with abdominal discomfort while dancing? I’m finding it hard to hold my stomach in and it’s making me lose confidence. – 18 year old female dancer, Brisbane Dear Dancer, You are not alone! Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) affects many dancers – particularly girls. Its symptoms include constipation, diarrhoea, bloating, gas, pain and discomfort in your gut which can mild or severe. Its symptoms can be embarrassing but, with patience, you should be able to get on top of it and get back to dancing with full energy and freedom. To begin with, it’s useful to understand the anatomy of your abdomen and why this part of your body…

Health for dancers is essential. When faced with illness or injury it is so important for dancers to work with healthcare providers who understand dance. The Australian Society for Performing Arts Healthcare (ASPAH) (www.aspah.org.au) recognises the unique challenges and demands faced in the performing arts industry and the need for specialised and unique approaches of healthcare delivery. ASPAH represents a professional network of healthcare providers, researchers, educators and artists who are dedicated to holistic healthcare in the performing arts. The recent ASPAH conference in Sydney saw over 50 dedicated members and visitors meet and discuss the latest research and best practices in performing arts healthcare. From sleep to hypermobility to mental health the ASPAH network crosses a large spectrum of health issues in the arts. Please recommend ASPAH to friends…

ENTITLED “A Touch of Magic”, Melbourne City Ballet’s (MCB) 2019 season will feature some of the company’s most popular repertoire, two new ballets for the company, an international tour and MCB’s largest national tour to date. The 2019 season will start with a new collaboration between MCB artistic director Michael Pappalardo and artistic associate Brendan Bradshaw, Alice in Wonderland. The production will tour nationally to over 40 locations and will take MCB across the Tasman for the first time, to tour 15 locations in New Zealand. The company will then take The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, an audience favourite in 2017, to NSW, Victoria and Queensland. MCB’s third season will see Pappalardo take on The Taming of the Shrew. With a new score and live band, this bold new production…

Can you remember the first time you saw your mother dance? I can! There were a few time before this, but the most memorable was when I was probably around six and she was rehearsing in the studios with Australian Dance Theatre for the premiere of Birdbrain. I remember it feeling really normal watching her, and I just expected that I everyone’s mum was dancing around and spinning on their heads. When did you start dancing? In the womb! I can’t actually remember a time where I wasn’t dancing. Growing up in such a creative household meant that movement and creativity was just a huge part of every day life. As corny as it sounds, movement has always felt like my home. You didn’t decide to take up dancing as…

WHAT makes a great performance space for dance? Once upon a time, I would have answered this question in terms of sight lines, comfortable and appropriately spacious seating, stage size. I still think these things are important, if we’re talking theatres. But in recent years some of the most engaging spaces in which I’ve seen dance haven’t been theatres. I’ve watched dance in someone’s lounge/dining room (Anything is Valid Dance Theatre’s Dust on the Shortbread, 2018), in the parts of a cathedral that are normally hidden from view (In Situ, 2017), in a stairwell (Strut Dance’s Maxine Doyle showing at Perth Festival 2018), in a caravan (AIVDT’s Life in Miniature, 2012) – you get the idea. While the concept of site-specific dance isn’t new (the Judson group were doing it…