Innholdsfortegnelse for October - November 2016 i Dance Australia

“Every dancer is supported by an invisible army of individuals...” If I could travel back in time, Paris circa 1920 would be high on my list of places to go. It’s Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes that I want to see… all those wonderful designs by the likes of Picasso, Matisse, Bakst, in combination with choreography by Fokine, Massine, Balanchine, Nijinsky, accompanied by Debussy, Stravinsky, Prokofiev. With such a rich concentration of artistic talent, it’s no wonder that audiences were mad for Diaghilev. Our “Superstars of the stage” feature traces back to that very period. It was the Australian Ballet’s production of Nijinksy, based on the story of that great and ultimately tragic Diaghilev dance artist, that inspired us to celebrate our own legendary male dancers. Diaghilev’s genius was his recognition of…

Pain that won’t go away By Janet Karin OAM The Australian Ballet School Pain warns you that a part of your body is at risk and you need to protect it. Pain should disappear as injured tissues recover, but your brain can become confused and continue sending unnecessary pain messages. Nerve endings in your tissues may become over-sensitive and start sending unnecessary warnings to your brain. Your nerves can release chemicals to stimulate additional nerve fibres to send warning messages. Your brain and spinal cord can act like a master control, intensifying all the messages sent by the nerves and affecting parts that are not injured. You might find pain or stiffness on the opposite side to the injury, or all over your body. Memories of past pain and fear…

Penny Lancaster Founding chairperson (honorary) ADi Australian Dance Institute (RTO 91600) My passion for dance grew from student to professional dancer, director of a youth dance company and teacher with my own large dance school, developing nationally recognised courses. I was inspired to help the next generation of students gain wider life-skills with knowledge and skills beyond dance technique. This knowledge incorporates subjects in critical thinking, body science, nutrition, dance history and awareness of career pathways. I felt motivated to create a new Australian syllabus embedding these “academic” elements into the day-to-day progressive dance class. This vision embraced the principles of the Australian Qualifications Framework in vocational education for syllabus programs. Now nationally accredited, these have morphed into Certificates I – IV in Dance. Parents especially appreciate vocational certificates providing…

Melissa Caltabiano Head teacher/ Dance coordinator/ Sport coordinator/ Choreographer/ Year advisor Burwood Girls High School Combining her two greatest loves resulted in Australian College of Physical Education (ACPE) graduate Melissa Caltabiano reaching an early career high when she was appointed head teacher, personal development, health and physical education/dance at Sydney’s Burwood Girls High School at the age of 28.This role sees the dance enthusiast manage a faculty of nine staff along with the popular school’s physical education curriculum, sport, student management, budgets, excursions and overseas tours. Melissa also tackles the role of dance coordinator concurrently, with responsibility for eight dance ensembles for the school. “I absolutely love dance – it is my greatest passion. I get so much enjoyment and satisfaction from teaching and watching my students turn into performers,…

THESE days, I tend to talk very little about individual nutrients as I’ve moved much more into the food-body-mind space and think more about foods as a whole. Even so, I think it’s important that dancers develop an understanding of how you can incorporate a wide variety of foods into your busy days, and WHY some foods are more important than others - for example, to maintain energy and performance, or to combat fatigue and prevent injury. Let’s get back to basics - protein isn’t just found in food; it is the most important building block in your body. Proteins are large, complex molecules that play many critical roles. They do most of the work in cells and are required for the structure, function, and regulation of the body’s tissues…

Q Do you have any suggestions about how I could make my stage performance as good as my rehearsal performances? – 15 year old aspiring ballet dancer. Dear Dancer, The transition from studio to stage is a critical one for all performers to master so it’s great to raise the question early on. The sooner you can develop a method that works for you, the better. It is natural that what feels comfortable in a familiar studio feels foreign on stage – particularly when there is not adequate stage time to acclimatise. Take away the fourth wall and it can feel like you are dancing in a deep, foreign cavern; your centre tends to fall backwards and adrenaline pushes you into overdrive. Keeping your cool while delivering a performance that…

It’s really happening! The Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) will be holding audition workshops for its 2017 competition in Australia, in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney this October. It will be the first time YAGP has toured to Australia but the concept has been on the cards for a while, says YAGP co-founder and director Larissa Saveliev. “We’ve been thinking about going to Australia for a while,” she explains. “There’s so much talent in Australia. I don’t know where you guys are getting all this talent. If you look at YAGP history over the last few years, a lot of the winners are Australian. And I’m not only talking about winners – a lot of those who receive multiple scholarship offers are Australian too.” As outlined in the June/July issue of…

EXPRESSIONS DANCE COMPANY QLD Want to learn from some of Australia’s best dance artists? Expressions Dance Company’s Brisbane Contemporary Dance Intensive (BCDI) is one of Australia’s best contemporary dance training programs. Work directly with the EDC ensemble and special guest artists in this challenging, exciting and fun week! EDC is giving a lucky reader the chance to win a one week place in BCDI Summer 2017 held 9-13 January and 16-20 January. www.expressionsdancecompany.org.au ANNETTE ROSELLI DANCE ACADEMY QLD Annette Roselli Dance Academy Summer School (17 - 21 January 2017) consists of five consecutive days of comprehensive dance training in classical ballet, contemporary, pointe, boys coaching, repertoire and body conditioning. The Summer School offers three levels to suit all ages, (8 - 10 years, 11 - 13 years, 14 years and…

Australian Dance Theatre's latest work, Objekt, which will premiere this October, has been created in collaboration with Germany's tanzmainz dance company, thanks to funding from Catalyst, the Federal government's arts and culture fund. This is the first time that Australian Dance Theatre (ADT) has collaborated with an international dance company. Earlier this year ADT artistic director Garry Stewart and dancer Kimball Wong travelled to Europe to work on the project, which had its world premiere in Germany in June. Now two dancers from tanzmainz will come to Australia to work with ADT for the Australian premiere. Objekt explores the objectification of humans and how this allows one group to measure, corral, and subjugate another. The work reflects today's socio-political reality of refugees, immigration, terrorism and xenophobia. Objekt plays Adelaide College…

Sandra Breen OAM CSTD examiner Sandra Breen has spent most of her working life in dance, firstly as a professional performer, then as a teacher/choreographer and currently as an examiner/adjudicator. Sandra was awarded an OAM in 2010 for services to dance. Sandra’s own dance studio has had many success stories, with students such as Kelley Abbey, Keith Hawley, Lisa O’Dea and Sue Ellen Chester going on to professional engagements, both in Australia and overseas. Many other students have gone on to varied careers, but still say they gained great confidence, friendship and values from their time in dance school. The training and learning to become a CSTD examiner was immense, says Sandra, but she had huge support from those who were already examiners. Now she feels privileged to be entrusted…

Christine Denny Founder and director Tapatak Oz Encouraging children to express themselves fully and freely through the art of tap dance is one of the highlights of my career thus far. And creating the tap dance syllabus Tapatak Oz has allowed me to take that one step further by giving tap dance students around the world, a chance to set targets, reach goals and develop their unique sense of self, whilst also developing rhythm and dance skills that will be with them for life no matter what career path they follow. For me, Tapatak Oz and its examination process have allowed me to reach out to inspire the next generation – not just as great tap dancers, but as joyful human beings. Encouraging them to love who they are, seek…

• 6-9 October: Triptyque by Les 7 Doigts De La Main at Arts Centre Melbourne • 6-12 October: The Dark Chorus by Lucy Guerin Inc at the Meat Market (Read our interview with Lucy Guerin about this show at www.danceaustralia.com.au/news/where-the-magic-happens • 7-10 October: Thank You for Coming: Attendance, by Faye Driscoll at North Melbourne Town Hall • 14-16 October: “Dance Territories” by Sarah-Jane Norman and Nacera Belaza, presented by Dancehouse at Dancehouse • 15-22 October: Vertical Influences by Le Patin Libre at O’Brien Group Arena • 21-23 October: Voces by Sara Baras's Ballet Flamenco at Arts Centre Melbourne For more information about these shows head to: www.danceaustralia.com.au/news/ www.danceaustralia.com.au/news/ contemporary-dance-circus-iceskating-this-is-melbourne-festival contemporary-dance-circus-iceskating-this-is-melbourne-festival…

“If you slack off and let your technique slip, no one is going to let you know and tell you how to work and improve.” At the age of 22, Danielle Muir has already made her mark on the German capital. Now in her third season in the ensemble of the Staatsballett Berlin, she has consistently been cast in prominent roles. During a conversation with her early in 2016, she rattled off a list of her early career highlights, achievements which would commonly be amassed over a much longer time period. “I have danced in many ballets since joining the company, but there are a few that really stick out in my mind. I danced the White Cat in Nacho Duato’s Sleeping Beauty [and] was lucky enough to be able…

Amy Bale , dancer, Romanian National Ballet I excel most in the studio when I am relaxed and have a clear plan of what I want to focus on in that rehearsal, which means there's no headspace for distractions. I try to keep it the same for performance. In terms of remaining calm, this means in the rehearsals leading up to the show, taking responsibility for whatever is in my control. Pinpointing moments where I need to think about certain things, is one example. Filming myself is another - it's the hardest thing to face but once you get used to it, it's one of the most effective ways to self correct and if you can get it to a point your happy with watching yourself you can feel confident…

Wodonga, in regional Victoria, is a long way from Europe and America, yet for young dancer, Amia Mason it is her stepping stone to the world. Amia (16 years), a student of Tim Podesta at the Regional Academy of Performing Arts, performed at the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) earlier this year, an experience she says, “really opened my eyes to just how amazing and prestigious the ballet industry is”. Amia claims that the experience of competing at YAGP taught her how to control her nerves and helped her gain more confidence as a dancer. Her performances resulted in a number of offers to further her dance training. “I was offered a full scholarship to the Academy of Performing Arts in Munich” say Amia as well as the opportunity to…

Dance Australia, in partnership with the schools on these pages, is offering our readers a chance to win a week’s tuition at a summer school during January 2017. TELL US IN 25 WORDS OR LESS YOUR DANCE HIGHLIGHT OF 2016! Got to http://www.danceaustralia.com.au/news/ win-a-week-at-a-summer-dance-school-2017 and enter your details for your chance to WIN! COMPETITION CONDITIONS: This competition is only open to readers with an Australian address. This Yaffa Media competition closes on the last mail (1400 hours), Thursday November 24th 2016. This is not a game of chance. The prize winner will be judged on the premises of the promoter Yaffa Media (ABN 54 002 699 354), 17-21 Bellevue St, Surry Hills, Sydney at 1600 hours on Friday November 25th 2016. The decision is final and no correspondence will be…

1 NEW WORK FROM DIRTYFEET Sydney’s Dirtyfeet will present first-draft works from two young choreographers, Brianna Kell and Ivey Wawn, 28-29 October at Shopfront Contemporary Art and Performance in Carlton, NSW.www.danceaustralia.com.au/news/new-work-from-dirtyfeet 2 WHERE THE MAGIC HAPPENS Lucy Guerin talks to Nina Levy about the value of working overseas, her new work for Melbourne Festival and what’s next on her calendar.www.danceaustralia.com.au/news/where-the-magic-happens 3 DANCE PROGRAM FOR QUEENSLAND ACADEMIES CREATIVE INDUSTRIES Queensland Academies Creative Industries, a selective entry senior state high school based in Kelvin Grove, Qld, has announced the introduction of dance as part of its multi-strand arts faculty. Dance will be offered from 2017, complementing the school’s existing arts program that includes design technology, film, music, theatre and visual arts. www.danceaustralia.com.au/ news/ www.danceaustralia.com.au/news/new-dance-program-forqueensland-academies-creative-industries new-dance-program-forqueensland-academies-creativeindustries…

Sharon Jux Retail store manager Capezio, Mornington With a professional and teaching background in various genres of dance and fitness, Latin dance being my first love, the role of retail store manager for Capezio Mornington has given me the opportunity to assist dancers of all ages find the most appropriate dance product for their needs. Working for Capezio, the brand I had come to know in the UK, has widened my career in this industry and has been exciting, rewarding experience. Providing teachers with great customer service and being able to help them with the demands of running schools gives me enormous job satisfaction. Being able to share the excitement of young dancers in fitting their first pointe shoes and developing my expertise in products that will support them in…

Emrys Goldsworthy Senior lecturer myotherapy/ Private practice clinician Endeavour College of Natural Health My passion for dance has taken many forms over the length of my career, from dancing with the Royal New Zealand Ballet to running busy myotherapy clinics where I treat both amateur and professional dancers. Myotherapy is a branch of manual medicine that focuses on the treatment and management of musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction. It allows me to work with dancers in a variety of settings, from pre-pointe assessments, to technique correction and improvement, as well as treatment and rehabilitation of injuries. My knowledge and experience in dance has been invaluable to my myotheraphy career, equipping me to treat a range of dancers. My background in dance has allowed me to specialise my health clinic to treat…

THIS production of The Nutcracker is all about Christmas magic,” says Jayne Smeulders, co-choreographer of West Australian Ballet’s upcoming season of the much-loved ballet. “I’m super excited about it, I think because I love Christmas so much. “I hope that our Nutcracker is magical too! That’s my aim. I want kids to sit on the edge of their seats, smiling and laughing and thinking about Christmas day and getting really excited... and all the adults too, of course.” Recently retired from her role as principal dancer with West Australian Ballet (WAB), Smeulders is part of a choreographic team of three, joining WAB artistic director Aurelien Scannella and Sandy Delasalle to choreograph The Nutcracker. While WAB’s last production of Nutcracker was set in Australia, this version is traditional in every sense.…

“I always knew that I was going to go on a gap year and if I could combine travelling with dancing that would be the perfect option.” It’s not uncommon for Aussie teenagers to elect to have a “gap year” following their year 12 studies and travel abroad to experience the world whilst they transition themselves into adulthood and whatever will come next. But those with a passion for performance (dance or musical theatre), may choose to forgo the international travel option to devote those funds and themselves to a year (or two) of full-time study, in the hope that they might skill themselves up to professional standard and thus define their “what’s next” Sydney’s Jonah Ende, is an 18-year-old with a passion for tap dance who found a way…

“The highlight of this Moulin experience came when she was asked to be the face of the company, for interviews, during their 2014 tour to New York” Stacey Kenealy, is a home-grown performing artist who epitomises all that can be achieved when you are passionate, talented and pursue a career without geographic or artistic borders. She is also one of a new breed of artists astute enough to identify that the unique skill-set she has crafted places her in an elite category that appeals to international companies like Moulin Rouge, Coca-Cola and Westfield. Thus she works just as hard at developing an awareness of Stacey Kenealy as a global brand as she does her technique and maintaining peak physical condition. Kenealy grew up on Queensland’s Gold Coast and trained at…

Matthew Lawrence and Gaylene Cummerfield were both born in New Zealand, growing up in Christchurch. “We were both born in the same hospital, believe it or not,” says Lawrence. “We were born in the same month, a year apart.” Cummerfield smiles: “Though we didn’t meet until some time later.” “It’s a big place, New Zealand,” agrees Lawrence. “You get lost in it.” – Zoë Anderson, Dancing Times (UK), 2008 Please excuse my two-mirrored vanity, opening an article about us – my wife and I - with a quote from an article about us. Even Narcissus only owned one mirror. But objectivity comes from others. For instance, I need Anderson to tell you, “He’s [me] open, lively, talkative.” Nice. And, “She’s quieter, but will often prompt him, raising ideas that Lawrence…

In August each year a significant number of Sydney’s dance community gather at the Concert Hall in the Sydney Opera House for one of the highlights of Sydney Eisteddfod’s calendar – the Sydney Eisteddfod Ballet Scholarship and Open Jazz Dance Group Finals. For aspiring ballet dancers these awards offer the eight finalists a platform from which they can take the next steps towards a professional career in dance, and generous cash prizes are on offer. For the jazz group dancers the financial rewards are not as high, but the opportunity to dance on the Concert Hall stage and the prestige of winning mean this is also a highly competitive event. Trying to guess who will win the major prizes as the evening progresses is notoriously difficult as the overall standard…

Over 700 dancers entered this year's Ballet Teachers’ Workshop Scholarships, from which 113 finalists were selected to compete for a prize pool totalling $17 450. The finals were held on Sunday 21 August at the Darebin Arts and Entertainment Centre. The scholarships include three major senior prizes, the Paul Hammond Foundation Award, open to males only (aged 16+) and the Mabel Pryde Memorial Scholarship, open to females (aged 16+) and the Frances Naylor Award. The Frances Naylor Award, worth $5000, went to Emily Bray (Jane Moore Academy of Ballet). Emily also won the Mabel Pryde Memorial Scholarship, also carrying a prize of $2500, with second prize going to Victoria Norris (Australian Conservatoire of Ballet) and equal third prize to Haruna Katsumata (Australian Conservatoire of Ballet) and Tamana Watanabe (National Balletz).…