Innholdsfortegnelse for October-November-December 2025 i Dance Australia

I PICKED up my first copy of Dance Australia before I could read, in my grandparents’ ballet shop, mesmerised by the photographs. That sense of wonder has never left me, and it is with that same awe that I now have the privilege of presenting this milestone 45th anniversary issue. For nearly half a century, Dance Australia has been shaped by the artistry, excellence and courage of the companies and individuals whose stories we have had the honour to share. In this issue we celebrate 270 collective years of achievement across some of the nation’s most influential organisations: the RAD Australia, Dancenorth, Australasian Dance Collective, Australian Dance Theatre, and Co3. Together, they represent a lineage of innovation, resilience and vision that has built a foundation as strong as it is…

IN 1980, when Dance Australia’s founding editor Dally Messenger interviewed the dancers who graced his very first cover, both were radiant with optimism. “I think it is about time that we had a national magazine,” said Kelvin Coe OBE. “It has been far too long. One thing that has always appalled me when one reads the dance magazines from overseas – nothing is ever mentioned about The Australian Ballet.” His stage partner, Marilyn Rowe AM OBE, agreed. “A new magazine is an excellent idea. I agree with Kelvin.” Forty-five years later, Rowe finds herself once again reflecting on that moment in time. “I look back to the first edition of the Dance Australia magazine with great nostalgia,” she says. “It shows the joy of two young dancers dancing with such…

AUSTRALIAN Dance Theatre has worn many labels in its 60 years, but few are as telling as the one pinned to its earliest seasons: ugly dance. In a nation where contemporary movement had little foothold in the mid-1960s, the provocation stuck because it spoke to something essential in the work. It was not a judgement so much as a manifesto. Built on the conviction that dance could look beyond beauty and into the currents of a changing society, ADT began as an outlier and became a lighthouse. Six decades on, the company still steps toward difficult questions with a clear-eyed curiosity, holding fast to a founding appetite for risk and reinvention. Or, in the company’s own words, We make rebellious dance. The rebel spirit arrived in 1965 with Elizabeth Cameron…

SCHOOLS Regional Spotlight From country to coast, Australia’s regional towns have long produced exceptional dancers, writes David McAllister. AUSTRALIA HAS A Surprisingly undervalued superpower and that is producing exceptional dancers! Everywhere you go in the world there are Australian dancers having amazing careers in all the diverse genres of dance across the globe. In my little corner of the artform, there is hardly a ballet company anywhere that does not have Australian dancers having the most fulfilling careers. Many of them are in leading positions, principal dancers who are setting the standard for their companies. Another amazing fact is that these dancers come from the length and breadth of our creative country and not just the capital cities dotted around our shores. How have we become such a prolific producer…

Alice Topp to Premiere Bold New Macbeth WEST Australian Ballet has announced the final work of its 2026 season: Macbeth, a bold new contemporary ballet by award-winning choreographer Alice Topp. Presented with the Royal New Zealand Ballet, the production runs from 4–19 September 2026 at His Majesty’s Theatre, with live music by the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. Fresh from the success of Butterfly Effect, Topp reimagines Shakespeare’s dark tragedy through the lens of modern power and media, where ambition and morality collide. “Macbeth is an extraordinary exploration of human consequence,” says incoming Artistic Director Leanne Stojmenov. “Alice’s work always finds the emotional core of a story.” The production unites leading Australasian design and lighting collaborators in a fusion of contemporary dance theatre and striking visuals. It joins a season titled…

THE Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) has achieved nonagenarian status in Australia. A healthy ninety years here; it is one of the most successful dance training methods for young dancers (and recently for older, with its newly established, ‘Silver Swans’). Quite an achievement, made possible by generations of directors, teachers, examiners, administrators and students who share a passion for our most ephemeral artform. And now for a disclaimer, ironically the author of this article is a British Ballet Organisation trained student…gasp! I attempted my first RAD exercise at eighteen (back in 1994), it was an Advanced syllabus pirouette combination – with double pirouettes en dehors in arabesque (right and left) from memory - and I was quite unsuccessful. It was not until after my professional career finished that I became…

IN the mid-1980s, when contemporary dance in Queensland was still finding its footing, Maggi Sietsma AM and Abel Valls took a bold step. From the undercroft of their Brisbane home, they founded Expressions Dance Company — a modest ensemble of six dancers determined to carve out a space for original Australian choreography. That small act of faith, grounded in creative conviction and community spirit, would become the foundation of what is now Australasian Dance Collective (ADC): one of the nation’s most forward-looking and innovative dance companies. For ADC, 1985 marks the true beginning — the year of its first performance, First Expressions, which introduced audiences to a new voice in Australian dance. It was the start of a forty-year continuum defined not by one artist, but by a succession of…

IN 1985, in the tropical north of Queensland, a quiet revolution in Australian dance began. In the heritage-listed School of Arts building in Gurambilbarra (Townsville), a handful of artists led by visionary Artistic Director Cheryl Stock AM gathered to create a new professional ensemble. Their first season, Mangoes, marked not only the beginning of Dance North – as it was then known – but also the start of a daring regional experiment: could a contemporary dance company, rooted in community yet open to the world, thrive far from the nation’s metropolitan centres? Forty years on, the answer rings clear. Dancenorth Australia stands as one of the country’s leading contemporary dance companies, recognised internationally for its innovation, integrity and fearless spirit. At the heart of Dancenorth’s formation was Ann Roberts, who…

THE red windmill of the Moulin Rouge has captivated audiences for more than a century, a beacon of glitter, feathers and artistry in the heart of Paris. Its dancers are icons in their own right, embodying the glamour and athleticism of the showgirl tradition. And while Taylor Swift may have borrowed the name for her latest album, the Moulin Rouge remains the original Red and the home of the Showgirl — a place where spectacle and stamina combine in dazzling nightly performances. One of the stars behind the curtain is Jasmine Bard, a dancer from the Hunter Valley who has called the Moulin Rouge home since 2018. After graduating from the Sydney Dance Company’s Pre-Professional Program, she leapt into the Parisian spotlight, rising quickly to leading roles. Now a Can-Can…

THERE is a certain romance in the memory of how many dancers began. Studios in church halls, rehearsals on uneven wooden floors, even classes held outdoors on the grass or, for one iconic summer school, out in the bush. Those places shaped generations of artists and remain part of the folklore of Australian dance. Yet as our understanding of the body has grown, so too has our responsibility to ensure the environments in which we train, rehearse and perform are safe. The studio must be more than familiar or nostalgic; it must protect the dancers within it. Every rehearsal space carries its own energy, but it also carries risk. Hard floors, poor lighting, bad ventilation or inadequate space can all contribute to fatigue, strain or injury. Today, safe dance practice…

THE year was 1980. It’s amazing to think that 45 years have passed since we started Dance Australia. In the beginning, we had little idea of what we were doing, only a fierce conviction that we were doing something good. We were a motley crew of volunteers, drawn together by word of mouth. Some wrote articles and reports, while others took photos. We even had a highly-placed surgeon, Ron Quirk, who created beautiful illustrations for his own articles and others. The rest of us pitched in with administration, We werefuelled by various motivations, some for art, some for the pure passion for dance. While major companies like The Australian Ballet, Australian Dance Theatre, and Sydney Dance Company were cooperative, they were also deeply sceptical. And who could blame them? Quite…

WHEN Co3 Contemporary Dance Australia was founded in 2015, it carried both a sense of urgency and of possibility. Nearly twenty years had passed since the last dedicated contemporary dance company in Western Australia closed its doors, leaving a generation of artists working largely on independent projects. With the arrival of Co3, and under the artistic custodianship of Raewyn Hill, a new chapter began. “In Boorloo we have built a home for contemporary dance – one that embraces risk, innovation and the power of human connection,” Hill reflects. “This milestone season is a reflection of our journey, and a bold step into the future.” It is fitting, then, that Co3’s tenth anniversary season is as much about community as it is about creation. The 2025 program places equal emphasis on…

IT’S not long now: after much anticipation, Down Under fans will get their turn to “Journey to the Past” with Anastasia this December when the star-studded Australian production of the Broadway hit musical premieres at Melbourne’s historic Regent Theatre. The sweeping historical tale blended with romance and adventure has captured the hearts of audiences and multiple international awards since its Broadway debut in 2017. Rising star Georgina Hopson – whose lead credits range from Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera to Rose Dewitt-Bukater in musical spoof Titanique, Singin’ in the Rain’s Lina Lamont and Gentleman Prefer Blondes’ titular role Lorelei Lee – is perfectly cast as the young woman who might actually be the Russian princess rumoured to have escaped her family’s execution by the Bolsheviks. In a…

SINCE the tender age of 17, Leanne Stojmenov has dreamed of one day becoming the director of a ballet company. That ambition—so bold and determined at such a young age—was the mark of a leader in the making. Now, that dream has become reality. Stojmenov has been appointed Artistic Director of West Australian Ballet (WAB), officially stepping into the role in January 2026. Her journey is deeply entwined with the company’s history. As a teenager, she watched the company’s performances with admiration, trained with their dancers, and eventually earned her first professional contract with WAB before moving on to The Australian Ballet to further her illustrious career. The call confirming her appointment came just one day after her final interview—an emotional moment that sealed her future and entrusted her with…

Teacher Spotlight Every dancer remembers the teacher who first sparked their love of movement. A good teacher shapes far more than technique. They nurture discipline, creativity and resilience, helping students to find their voice as artists and as people. The studio is where these lessons begin. It is where teachers push students to reach higher, remind them to listen to their bodies, and encourage them to trust their instincts. The impact often lasts a lifetime. Many dancers carry the words of a trusted teacher into rehearsals, onto stages, and into their own careers as educators. AUSTRALIAN BALLET SCHOOL Sabrina Lenzi Classical Teacher at The Australian Ballet School SABRINA WAS BORN in Rome and trained at the Opera of Rome before completing her studies at the Académie de Danse Classique de…