Dance, music and life: graceegirl

Book Review: Every Step You Take by Jock Soto with Leslie Marshall

2011-10-13T12:40:00.004+11:00

1st ed., USA $24.99, 271 pp.
SBN-978-0-06-173238-6
Publisher: HarperCollins, NY, 2011

Every Step You Take: A Memoir by Jock Soto is a book soon to find its way on to many a book shelf. In it, Soto recounts his childhood, life as a student dancer, his career with the New York City Ballet and his rise through the ranks, retirement from the ballet profession and his post-retirement lifestyle.Unlike many other dancer memoirs, this book is less about the making of a star dancer than it is a kind of life review; Soto has paused to consider aspects of his life not previously acknowledged and to journey back through his family history.

Memories of Soto's mother, who was diagnosed with cancer and passed away in 2008, permeate this book. Collectively, they provide it with a sort of 'living past' – Soto's palpable grief and reverence of Mama Jo's memory, though very much in the present, act as a natural gateway to reflections on his past as he relates his very first memory of dancing on the reserve with her in his childhood. Whilst at times, the memoir threatens to become more about Mama Jo than about Soto, I personally found these passages moving and thoroughly enriching to the whole.

Other aspects of Soto's life treated in the book include his complicated relationship with his father, his mother's Navajo family and his numerous romantic relationships. Raw and honest, even occasionally unflattering, Soto's account of his life is in many ways nonetheless a classic rags-to-riches story (I use the word 'riches' in its broadest sense) about a talented dancer overcoming great personal, cultural and financial hurdles to achieve success. From amongst the chaos, dance consistently emerges from as one of the least complicated aspects of Soto's life, providing him the stability and purpose at times lacking in other areas of his life.

The flip side of this focus on the intensely personal, however, is that there is rather little about the everyday struggles of becoming a dancer; though we learn of Soto's insecurities about his looks and physique, there is little about the difficulties of mastering technique, the teaching styles of his mentors, the discipline of the classroom, the mantras that kept him going when it all seemed to hard – in short, the sorts of aspects of Soto's life that might appeal to young and aspiring dancers eager to see reflections of themselves in Soto's memoir.

An engaging feature of the book is its many recipes. These are included at the end of each chapter and are connected with either a particular anecdote or theme contained within it. I have yet to try the recipes out, but some of them look quite appetising and it is only a matter of time. My particular favourite at the moment is the tiramisu, included thanks to a hilarious story involving a tiramisu filled with gorgonzola (a smelly blue cheese) instead of marscapone. The recipes reflect the growing importance of food in Soto's life since his retirement, a facet augmented his post-retirement culinary studies and his long-term relationship with sommelier Luis Fuentes, who shares this passion.

Every Step You Take is a highly readable, personal take on a remarkable life. I recommend it not only to aspiring dancers and artists, but also to the general reader for whom Soto's memoir will prove both relatable and inspiring.

Biography of Jock Soto (from the book cover):

"Jock Soto joined the New York City Ballet in 1981. He was promoted to soloist in 1984 and to principal dancer in 1985. He has danced featured roles in countless ballets, many of which were created specifically for him. He has been a permanent member of the faculty at the School of American Ballet since 1996, and in 2007 he was the subject of the critically acclaimed documentary Water Flowing Together. He lives in New York City with his partner, Luis Fuentes, a sommelier."

Queensland Ballet - Fit For A King

2011-10-13T11:29:00.000+11:00

Creating a new ballet is never easy, but when that ballet is King Arthur and the Tales of Camelot, the pressure is on. Inspired by the popular novel, The Mists of Avalon, the Queensland Ballet’s latest work is the result of Artistic Director François Klaus’ ongoing fascination with the Arthurian legend— a passion he discovered whilst creating the lead role of King Arthur in John Neumeier’s King Arthur’s Saga during his time working with the Hamburg Ballet. Klaus let Dance Informa’s Grace Edwards in on the preparations behind staging such an iconic story.

In this production, both choreography and poetic text are used to make the epic plot easier to follow. “Dance is very adept at showing emotions, so with that you can build quite a lot,” says Klaus. “The problem in dance, however, is that you cannot say, you know, ‘This man is my brother.’ Ultimately, the majority of people respond better to dance if they understand the context in which it happens, and that is the key to trying to make ballet mean something.”

A ballet means nothing, of course, without its dancers. Upcoming performances will feature Rachel Walsh as Queen Guinevere and Keian Langdon as King Arthur. The role of King Arthur’s half-sister, pivotal in Klaus’ version, will be performed by Claire Morehan. Responsible for delivering the text in his role as Merlin is former Expressions Dance Company member Dan Crestani, whose dramatic portrayals of characters such as Richard III brought him to Klaus’ attention.

Klaus admits to a fairly personal casting process, with strong ideas about who will perform which roles from the beginning. “Not that you should put the dancers in a box”, he warns. “But when you have your own company you tend to shape it over the years, to a large extent, to your taste. You know how you like people to dance and when you are the chief choreographer, you tend to associate characters with some of the people you already have in the company because you know that they fit those roles very well.”

Other aspects of the creative process, nonetheless, require teamwork. “We work quite closely together really,” reflects Klaus. “There’s David Walters, our lighting designer. David is extremely good at working out the reasons and motivations of the plot. I know he is technically there for the lighting design, but he is really good dramatically as well. And my wife Robyn – we make a trio that work really closely together right from the beginning. And then of course the designer for the set will be present, not as intensively, but of course he is the one who has to realise optically how the ballet is going to be presented.”

“Musically, I work quite closely with Greg Young, who is there to conduct, but at the same time we have a relatively small orchestra so he arranges the music for that ensemble. He’s a very good pianist as well. He even has to compose for some parts or elements of the ballets sometimes. So yes, that’s how you assemble the puzzle!”

With so many parts of the jigsaw to juggle, it becomes difficult to measure the time commitment involved in creating a ballet. “In the studio with the dancers I usually work quickly – it is easier for me because I’m more aware of what I’m doing. If I hesitate too much, I find it difficult to keep inspired. So on a good day I work quickly. But the preparation period before you enter the studio with dancers, is what takes a long time.”

“Like right now I’m reading material for something I’m going to do in a year and a half. But that’s not really like work, you just read books and have things in the back of your mind. It’s not intensive work, but it’s background and once you have that you can get more practical and see what you want to do with it.”

So how does one know when a ballet is complete? For Klaus, the answer is never. “I will always modify my ballets. Some you are really happy with right away and you may hardly touch, though others you may feel you have to work at again and again as you feel you can do better. You know, sometimes a very small change can make quite a difference, because a lot of it has to do with timing and speed.”

King Arthur, Klaus admits, falls into the latter category. “I think it is one I have had to work on quite a lot,” he says. “I did an attempt a few years ago and I just feel that now, I have the company capable of doing it.” Soon enough, the Queensland Ballet will have the opportunity to prove it.

Queensland Ballet presents King Arthur and the Tales of Camelot at the Playhouse, QPAC, 15 – 29 October. For more information on the production, visit queenslandballet.com.au.
Bookings qtix 136 246 or qpac.com.au

Published in Dance Informa

Dancesport in Victoria: An Inside Look

2011-07-23T13:58:00.002+10:00

Thanks to the popular television shows Dancing with The Stars and So You Think You Can Dance, the profile of Dancesport in Victoria is currently stronger than ever. Officially recognised as a sport by the state’s Department of Sport and Recreation in 1986, Dancesport, also known as competitive ballroom dancing, is now a highly organised activity with its own set of institutions, competitions and army of dedicated individuals.Neville Parry and Siobhan Power

Strictly speaking, “Dancesport” refers only to the competitive aspect of ballroom dancing. At this level, couples in Australia can specialise in one or all of the three main dance styles – Standard (Waltz; Tango; Slow Foxtrot; Quickstep; Viennese Waltz), Latin (Rumba; Cha Cha Cha; Samba; Paso Doble and Jive) and New Vogue (described as “Traditional Australian Style”). There are also “medal” levels spanning from Bronze to Gold for dancers who like charting their progress through formal examinations.

Typically, however, beginners take up ballroom as a social activity. Julie Jones, a former professional competitor and Director of Just Rhythm Dance Academy located in Thornbury notes that most of her students are adult beginners; those with additional tap or jazz experience from their youth, meanwhile, often choose to choose to take up Ballroom dance in adulthood as a social outlet and fitness regime.

Daryl Lee, president of the University of Melbourne Dancesport Club says the sport is popular with students from overseas; “Most of our dancers are Asian and a vast majority come from the international student population.” Whilst most are looking for a change from their studies, Daryl adds that “there are also experienced dancers in the club who have come from different styles such as contemporary, and who are looking to further their experience.” Whilst the Melbourne University club focuses on the social side of ballroom dance, Daryl points out that “we do have a few members who move on to private lessons and compete after experiencing Dancesport and finding an affinity for it.”

Serious competitors such as Victoria’s current top-ranked couple Zalie Merritt and Jacob Grech, however, usually start young.Julie Jones “After my mum took me to see Strictly Ballroom for my birthday, I was inspired to take up Latin American dancing,” says Jacob. “I started with medals, then moved into competition, and went through a range of partners travelling around Australia and overseas.” He then found a surprising kindred spirit in Zalie. “I found Zalie through a mutual dance teacher. It was quite funny, as we had been fierce rivals during our respective competitive careers!”

Dancesport Victoria’s Executive Officer Andrew Howlett says competitors usually train anywhere from ten hours to upwards of twenty hours per week. For Zalie and Jacob, practice involves twelve hours a week of dance lessons with a mentor coach and various interstate and international coaches. Victorian competitor Timothy Earl and his partner, meanwhile, train for three nights a week and a day on the weekend for an average of fourteen hours per week. “During the course of a week we have a lesson for each of the three ballroom dancing styles with the rest of the time devoted to practice.” Cross-training is also important element of the weekly routine. “We walk, jog and run most days, attend a gym and take pilates lessons,” says Zalie. “I also undertook ballet classes when dancing competitively in the Latin style, and studied dance as a Year Twelve extra subject to allow me a better knowledge of the art form.”

Ambitious Australian competitors aim to take home the title at three main championships: The Australian Championships (Melbourne, December), The National Capital of Dancesport Championships (Canberra, June) and The South Pacific Dancesport Championships (Sydney, September). Female competitors arrive at the competitions with fake tan applied, and their hair and make up done before meeting up with their partners. After enquiring about the start time of the first round of their particular event, the dancers then settle, focus and talk through such aspects of performance as floor craft with their partners. Finally, it’s show time.

But the dreams of the most gifted ballroom dancers can be found overseas, says Zalie. “To dance overseas is also a dream of ballroom dancers. The pathway is very different though [compared to other forms of dance such as ballet] in that there are not companies, but individual studios. Those who have a passion to remain in the scene all their lives work hard to earn Australian titles then gain recognition overseas, returning home to coach and adjudicate here in Australia. Uni of Melbourne Dance Sport Depending on titles gained overseas coaches can demand up $200 per hour for lessons.”

Geography and expense, however, makes it difficult for Australian competitors to compete on an equal footing at the international level. “Travelling around Europe is, after all, much easier than getting to Europe from Australia,” says Dancesport Victoria’s Andrew Howlett. None the less, there are many who believe the trouble is worth it. “Unfortunately it is an expensive sport, but I don't know any top dancers who wouldn't live under the kitchen sink just to dance,” says Just Rhythm Dance Academy’s Julie Jones. “The advantage for Australian couples is that our Australian lifestyle in general allows us to be dancers and still live comfortable lives. In other countries, you’re working to survive, not to dance.”

At the state level, organizations such as Dancesport Victoria help to lessen the burden on regional dancers. “We [at Dancesport Victoria] are looking at ways to assist with travel subsidies for competitors moving to Melbourne for competitions and are also looking at different ways to send some of our better coaches from Melbourne out towards the regional areas,” says Andrew.

With a number of major international championships being held in Melbourne in the next couple of years and the continuing popularity of shows like Dancing with the Stars, participation numbers would seem set to rise. Andrew is cautiously optimistic about the coming years. “There are positives and negatives to everything. The main positive [of the greater television publicity] is that the activity has become more visible to the public eye. However, so far it has actually had little to no impact on participation numbers, as it has also made the activity appear more elite.”

If early predictions of exponential increases in Dancesport participation levels were somewhat premature, however, Dancesport remains one of the most high profile dance forms in Victoria and enthusiasm for the sport doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.

“I enjoy how Dancesport gives university students the opportunity to spend time outside of studies in the world of dance,” remarks student Daryl Lee. “It makes uni life more enjoyable as a whole.”

“Dancing has taught me confidence. This has helped me not only in dancing, but in all other aspects of life,” says competitor Timothy Earl.

“You have to love it”, insists Julie Jones. “In Dancesport, you will always lose more than you win and those who keep coming back are the ones who achieve.”

“The harder you work, the luckier you get.”

Neville Parry and Siobhan Power

Published in Kinesis Magazine (Ausdance Vic)

Ballet Masters Frederic Jahn & Patricia Ruanne

2011-07-23T13:51:00.001+10:00

Ballet duo Frederic Jahn and Patricia Ruanne share a formidable reputation. Among the companies for which they have worked are the Paris Opera, the Royal Ballet, La Scala, the London Festival Ballet and the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam, with job titles ranging from dancer to acting director. New Zealand dancers will have the opportunity to benefit from the pair’s accumulated experience when they present their week-long winter workshop in Christchurch at the end of July. Having recently finished re-staging Rudolph Nureyev’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ for the Paris Opera, Frederic and Patricia have kindly let Dance Informa’s Grace Edwards steal a few pearls of wisdom to share with our readers.

What memories do you have of your time as a student and a dancer?

Patricia
I was fortunate enough to be accepted into the Royal Ballet School at the age of thirteen, and have lovely memories of my years at White Lodge. Having been convent-educated up to that moment (and my passion for dance strongly disapproved of by the nuns), it was a huge pleasure for me to be in an environment where everyone considered this passion to be entirely normal. By the age of seventeen I was dancing in the Royal Ballet and starting to understand that however much you assimilate, there is always more to learn.

Frederic
I have very few memories of being a student dancer as I was only a student for three weeks before joining the New Zealand Ballet Company. Before that time I was still at King Edward Technical College in Dunedin doing ballet classes twice a week with my stepfather, Ludwig Werner.

I joined the company as a student dancer with another boy, but we were given roles right from the beginning. Although I greatly enjoyed the dance training and performance aspects, not all my memories are pleasant ones. Having been uneducated in the protocol and hierarchy of a dance company, I made many mistakes and was frequently put into my place regarding how things worked, and required considerable chastisement from established members of the company and staff, until I got the message.

Who were your favourite coaches and what did they impart to you?

Frederic
I’ve had the fortune to work with the greatest dance personalities in the world. Some were teachers, some coaches, but all of them were theatrical personalities.The personalities that have influenced me the most were and are Russell Kerr and Jon Trimmer when I was in the New Zealand Ballet. Russell Kerr was director of the company, and his passion and energy remain firmly in my memories.

The Australian Ballet was also an enriching experience. Sir Robert Helpmann, Sir Frederick Ashton, Dame Peggy van Praagh, Ray Powell, Brian Ashbridge, Vera Volkova, Anthony Tudor and Rudolf Nureyev were all artists with whom I had personal contact and who helped me to develop the roles with which I was entrusted during my period with the company. It was Nureyev who advised me to go to Europe to widen my experience.

In Europe I had the good fortune to work with great choreographers such as Glen Tetley, Rudi van Dantzig, Ronald Hynd, Hans van Manen, and under the direction of Dame Beryl Grey, John Field and Peter Darrel. Those people had a tremendous influence on me as a dancer.

Patricia
My leading light in the Royal Ballet was the director of the touring company, John Field. He had great theatrical input to give us, and was not afraid to give young, inexperienced dancers an early opportunity in roles that one would not expect to tackle so soon. He considered that time spent discussing the development of a role was of equal value to the time spent actively rehearsing the steps, and encouraged us to read the literature related to any interpretative role, to see the play and to never sit back ‘in safety’ with a role, but constantly try to see it with fresh eyes.

I was surrounded by some of last century’s greatest dancers, all of whom I tried to learn from, and danced roles in ballets by Sir Frederick Ashton, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, John Cranko, Anthony Tudor, Ronald Hynd, Hans van Manen, Barry Moreland and Rudolf Nureyev to name but a few. All these great creative minds gave me invaluable information and inspiration, which I try to transmit to the dancers I work with today.

What was it like working with Nureyev?

Frederic
Rudolph was like another dancer, a chum to me, and that was the only way you could work with him. If you placed him on a pedestal he would treat you accordingly and wipe the floor with you. He was like a chameleon; grovel up to him and your life would not be worth a penny, act the snob and he soon put you in your place. He treated you as you treated him. He had his moods. His mind worked so quickly that he expected us to learn by osmosis. We could not guess what he wanted all the time, and this caused frustration. These moods passed quickly, however. We learned over time that we could always get him to laugh again with a few scatological jokes. There are so many anecdotes, but you’d need a book for those.

You also had the pleasure of working as étoile coach and ballet master with the Paris Opera under Nureyev. How does the experience of coaching at such an elite level compare to that of coaching students?

Frederic
Working as Maestro with illustrious companies has broadened the canvas in terms of application to the younger generation. Being a Maestro seldom has anything to do with how much you know, it’s more about how to handle an individual dancer. It’s a psychological challenge until the ‘trust factor’ kicks in, at which point you can release all the information the dancer requires with impunity.

Patricia, you have worked as ballet mistress for the Festival Ballet and the Paris Opera. What were your particular responsibilities and has that informed your teaching style?

Patricia
My initial responsibility in both cases was to coach young dancers in preparation for assuming principal roles. As I had already danced the full repertoire, it is helpful to a ‘debutante’ to know that you are aware of the difficulties and that you can help them to avoid the pitfalls through personal experience.

At the Paris Opera, as an English speaker, I was generally assigned to take care of all visiting choreographers coming from overseas, and thus became responsible for the works of Jerome Robbins, Twyla Tharp, Rudi van Dantzig, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, George Balanchine, Jiri

Kylian, and of course, the ballets of Rudolf Nureyev. Needless to say, working with such varied talents and requirements provides a wealth of information, not least the realisation that nothing is ever immovable. All these choreographers use the same base vocabulary of dance, but in totally different styles, and one can witness how they themselves are evolving over a period of years. This provides a constant reminder that without change, things become stagnant and we as teachers and coaches must always keep our minds open.

You were both involved behind the scenes of the current production of Nureyev’s Romeo and Juliet for the Paris Opera. What is involved in ‘teaching’ a ballet?

Frederic
Teaching a ballet involves everything; the steps, the dramatic intention, the working of the steps (in Romeo and Juliet, the fight scenes), the extras, the costumes, the tempi with the conductor, the sets, the lighting and lighting cues, the mechanical operations of the sets, the close relationship with stage manager, the control of over 75 dancers, and 65 extras, and the application of human resources to the limits. With all this in control, the transmission of the ballet as a theatrical experience, and how Nureyev would have wanted it, becomes feasible.

Patricia
I echo all that Frederic has said. I would also add that it is important to both of us to encourage the dancers to discover the roles within themselves. We had the good fortune to create this ballet with Nureyev, but although we must remain true to his intentions dramatically, it’s vital that today’s dancers are not mere clones of the original cast, but able to do their own research and offer something of their own personalities to the production. This is what keeps it fresh and alive to both dancers and the public.

Having worked overseas and locally, how do you feel Australasian dancers compare to those working abroad?

Frederic
There are a great many uncut diamonds in New Zealand, but maybe not enough diamond polishers. By that I mean that New Zealand students we have seen working for their professional vocation are of an excellent standard, but not brilliant. Brilliance and quality at the highest level can only be transmitted by people that have touched or worked on those levels themselves. It’s the experience that defines the quality. It can’t be read out of a book or taught from a film. What makes overseas dancers different is that they have a greater choice of teachers to learn from and absorb on a regular basis. Even Australia has a better advantage simply because of its larger population, and secondly because of its geographical situation. New Zealand dancers have got the icing on the cake – the only thing that is missing is the edible glitter and sparklers.

Patricia
One of their greatest strengths is their enthusiasm when young, but one of their weaknesses is that it becomes ‘un-cool’ to demonstrate this passion as they get older. There is no shame in wanting to be good at something.

What advice would you give to your sixteen year old self?

Frederic
Never type yourself as a dancer, listen and work to your limits. Never assume dance owes you anything, or that it’s fair. Respect others.

Patricia
Watch, listen, and never assume that someone else’s corrections don’t apply to you. Don’t confuse a correction with a criticism. Try everything and refuse to accept the things that you can’t do yet – it will happen one day if you don’t walk away from it. Never be afraid to ask for help from someone whose opinion you respect. Never forget how lucky you are to be doing something you love, and always remember that you cannot dance forever, so don’t waste time.

You are both coaching at the New Zealand Dance Masters International Winter Workshop at the end of July, held in the earthquake-devastated city of Christchurch. How has the quake affected plans for this year’s workshop?

Frederic and Patricia
We were in Christchurch during the earthquake and witnessed first-hand the tragedy and trauma created by this event. Naturally, we wish to contribute in any way we can to re-establishing some normality, and we feel that it could be helpful for young aspiring dancers and their parents to realise that despite the possible logistical difficulties, these workshops can continue to take place. It can only be a positive sign that this type of activity can provide stimulation and encouragement to young people. Christchurch is recovering from a terrible setback, but is rebuilding for the future and we would like to help young dancers do the same.

The 2011 Dance Masters International Winter Workshop (July 24th-30th) will be held at 35 Archeron Drive, off Blenhiem Rd, Christchurch

Enquiries can be directed to dancemasters.international@gmail.com or Call +64 (0)226702971.

Published in Dance Informa magazine

On Side with Craig Bary and Lisa Griffiths

2011-07-23T13:48:00.000+10:00

Adelaide-born contemporary dance artist Lisa Griffiths and New Zealand-born contemporary performing artist and guest teacher Craig Bary collaborate with multi-media designer Adam Synott in their long-awaited work, Side To One. This new work features as part of the Adelaide Festival Centre’s inSPACE program, to be held in late July. Dance Informa’s Grace Edwards discusses dance, friendship and the existence of soul mates with the choreographers.

Tell us about your work, Side To One

Lisa
The work is about two people destined to connect. Some people call this love or chemistry, and would call them soul mates. Side To One explores the vital human need for connection and is a true story inspired by our friendship and dancing together.

Do you believe in the concept of soul mates?

Craig
I do believe in connections that go deeper; I also believe you can have this connection with more than one person, but in different ways. With Lisa, I feel we have always been destined to come together in this creative way. We feel very much like family now too. We have an unspoken understanding of each other.

Lisa
I certainly believe in soul mates but they can come and go. In our case, Craig and I have had a long journey together.

How do you work together in the studio?

Lisa
We are peers who share a great deal of skill and experience, so when we choreograph, we sometimes create phrases separately in the studio before coming together to learn each other’s sections. Then together, we extend the material further. When making duet work we simply experiment and see where a movement idea may move us – sometimes into a dance lift, or one supporting the other suspended. We find these places by trusting and listening to each other, always keeping our connection and an awareness of each other’s bodies. If we fall, we fall together, again finding a new choreographic outcome.

Craig
We have also spent many a night with our heads near computer screens writing and rewriting concepts, ideas and grant applications, and refining what we discover in the studio. It has been a long and sporadic process of development spanning a few years. Each time we come back together we see what still inspires us and we develop those ideas, or throw them out and find new ones.

Many dance artists see choreography as a form of movement-based research. How do you view choreographic practice?

Lisa
Choreography has no rules in regards to process, but it is always about using movement as a medium. I have learnt that it is important to question why you use a movement. You need to question your motivation and be honest about what you want to say. Then let go and trust your instinct.

Craig
I think we take what we are and what we experience and put it into an art form that resonates with ourselves. For Lisa and me, that art form is dance, and also music and imagery.

How has the process of creating this work differed to that of other works?

Craig
I have made a few works now, but when we started this process this was my first work in development. As dancers both performing and creating our own work, the process is very exhausting but also extremely true and instinctive. It is not the same as looking into a work and seeing the whole picture and being able to manipulate it externally. You need to trust how it is feeling and how that will read to an audience.

Lisa
I have really been able to take risks in our partner work, as Craig and I have much experience and trust. Since the movements come from our own bodies, the process is not delayed by transferring the movement onto other dancers’ bodies.

How difficult has it been juggling your time between choreography and performance as independent artists?

Lisa
It has been tricky for both Craig and me to juggle work. As we are both still performers for other companies we have had to find time here and there to work. We have also had to keep in mind the availability of our collaborators and studio space. Side to One has only been made possible through our friendship, respect and patience for each other’s life and busy careers. I do, however, hope to create a new work next year with Craig dancing in it to experience the perspective of creating from outside the work.

Craig
It has been difficult to juggle our dance careers as well as make this work. I think that is why it has been a longer process than normal, but the experiences that we have outside of our work further serve to inform the work we make together. Side to One has gone through many transformations as we have grown as artists. It’s very rare to see a work take the time to develop like this and really grow alongside the artists. It will be interesting to see if an audience can feel this.

What inspires you to create and perform?

Craig
Both Lisa and I are inspired by artists and collaborators around us, and the simplicities and complexities of life. The ability to share with an audience that which I see and which affects me as a person and artist is what constantly drives me to dance and make work.

Lisa
I love the challenge of combining other mediums such as projection and set design to support the story and complement the dance. I think this comes from the fact that the people around me are gifted with particular skills and I feel compelled to utilise these.

Performing and creating is about sharing an experience. The older I become the more I want to understand people and why we behave the way we do. My art form keeps me physically active and hearing your heart beat whilst dancing makes you feel alive. My performances make me strive for perfection; it does not exist, of course, but in the process I feel I do become mentally stronger. Creating work keeps me questioning life; it keeps me switched on to what some people may find mundane but what I see as daily miracles and achievements.

Side to One will run from July 27th-30th at the Adelaide Festival Centre’s Space Theatre.

Photos: Chris Herzfield

Published in Dance Informa magazine

Telstra Dancer Award Nominee Karen Nanasca

2011-07-23T13:43:00.000+10:00

Many local ballet students dream of becoming a nominee for the Telstra Ballet Dancer Award. For 22-year-old New Zealand-born corps de ballet member Karen Nanasca the dream has come true. “The announcement was made after our daily class one morning back in February. I was sitting on the floor at the back of the studio amongst my fellow dancers wondering who the last nominee was going to be. I couldn’t believe it when my name was called!”

Karen, who joined the Australian Ballet in 2009 upon graduating from the Australian Ballet School, will compete alongside colleagues Rudy Hawkes, Robyn Hendricks, Luke Marchant, Brett Chynoweth and Chengwu Guo for a cash prize of $20,000. The winner is to be chosen by an industry judging panel, who will assess the dancers on the quality of their dancing, personal development and potential for the future. Australian Ballet fans will also get their say, deciding by popular vote the winner of the equally coveted $5,000 People’s Choice Award.

As part of her nominee duties, Karen has already appeared in a mini-documentary about the Award and can look forward to the usual variety of photo shoots and interviews. To equip her for the task she has received some publicity coaching, including training in some rather less traditional areas: “I’ve had “twitter training” to teach me how to tweet about my TBDA nominee experiences!” The Awards are also an opportunity to look inwards. “The past TBDA winners have always commented on how much they have discovered about themselves during their time as a nominee,” explains Karen. “I’m excited to find out what I learn about myself!”

TBDA nominees Luke Marchant, Robyn Hendricks, Rudy Hawkes, Brett Chynoweth, Karen Nanasca & Chengwu Guo. Photo: C. L'Estrange

In addition, Karen and the other contestants will also have to submit a written piece to convince the judges why they should win. The process culminates in September when she and the other contestants will be interviewed by the judging panel. The winner will be announced in December. Last year the contest ended in an unprecedented tie, with winners Ty King-Wall and Dana Stephensen receiving $20,000 each.

Having made the transition to company life quite recently compared to the other nominees, Karen is more than ready for the journey. “There were only seven girls in my final year at The Australian Ballet School, and there are 35 girls in The Australian Ballet,” she recalls. “It was quite a change to work with a much larger group of dancers and subsequently receive less individual attention from ballet staff than I was used to at the school. But I’ve learnt now to work more independently and how to navigate my way around in such a big ballet class.”

Already she has had to cope with one of the art form’s biggest downsides. “I had a stress fracture in my second metatarsal going into my first year at The Australian Ballet School, and I re-fractured the bone after my initial recovery a few months later into that year,” says Karen. “Any dancer who has had an injury knows how frustrating it can be when you can’t dance. It was tough for me for all the months I was off. But I came out of it a stronger and smarter dancer. I think it’s important to stay positive, have family and friends around to support you, and always have a goal to work towards. The injury really put into perspective how important our bodies are for dance, and how important it is to look after them properly!”

We here at Dance Informa wish Karen the best of luck for her TBDA campaign and look forward to following her promising career. Her secret for success is simple:“’Ballet is hard, so always remember why you do it.’ My ballet teacher in New Zealand wrote this in a card she gave me before I left for The Australian Ballet School.”

Karen Nanasca. Photo: James Braund

Whilst it might be easy to focus on such potential pitfalls, Karen insists that the joy of dancing is worth the pain. She is quite clear about her favourite aspect of dancing with the Australian Ballet: “getting to do what I love everyday – and getting paid for it! I love the feeling of being on stage, the adrenaline rush and the emotion of it all. It’s also rewarding to hear the positive response from the audience.” This is fortunate, as the company’s hectic schedule doesn’t leave much time or energy for other interests. “After a performance and once I’m home, I usually have something to eat and watch TV or read until I start to get sleepy. This doesn’t normally take very long…”

A few fun facts about Karen

When I am not dancing I am…sleeping!
I have a personal weakness for…Chanel nail polish.
One day I’d like to…win the Telstra Ballet Dancer Award!
My idol is..Tamara Rojo, principal, the Royal Ballet.
A memorable stage moment…Last year I danced in Principal Artist Daniel Gaudiello’s South of Eden, as part of the Bodytorque.a.la.mode season. In the piece there was one lift where John-Paul Idaszak, the tallest male dancer in the company, lifted and tossed me over his head, and I was caught on the other side by dancer Matthew Donnelly. It felt like I was flying!

Vote for Karen or any of the other talented dancers in the TBDA People’s Choice Award by visiting
www.beinvolved.com.au
Top photo: Karen Nanasca and Jacob Sofer by Jeff Busby

Published in Dance Informa

Keeping Kids in Ballet

2011-05-15T19:17:00.000+10:00

How can teachers keep kids interested in ballet? Aware of the benefits of a strong classical foundation, many teachers are dismayed to watch their young jazz/commercial dance students avoid ballet at all costs. So what works? What doesn’t? And does skipping ballet really matter in the long run? Dance Informa goes in search for answers from renowned dance teachers working in Australia and the United States.

Growing up, did you ever relate to the kids who hated ballet classes and gave up?

Julie Brown, Director, Urban Dance Centre, Sydney: I think you are very influenced by the people who teach you and how you are taught. I was very fortunate to have John Field as a teacher — a truly inspirational person who taught with so much love, it was easy to be inspired.

Rebecca Brown, Co-Director, Perimeter Academy of the Arts Ballet, Atlanta: I had one year as a young child when I begged my mother to let me quit. She made me stick with it until the recital, and after being on stage and wearing lipstick, I was hooked! Kids today often want to quit because of the discipline, structure, and hard work required. They often find activities more fun that are fast-paced with quick results and that involve social time, when they are allowed to talk in class.

Barbara Everson, Director, Australian Dance Performance Institute, Brisbane: Because I started late (ten yrs old), I really don’t remember people dropping out of class. We were very committed to achieving. I know that in my first year I sat Grade Two, then in the second, Grade Five, and the third, Elementary. This was expected of us and we certainly didn’t question the decision or the number of classes that we did. I personally could not wait to get to dance classes.

In your own experience, have you found it difficult to get kids to sign up for ballet classes?

Julie: At Urban Dance Centre we don’t insist that the children do ballet (unless they are in the performances groups) and we have noticed that because of this a lot of children choose to do ballet. Also, our faculty cross-references their work to other styles of dance, thus providing continuity in teaching. For example, the jazz faculty will discuss posture, placement, alignment and how classical training helps to achieve these things. Similarly, the classical faculty will talk about pirouettes and adage, and how they relate to jazz and musical theatre.

Nicole Bunnell, Director, The Edge Performers School, Melbourne: Often it is difficult to fill positions in ballet classes and the reasons for this are — children find it boring; the music is not of a high and exciting tempo, and children prefer bright and stimulating expression. The exercises are repetitive and slow to develop correct placement and control, and it can be hard for children to maintain focus and appreciate the benefits of the techniques being taught.

Liza Pollok, Co-Director, Excelsior School of Dance, Houston: We have a very strong classical school and we use a syllabus. The kids that sign up for ballet with us have a goal to work towards and exams to do each year, so they are challenged and they love it. Most of the students we get are very serious little dancers right from the beginning.

Many teachers and dancers believe that it is nearly impossible to attain a professional standard of technique without a classical background. Do you believe this is true?

Rebecca: Definitely! Classical ballet is the foundation and basic building-block for all popular dance styles. A well-trained classical ballet dancer can typically transition to jazz or hip hop relatively easily given a little time, but this process does not seem to work in reverse.

Julie: I think it is extremely difficult to achieve a professional level as a dancer without classical training, although obviously not impossible. It really depends on the individual dancer, his or her focus and the quality of the teaching. I do think it’s wonderful to see hip hop dancers performing perfect pirouettes in the middle of a routine.

Nicole: Many teachers believe this, but I agree in part only. Strong technical training in jazz is often based on ballet exercises, so students with strong technical training in jazz are indeed capable of achieving employment in the professional dance industry. However, my own students are encouraged to attend ballet classes as a foundation and also as an extension of technical training when pursuing jazz classes. I do find that ballet assists greatly in technical development.

Barbara: We do have students who audition for our full time courses in musical theatre and commercial dance without having done classical ballet. On discussing this with them, they have said that their teachers told them that classical ballet was not necessary. They do not realise how wrong they are. For students who wish to go into commercial dance, it is totally essential. All Disney auditions commence with a ballet class; if they get cut at this stage, then it really doesn’t matter how good they are at the other genre. It is interesting to listen to the adjudicators at the City of Sydney Jazz Finals at the Opera House who nearly always comment on the importance of classical training to a dancer. They believe that it is imperative for any student who wishes to gain employment.

What, in your opinion, is the ideal ratio of ballet classes to popular dance classes for career-track kids more inclined towards popular dance styles?

Ashley Killar, Director, Ecole Ballet and Dance Theatre, Sydney: 50/50.

Julie: At Urban Dance Centre our full-time students do three hours of ballet per week, but they also have a technique class every day, i.e. jazz, kicks/turns/jumps, contemporary etc.

Nicole: For students under ten years of age we recommend 1½ hours per week of ballet. After ten years of age, the minimum is set at 2½ hrs per week and the recommendation is three hours per week, but we do not have a set ratio that we expect students to adhere to when selecting classes.

Barbara: They should have at least two ballet classes per week, because without it their career-track will be very limited.

Of course, technique is not only the domain of ballet. Do you think that there is enough of a focus on technique in popular dance classes?

Nicole: Our jazz classes have a very strong technical base. As most ballet is set to a syllabus, there are minimum expectations for each class. Unfortunately, not all schools uphold the same level of training or are monitored for teacher development and training in styles other than the ballet syllabus they are implementing.

Rebecca: My observation is that it all depends on the teacher. A teacher who has a strong background in ballet technique is much more likely to focus on and understand the importance of technique in popular dance classes.

Keeping kids in ballet class is only one part of the equation. How do you keep your students motivated to do their very best in ballet class? What works for you?

Ashley: We use different methods for different character types. One has to treat each student as an individual, not expect them to conform like peas in a pod.

Julie: I teach ballet to our full time students and find that constantly cross-referencing the work keeps the students engaged, as this allows them to fully understand and appreciate WHY they are doing the work they do. The speed of a frappé, for instance, can be related to isolations, dynamic quality, and core strength, whilst the correct placement in an arabesque is extremely important when we are working on a variety of lifts, as the boys need to know that the girl can hold her alignment herself.

We can work through the whole class in this manner and if the students are focused on a career in commercial dance it is easy for them to understand the WHY. I recently overheard one of our new Certificate IV in Performing Arts students say, “I never thought I’d actually enjoy ballet, but it’s really good”!

Nicole: To keep our children motivated in ballet, we encourage students to take ballet exams so that they may see a reward for their hard work in the classes. We also make sure that at least one class per week involves learning a concert routine for our end-of-year performance. Children are further motivated to take the ballet classes as a way of being able to take the troupe performance class, as this is a set pre-requisite.

Barbara: All students have to have goals, and we encourage them to achieve these. With continual positive reinforcement and nurturing we find that our students respond well. I use a lot of imagery in my teaching that stimulates them. I encourage them to research solos on YouTube and discuss what they find with them. I always include an anatomical approach explaining the use of the body during exercises in every class no matter how young the students are.

I work to weave dance history in as well so that they understand where dance comes from. It is heart-breaking when teenage students have no idea who Nureyev, Fonteyn and Baryshnikov are. This is when the old VCR comes out and movies such as “Turning Point” and “I am A Dancer” are shown.

Rebecca: This is definitely an ongoing challenge! I believe that personal encouragement and one-on-one contact with each student is critical to make them feel valued and good about themselves. Careful class planning is also very valuable for the teacher. Students seem to be most motivated when the teacher is confident and energetic, moves at a consistent pace, has a structured format, and requires students to discover the joy and rewards of hard work and self-discipline. Always with passion, love, and a smile!

First published in Dance Informa

Dance Massive (March 15-27th, 2011)

2011-03-22T15:08:00.000+11:00

One of the sad aspects of having just begun my PhD is I don’t always get to update this website with everything that deserves to be here, but there are no excuses for not having mentioned Dance Massive!

A quote from the official website, which pretty much sums up Dance Massive:

“This March, Melbourne will be electrified by over 200 artists in 22 performances and events over 14 days across our 3 host venues. Many of these artists are pushing the aesthetic envelope and blurring the boundaries between forms. From world premieres to a re-vamped cult classic, intimate solo works, dance on film, participatory events and ensemble productions, Dance Massive will take you places you hadn’t even imagined.

Alongside our performance program we are proud to be associated with the inaugural National Dance Forum – a lively gathering of Australian and international presenters and practitioners over two days and nights – as well as the Ausdance Victoria Dance Your Heart Out class and workshop series and the Tanja Liedtke Fellow in residence.”

Want to check it out? You should (!) – to head on over to the Dance Massive website, click here

To check out my review of In Glass, click here

Go on, do it!

Suite Synergy - opening night, Wednesday 23rd March

2011-03-22T15:01:00.001+11:00

This week, the brand-new Mod Dance Company opens its debut tour in Melbourne:

23-26th March
State Theatre, the Arts Centre.
To buy tickets, click here

You can read my interview with Associate Artistic Director, Teagan Lowe, on Trespass Magazine here.

Also, my interview with Mod Dance Company's Managing Directors, Michelle Grace Hunder, Linda Alescio and Nadasha Zhang on Trespass can be found here.

And finally, here's my interview with company dancer, Jessica Franke, exclusively for Graceegirl.

Check them out and see that you think...

Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing what this company has to offer. Offering works by Graeme Murphy is a safe bet and always sure to draw in the crowds, so there's nothing to stop this tour being a huge success!

Review: Narelle Benjamin's In Glass - Dance Massive 2011

2011-03-21T19:05:00.001+11:00

Narelle Benjamin’s In Glass is a study of the mystery of reflection, a consideration of our relationship with that thin barrier keeping us and the rest of the world separate from the reflective world beyond. At times beautiful, at times confronting, this is a work that deserves a serious viewing and in turn, offers genuine intellectual reward for the viewer.

The dance partnership of performers Paul White and Kristina Chan and the concept of the mirror comprise the central elements of this work. Mirrors, after all, come in many forms; they may be fashioned from glass or water, or discovered in the eyes of a soul mate. Whilst states of liminality or ‘in-between’ often elude apt description in the form of words, the abstracted and more subjective world of dance provides the perfect medium for this kind of exploration.

On a stark and sparsely-lit stage, with only a few carefully-arranged mirrors as backdrop, the agile bodies of Chan and White move through an exceptional range of spatial planes; twisting, lifting, twirling, rolling and writhing, the duo frequently cast diagonal lines and curves with their movements, literally embodying states of transition and transformation. References to myth and fantasy are alluded to through the developed use of intricate hand and finger movements, as well as through surreal images projected on to the mirrors in the background.

The soundtrack to In Glass is reminiscent of reverb. The concept of delay and echo as a type of distorted mirror appear to be reinforced by the slow, smooth canonical movement sequences between Chan and White. These sequences also serve to draw attention to the striking dance chemistry between the pair, the original inspiration for this work. The boundary between Chan and White is blurred, metaphorically through dance, and literally in a memorable image imprinted on the back mirrors.

The role of light in shaping our reflected images and in turn, our sense of self is not overlooked; it is carefully handled through the artful play of light on water through images projected on to the backdrop, and taken further through both the choreographed reflection of studio lights by the performers and Chan’s costume transformation from a black to a semi-transparent, shimmering silver dress.

The studied and intellectual nature of this piece will suit veterans of contemporary dance viewing; the sheer variety of perspectives from which the concept of reflection is observed by Benjamin is dizzying. Newer initiates to the world of dance, however, may find themselves out of their depth, due to the abstracted nature of both the subject matter and its study in this work. Though certainly not offensive or aggressive, In Glass does contain images of partial nudity which may ward off more conservative viewers. But for those with the desire and maturity to engage with and be engaged by the puzzlements of human psychology through movement, this will prove to be a performance work of the highest calibre.

The Malthouse Theatre presents In Glass, March 15-20 (Beckett Theatre), dates, times and tickets available from www.malthousetheatre.com.au. For times, dates, programmes, and bookings for In Glass and other Dance Massive events, please also see www.dancemassive.com.au

Originally published in Dance Informa Magazine

Trespassing with...Mod Dance Company

2011-03-02T18:16:00.000+11:00

Following on the heels of my recent Trespassing with….Teagan Lowe (Associate Artistic Director of Mod Dance Company), I finally caught up with the three glamorous young women behind-the-scenes of Mod — Nadasha Zhang, Linda Alescio and Michelle Grace Hunder. Together, in what makes for a rather unique job brief, the trio manage the three faces of Mod: Mod, the dance company; Mod, the talent casting agency and Mod, the marketing and events firm. The partners are currently in the midst of preparations for Suite Synergy, the debut tour of Mod Dance Company, which comprises a fusion of works by Australian choreographer, Graeme Murphy. And you thought you were busy…

Names: Nadasha Zhang, Linda Alescio, Michelle Grace Hunder
Occupation: Managing Directors, Mod Dance Company and Management Agency

What are your respective personal and professional backgrounds?

Nadasha: I’m a lawyer by profession and classically-trained musician in piano and cello. I’ve always been creative and pursued a life in the arts, which lead me to extensive work in the fashion and entertainment industries.

Linda: My background…professionally, I’m an accountant by trade. On a personal level, I use to dance. I actually danced with Teagan Lowe back at Classics School of Dance.

Michelle: My background is…well, where do I start! I have a background in event management, film and television logistics, which has come in quite handy.

How did you three meet each other?

Nadasha: The common denominator with us all meeting is probably me. I met Linda about five years ago on the Melbourne media and social scene through a mutual friend and we clicked right away.

I met Michelle back in the days when we were both modelling. We worked with a few of the same photographers and struck up a casual friendship through industry networking events. The friendship grew when Michelle came to me about 18 months ago to hire some models through our casting agency, Mod Management, for an event she was managing. She became really interested in what Linda and I were doing, so in a strategic move on our behalf, knowing how brilliant Michelle is at what she does, we invited her to join the team….and we’ve never looked back, have we girls?!

Michelle: Nope, never looked back!

Linda: Agreed! These girls are like my sisters from other mothers.

How did the idea for a dance company come about?

Linda: We set up Mod Management first, which is a casting agency/marketing and events company. The agency has a very strong dance division, which caught the eye of Brett Morgan, now the Artistic Director of Mod Dance Company. Brett wanted to put on productions through Mod Management, but we soon realised that the productions were beasts of their own and needed their own entity.

Then last year, my close personal friend Teagan Lowe lost her contract with Sydney Dance Company under the incoming artistic director Rafael Bonachela and was wondering what to do next with her career. It appeared only natural with the impending productions and Teagan’s fresh situation that forming a new dance company was the way to go.

Few others have attempted the task of running a dance company and an agency/marketing and events company. What made you believe the idea was viable?

Linda: With Mod Dance Company, admittedly we have luxuries to which most start-up dance companies don’t have immediate access. We have a very strong production with the best in the industry mentoring us on how to execute both the creative and production management aspects of the tour.

Michelle: The other thing is that the two productions upon which Suite Synergy is based, Synergy with Synergy and Free Radicals, are very successful previous productions, which as Graeme Murphy always says, never realised their full commercial potential. I mean, on its previous tours, the show has boasted reviews that it should have been on Broadway!

Nadasha: In regards to Mod Management, we started the agency with a unique point of difference which received a really positive market response. We offered clients a turn key solution to their marketing, events and productions through integrating the creative, talent sourcing, management and execution processes all under one roof, which inevitably saves clients costs and time.

How do you divide your time between Mod Dance Company and Mod Management?

Nadasha: We all have very, very long days! Having staff working for us definitely helps with time management and we have different top level responsibilities allocated to each of us on a weekly basis to make sure time and attention is divided in accordance to need. At the moment, the majority of the time is devoted to Mod Dance Company, given that we are getting ready for the 2011 tour.

Have you found your age and gender an advantage or disadvantage in securing sponsorship, connections and respect. Why?

Linda: We are three women who are breaking new ground so yes, there are challenges. In securing sponsorship, we’re fortunate to have engaged sponsorship management company Coruscade, and they have been very helpful in their area of expertise. We find that the respect we may have lacked due to our age is made up for by the respect the comes from the association we have with the industry veterans we’re working with who are backing this production and us.

Michelle: There are boundaries in regards to our age and gender and we’ll always be against it a little bit, but we are into pushing boundaries in the industry. Hopefully, this will pave the way for other young people to do something similar.

Nadasha: If anything, being young, we have a fresh eye and approach to things, and we want to inspire other women and young people to rise up and achieve what they set their mind to regardless of age and industry stereotyping.

What are the particular challenges you have come across so far?

Michelle: Where do we start! Everything is a learning curve and everyday is a challenge, but in turn that has made us stronger. It’s a rollercoaster because we’re treading our own path, but we don’t see the challenges as anything negative because we’ve grown from them.

How do your personalities and backgrounds compliment each other in your work?

Michelle: We are a good mix! Our three professional backgrounds compliment each other well. We bring different skill sets and therefore different points of view, which are all relevant to what we are doing.

Linda: Yeah, we understand each other, we are friends, we bring out the best in each other, have the same work ethic, and we respect each other.

Nadasha: …brought together by the same passion!

How do you relax?

Michelle: I like to exercise. I think it’s really important to keep up an exercise and fitness regime. It has always been an important part of my life. I do personal training couple of times a week and it’s extremely good for releasing stress. It also makes sure I get a little bit of down time.

Nadasha: I spend time with my 5 month old daughter. Time stops when I’m with her.

Linda: I try and take a few days break here and there. Although it can still get hard to relax completely.

What sort of training do you feel is useful in the kinds of projects you are undertaking?

Michelle: I think it’s almost impossible to do any one course that will train you to do what we are doing. Perhaps a course in production would have been helpful but a large part would definitely need to come from life and work experience and intuition. However, you definitely need good project management and time management skills.

What advice or philosophy sustains you?

Linda: It’s cliché, but never give up! Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do anything.

Michelle: Another important thing is to take advice from others that are more experienced, but also don’t be afraid to push boundaries when you believe in them, you need to be able to back yourself. Also, stay positive and don’t let the challenges phase you. Having a great support network like great friends to work with also does wonders.

Nadasha: Very true… and also don’t be afraid to believe in yourself and that you can achieve that to which you set your mind. Most importantly, pursue something you are passionate about!

Tickets to Mod Dance Company’s Suite Synergy (Graeme Murphy) are on sale now.

Melbourne: 23-26 March 2011, the Arts Centre, State Theatre, Wed – Saturday 8pm, Thursday & Saturday 2pm, show duration: 1 hour 40 minutes including 20 minute interval (Act 1 45 mins, Act 2 35 mins). To book, go to theartscentre.com.au (transaction fee applies), 1300 182 183 (transaction fee applies) or the Arts Centre Box Office.

Following Melbourne, SUITE SYNERGY will be performed in Sydney, Perth, Darwin, Gold Coast and Adelaide.

Visit www.suitesynergy.com.au for full tour information

Trespassing with...Mod Dance Company's Teagan Lowe

2011-02-19T15:50:00.002+11:00

Best-known for her performances with Graeme Murphy’s Sydney Dance Company (2005-2009) and as one of the stunning faces of Energetiks Dancewear, Melbourne-born dancer Teagan Lowe is about to add another string to her bow. As Associate Artistic Director of the brand new Mod Dance Company alongside Acting Artistic Director Brett Morgan, Teagan and the company’s dedicated personnel are getting ready to present their first production, Suite Synergy, in March 2011 — a fusion of two existing works by Murphy.

Name: Teagan Lowe
Occupation: Dancer and Associate Artistic Director, Mod Dance Company

Mod Dance Company has described itself as a “contemporary dance and entertainment company.” What does that mean in terms of your vision for the company?

We always wanted to be visionary as a brand new company and have thought outside the realm of “Arts” and “Commercial” as two separate entities. We have fused them together instead to form Australia’s first “Entertainment” company.
MDC wants to provide our audiences with the best from all aspects of “Entertainment”. For example, with our premiere show, Suite Synergy [featuring a synthesis of Graeme Murphy’s works Free Radicals and Synergy with Synergy], we are uniting contemporary dance with live percussion. This is a trend we would like to continue to use for all future productions to always keep our audiences excited and stimulated.

Tell us about the inspiration for Mod Dance Company?

As a dancer I have always felt that Australia has been so isolated from the rest of the world and very limited with its contracts in dance. We have an endless amount of rich, unexplored talent right here in our own backyard and it upsets me to see our extraordinary talent flee overseas simply because that’s where the contracts are.

When I was approached by Linda Alescio (Director of MDC) and presented with this once-in-a-lifetime prospect to enrich Australian dance, I jumped at the opportunity and haven’t looked back since.

Blending different dance styles can be exciting, but it can also be risky. What would you say to those who would consider ballet, contemporary and commercial dance as incompatible?

I appreciate that there will be always lines that need to be distinct when it comes to certain forms of art and performance. However, in these changing times and with so much now at our finger tips, we would be crazy not to take some risks.
There will always be beautiful ballets, exciting contemporary dance pieces and high-energy commercial productions, so we needed to find the niche that was void, and have done so by crossing the “arts” with the “commercial”. To some people this will seem a very bold move, others may see it as a smart progression. I guess everyone will have to come along and judge for him or herself!

Mod Dance Company is up against some stiff competition. How do you envision MDC will fit into this picture?

Mod Dance Company management is based in Melbourne, but our rehearsal space is in Sydney (Alexandria). Wherever we are, I don’t see the other companies in competition with us. We are all here to support and nurture Australian dance and Australian dancers. MDC would be honoured to hold ourselves up against established companies that have done wonders for our dancers and artists.

It makes me immeasurably proud to be part of the Australian dance and live performance scene as I know how supportive the companies are of one another. It is truly something that Australia should be very, very proud of.

It is mentioned on the company’s website that MDC has attracted considerable attention from sponsors. Could you tell us a little about more about your partnerships?

Being a fresh, new, young, exciting company, we have got people, especially sponsors, buzzing. We have a wonderful sponsorship team, Coruscade, whose constant dedication and drive has been vital to securing such amazing sponsorships.

We want to make our sponsors immensely proud that they are part of our Mod Dance Company family and we are always making sure that their needs are being met and exciting things are happening.

We have been very fortunate to associate with companies for sponsorship that are in direct alignment with our goals, visions and aspirations; so together we possess a flawless “Synergy”.

Suite Synergy

How are preparations going for Suite Synergy?

Excellent! From all the management, sponsorship and production teams, it is all guns blazing. As the artistic team, we’ve enjoyed getting into the studio with our wonderful dancers and Graeme to start creating the colossal beast that is Suite Synergy and we cannot wait to share it with everyone!

Suite Synergy is to be musically directed by percussionist and composer Michael Askill. Tell us more about Suite Synergy’s unusually strong foregrounding of the relationship between music and dance.

Brett Morgan felt that these two amazing works by Graeme still had so much life. We sat down with the footage and selected the pre-eminent pieces from each work and melded them together to form the commercial contemporary piece, Suite Synergy.

From early discussions on the topic of MDC being an “Entertainment” company, we knew we would always want to push boundaries and wanted more facets to the show, which is when we decided to draw on the extraordinary musical talent of Michael Askill to add an element of live percussion.

Having this relationship between the two forms of live performance will engage our audiences at a deeper level and will hopefully leave them wanting more of what we have to offer as a company in future productions.

Where do you see Mod Dance Company five years from now?

Still exciting our audiences by pushing all the boundaries, be they physical, staging, or otherwise. Also, maintaining our exciting and impressive ground-breaking status and combining new visions to produce imaginative works for not only Australia but for the world to see.

I see our repertoire growing and flourishing as the years continue, and our collaborations with new exciting and legendary choreographers expand. Our determination to work with our country’s greatest musicians, performers and dancers will ensure our engaging theatrical expression.

Mod Dance Company presents Graeme Murphy’s Suite Synergy 23-26 March 2011 at the Arts Centre, State Theatre; Wed – Saturday 8pm, Thursday & Saturday 2pm.
For tickets, visit theartscentre.com.au, 1300 182 183 or the Arts Centre Box Office. Following Melbourne, SUITE SYNERGY will be performed in Sydney, Perth, Darwin, Gold Coast and Adelaide.
Visit www.suitesynergy.com.au for full tour information

This interview was first published at Trespass Magazine

Mod Dance Company's Jessica Franke

2011-02-10T20:50:00.002+11:00

Today, as part of the Mod Dance Company series of Q&As featured here this week, let me introduce you to dancer Jessica Franke.

In 2007, aged just 16, Jess began her full-time studies at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), working alongside such choreographers as Nanette Hassall, Alice Lee Holland, and Vicki Van Hout. Since completing her Bachelor of Arts in Dance, Jess has performed in Sue Peacock’s The Tipping Point and Lucy Guerin’s remount of Zero, and has also previously taken on secondments at Sydney Dance Company and Carte Blanche in Bergen, Norway.

Following a short-term contract with Sydney Dance Company in March 2010 for the company’s 'New Creations' season, her first venture into the world of professional dance, Jess is delighted to hold a contract with Mod Dance Company for the 2011 'Suite Synergy' tour.

Dance styles: Classical, Contemporary, Jazz, Tap, Hip hop (have tried just about everything).

How were you inspired into the world of dance?
Mother's intuition, she saw me bopping to music as a baby and felt she had no choice!

How would you describe daily working routine?
I could write a list with times and events but I thought I would answer this in a more rounded way. The day varies depending on what's required, how tired or energised I am, how my body is feeling, or how close a performance is. Though I begin every day with a massive breakfast, a much needed cup of tea, and then take things from there...

How do you enjoy your time away from dancing?
I love to relax and spend time with those I care about. I love having dinners and a sneaky wine with my boyfriend Daniel, or having a girls' night watching movies and indulging on a tad too much chocolate with my mum. I'm a big food buff, and love to cook new things as much as I can.

Favourite dance work:
Coincidentally, it's actually Director's Cut by Graeme Murphy. I saw it live when I had just decided that dance was something I wanted to do as a career, and the work really got my imagination flying. I'm so excited to be working with the man himself.

Favourite dancers/choreographers:
Sue Peacock, Lucy Guerin, Rafael Bonachela, Akram Khan, Jiri Kylian, Graeme Murphy, Bruno Heynderickx, the list goes on...

What do you love most about dance?
The precision, the never ending work and drive for perfection, and the odd way that when you do perform something the way you envisioned it should be in a perfect world, its like you're flying...

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
Work with what God gave you, you are the way you are for a reason. Don't waste your gifts wishing for someone else's.

My dream dancer would be... a dancer who draws the audience's attention even if they are behind the curtain...

Most challenging dance experience? Six Breaths, by Rafael Bonachela.

Happiest moment? When my Dad got to see me perform professionally for the first time:)

If I wasn’t a dancer, I’d be a..... Still figuring that one out!

Something people might not know about me is that.... I can't put a kettle down after using it without refilling it.

Mod Dance Company presents Graeme Murphy’s Suite Synergy 23-26 March 2011 at the Arts Centre, State Theatre; Wed – Saturday 8pm, Thursday & Saturday 2pm.

For tickets, visit theartscentre.com.au, 1300 182 183 or the Arts Centre Box Office. Following Melbourne, SUITE SYNERGY will be performed in Sydney, Perth, Darwin, Gold Coast and Adelaide.
Visit www.suitesynergy.com.au for full tour information

Mod Dance Company

2011-02-07T18:35:00.003+11:00

Over the next week, I'll be featuring Q&As with dancers from the newly-established Mod Dance Company in Sydney, who are gearing up for their world debut, Suite Synergy, in March 2011 at Melbourne's Arts Centre. Today, I introduce to you company member Laura Trevors.

Born in Cairns, Laura was invited to study on a scholarship at the Sheila Laing Dance Centre in Adelaide before graduating from the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts with an Advanced Diploma in Dance in 2004. Her first professional engagement was as a principal dancer with the Tasmanian Classical Ballet Company, with whom she toured as part of the company's productions of Swan Lake and The Nutcracker.

Laura has worked extensively with Event Theatre Australia, performing in Australia, India and Hong Kong and has held contracts with Leigh Warren & Dancers, the West Australian Ballet Company, and Opera Australia. The talented dancer has also featured in the Australian film Beautiful, released by Kojo Pictures and the South Australian Film corporation.

How were you enter the world of dance?

My first dancing teacher Kathy Harris was super inspiring and made learning to dance such a fabulous experience. I made a decision in my early teens that it was what I wanted to do and Kathy put everything into making my dream happen. I’ve been lucky enough to have been encouraged and to have been given plenty of opportunities from everyone I’ve worked with throughout my training and career. The list of people who have inspired me is endless.

How would you describe your daily working routine?

It’s an enjoyable one! I guess I thrive a little off having a routine, so I start each day with my own personal warm up of a ‘floor barre’ prior to a company class and day in and out of rehearsals.

How do you enjoy your time away from dancing?
Everyone enjoys their time away from ‘work’, so to speak. I’m lucky enough to have a job doing what I love, but it’s healthy to have some down time. I like to spend it with friends – not talking about dancing! I actually love entertaining, so any chance to put up a cheese platter, drink wine and play Jenga (I have a secret love of board games) with friends is ideal. That or any time spent in the SUNSHINE!

Favourite dance work:
I’m going to say Swan Lake. The music, the dancing and the story. It’s a true classic, I love the original and have loved the many adaptations and modern choreographic interpretations of it. Love Matthew Bourne’s version.

Favourite dancers/choreographers:

I’m a fan of Natalie Weir’s work. I was lucky enough to work with her during the Genee Awards that were held in Sydney and then perform a few roles in one of her works Proof Sheets 1-8 that she had choreographed on Expressions Dance Company but that was remounted by Justin Rutzou in my graduating year at WAAPA.

I also love Graeme Murphy’s work – I have been privileged to have performed his choreography in two opera works he created for Opera Australia, Turnadot and Aida. I’m very much looking forward to learning and performing Suite Synergy with Mod, I do believe it’s going to be my most challenging yet rewarding dance experience!

What do you love most about dance?

The way I can be completely absorbed in it.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

To not ‘think’ so much!

What has been the happiest moment in your dance career so far?

Having my family surprise me by turning up in Tasmania in my second year dancing with the Tasmanian Classical Ballet. I was performing as Clara/Sugar Plum in The Nutcracker and they hadn’t seen me dance in years, it was so excited to have them there.

My other happiest moment – being offered a contract with Mod!! I’ve spent a long time chasing dance jobs here, there and everywhere, and to finally have someone come to me with an offer was a very proud moment indeed.

If I wasn’t a dancer, I’d be a....

Florist – I love giving flowers and having fresh flowers in my home. I guess flowers are similar to dancing. They’re living art!

Mod Dance Company presents Graeme Murphy’s Suite Synergy 23-26 March 2011 at the Arts Centre, State Theatre; Wed – Saturday 8pm, Thursday & Saturday 2pm.

For tickets, visit theartscentre.com.au, 1300 182 183 or the Arts Centre Box Office. Following Melbourne, SUITE SYNERGY will be performed in Sydney, Perth, Darwin, Gold Coast and Adelaide.
Visit www.suitesynergy.com.au for full tour information

Review: Sydney Dance Company's We Unfold

2010-11-15T15:21:00.000+11:00

Sydney Dance Company’s We Unfold references many different themes: the ebb and flow of life, the nostalgia of leaving one’s home for a new land and the waves of the ocean. In reality, however, this work is about whatever you want it to be; imaginative and expansive, We Unfold defies description in the best sense.

Set to composer Ezio Bosso’s lyrically expressive Symphony No.1, Oceans, We Unfold possesses a point of difference in a field in which sound engineering and experimentation are the norm. Rafael Bonachela’s choreography also draws far more explicitly on classical dance vocabulary than that of his peers. Nonetheless, the spirit with which Bonachela infuses the work and his attention to detail make We Unfold recognisably contemporary.

Bonachela’s engagement with the music is masterful; the solo strains of a cello are reflected in the smooth, undulating motions of a single dancer. As the musical texture is fleshed out, so is the dancing onstage. Mirroring the melodic lines of a symphony, the dancers perform in arrangements in the foreground, background and centre of the stage whilst remaining part of a larger choreographic picture. If somewhere there are dancers being lifted towards the sky, others are motioning and bending towards the floor. If a dancer is reaching for the theatre wings, another is pulling back towards the centre of the stage. The timing is not enslaved by the music but often naturalistic, transforming the audience’s sense of time. A single sustained note in Bosso’s score is often matched by a tapestry of beautiful movements.

The dancers command the audience’s attention by channeling different levels of intensity into the rippling wave-like gestures and lifts that infuse the five dance sections (corresponding to the five movements of Bosso’s symphony). Daniel Askill’s simple-but-striking video art illuminates the different moods of these scenes whilst Jordan Askill’s minimalist, flesh-coloured costume designs show off the dancer’s bodies magnificently and allow the dancers maximum freedom of movement. Bonachela’s use of different partnering combinations is commendable; male dancers lift and manipulate the bodies of their female partners, but female dancers also lift and guide their male partners; male dancers also dance together at times, as do the female dancers.

The most heart-breaking moment of the opening night performance occurred near the beginning of the work. After a brilliant opening section, the music and video art suddenly froze, resulting in an apology and a curtain close. Ten minutes later, the dancing recommenced from the point at which it had stopped. Needless to say, some of the magic was lost. Indeed this had happened at least once before at last year’s Australian Dance Awards, also held at the Arts Centre. This is a serious problem that the Sydney Dance Company needs to resolve if they want to safely restage this work for Melbourne audiences in the future. Ultimately, it was the sheer brilliance of the work that saved the evening.

Technical difficulties notwithstanding, this work is an outstanding contribution to dance. Achingly beautiful and memorable, We Unfold is as close as one gets to poetry in motion.

We Unfold is showing at Melbourne’s Arts Centre November 9th – 13th

We Unfold is showing at Brisbane’s QPAC November 18th – 27th

For more information on We Unfold, visit: http://www.sydneydancecompany.com/

Related article: Read Grace Edwards’ interview with Rafael Bonachela here.

First published in Trespass Magazine

Rafael Bonachela's WE UNFOLD (music Ezio Bosso)

2010-10-23T20:44:00.002+11:00

I can't wait until I get the chance to review this for Melbourne audiences!

The season runs from November 9th to November 13th at the Arts Centre so get your tickets, I have a feeling it is going to be AMAZING......in the meantime, check out this interview I conducted earlier in the year with Bonachela about We Unfold published in Trespass Magazine.

Bejart Ballet's Paul Knobloch

2010-10-15T15:38:00.005+11:00

One of Béjart Ballet Lausanne’s leading artists, former Australian Ballet dancer Paul Knobloch returned home to Australia last month to remount his work Valetta on the students of the Australian Ballet School. Dance Informa’s Grace Edwards caught up with the dancer and budding choreographer, snatching a glimpse of a rehearsal in the process.

On the fifth floor of the spacious Australian Ballet building on Melbourne’s Kavanagh Street, the ABS’s senior students are scattered across the floor of a dance studio warming up, laughing and chatting in their various shades of purple and pink. They are here to rehearse guest choreographer Paul Knobloch’s work, Valetta.

Valetta, named after Knobloch’s grandmother, was first commissioned by the Australian Ballet’s Artistic Director David McAllister three years ago and is now part of the Australian Ballet School’s permanent repertoire. As a guest choreographer, Knobloch clearly savours the task at hand. A former student of the Australia Ballet School himself, Knobloch graduated with honours in 1997. Upon graduation, he joined the West Australian and the English National Ballet, and was subsequently invited to join The Australian Ballet in 2002. Knobloch stayed with the Australian Ballet for eight years before joining Béjart Ballet Lausanne.

“It was a very hard decision for me to leave the Australian Ballet,” he tells me, “but I think, looking back, that it’s been the right one for me. To experience the opportunities that I have…I feel like within a year I’ve achieved so many milestones, ones that at times I didn’t think were attainable. I look back at this year and go ‘Wow, what I’ve achieved in one year is incredible with the Béjart Ballet Lausanne.'”

I ask him if he sees a future for himself as a choreographer. “Definitely,” replies Knobloch. “I really enjoy being part of the creative process as a dancer, so having the chance to step on to the other side and create dances myself is something that I really enjoy doing. It’s something that I hope will keep me in the field of dance for a long time. I’ve already done four works for the Australian Ballet, and now that I’m dancing with the Béjart Ballet Lausanne, I have more of an opportunity to get out there in Europe, which I’m hoping to do within the next year or so.”

For the moment though, Knobloch’s main focus is his dancing. Among the many iconic ballets in which he has performed are The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Les Sylphides, La Bayadere, Le Corsaire, Suite en Blanc, Romeo and Juliet, and Raymonda.

“I was so fortunate to dance La Sylphide not only with the AB, but also as a guest with the Dancers Company of the Australian Ballet School. I performed that with one of my best friends, [Australian Ballet soloist] Gina Brescanini, and it’s one of the most memorable moments of my career. It’s a beautiful ballet, a beautiful score, and something that I hold really close to me in that realm. I had the fortunate opportunity to dance the Prince with Lucinda Dunn in Graeme Murphy’s Nutcracker as well, and that’s a role that I really enjoyed doing.”

Though his own training both at the Canberra Dance Development Centre and at the ABS has been overwhelmingly classical, Knobloch is reluctant to categorise himself as a purely classical dancer. “I consider myself quite versatile, or I hope to be anyway [laugh]. I think I’m considered, in the Béjart Ballet, one of the ‘ballet men’ of the company, so I tend to take on those roles, but I get contemporary roles as well, which is exciting for me. I like exploring different facets of dance.”

There are few companies better positioned to give Knobloch that opportunity than the Béjart Ballet, home of the nearly 250 works created by renowned twentieth century choreographer Maurice Béjart. “Since joining the Béjart Ballet Lausanne, I’ve had the opportunity to dance Webern Opus 5, a piece that Maurice Béjart choreographed back in the 1970s, which I performed at the Paris Opera Garnier on opening night. That was an incredible milestone for me, and a ballet that I love performing. Also, I loved dancing to the music of Queen in Béjart’s Le Presbytère. The costumes are by Versace, and it’s a very contemporary piece. I’ve danced in so many works, but I love them all.”

“It’s a great company and it’s a very hard working company,” says Knobloch. “We tour so much and you’re always a bit like a gypsy living out of a suitcase, but at the same time it’s an incredible experience. One day we’re in the South of France and the next in Spain, so you get to experience so much, and you get to work on the world’s renowned stages. Though of course it’s also hard to travel out of a suit case for most of the year.”

I ask Knobloch what he believes has been the most important factor in his successful career. “Dance is such a big part of my life, and I have a great network of support behind me with my family, my mother, my former teacher, and my friends. That’s something that I really hold close – having that support network to encourage you on your journey and to believe in you.”

In return, Knobloch has shown his support for the next generation of Australian dancers, taking contemporary dance and ballet workshops at his old school, the Canberra Dance Development Centre. “I’ve always had a strong connection with the Canberra Dance Development Centre. Each time I come home, I always dabble there in some way, whether it be in choreography or teaching. I have a strong connection there with the director, Jackie Hallahan, so it’s been nice to be able to always come back and see the growth of the studio and of the Centre itself. It was really good to see the standard of dancers in Canberra, and I think there’s a great future for them.”

An inspiration to all, Knobloch’s parting words of advice to aspiring dancers are simple. “Something that I always try to instill upon an audience is the sheer enjoyment of movement, to touch the people who are watching your performance in some way. In the end, it is important to go beyond steps, and really dance from the heart.”

Published by www.danceinforma.com

Cuban National Ballet's Sadaise Arencibia

2010-10-15T15:26:00.004+11:00

Queensland balletomanes will find a familiar face in Cuban National Ballet principal dancer Sadaise Arencibia, who performed the role of Kitri in the company’s recent production of Don Quixote at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre.

Originally trained at the provincial ballet school “Alejo Carpentier” in Havana, Arencibia won numerous awards in Cuba before joining the the national company in 1999. In 2002, Arencibia was awarded the “Villanueva” Critic’s Prize, granted by the Performing Artists Association of the Cuban Union of Artists and Writers (UNEAC) for her performance in the Agon pas de deux by Balanchine.

Though Arencibia has been much praised for her ethereal softness and sensitivity, the role of Kitri, she insists, requires something else entirely. “The most important thing is to give the role the ‘Spanish touch’ that it deserves,” Arencibia informs me. “That means vivacity, expressivity and happiness. Oh yes, and lightness!”

Choreographed by company founder and ballet icon Alicia Alonso, and based on the original by Marius Petipa, the Cuban version of Don Quixote reclaims the spotlight for the title character, who is often minimised in other productions. “This version of Don Quixote definitely treats the Quixote with more seriousness and more relevance,” says Arencibia. “The most important differences concern the relationship between Don Quixote and Kitri, and the character of Dulcinea from the novel. The dream-like nature of their relationship is quite important in this version.”

Such careful attention to detail is indeed one of the hallmarks of the Cuban National Ballet, which is recognised as one of the world’s leading ballet companies. Arencibia attributes the success of the company directly to the influence of Alonso, who founded the Cuban National Ballet with her husband and brother-in-law in 1948.

“Alicia Alonso has put her own indelible mark on ballet in Cuba and has a firm belief in the development of a very strong technique,” says Arencibia. “I have always tried to follow Alicia’s example myself. In terms of the interpretation of characters and detail, Alicia’s memory is quite important, and this is fundamental for any dancer to be able to do a good job.”

Thanks both to Alonso and Cuba’s free system of public education and training, ballet has been an accessible and important part of Cuba’s rich cultural life for decades. Like many children in Cuba, Arencibia was exposed to ballet regularly as a young child. “Since I was very little, I watched a lot of ballet on Cuban television, and that excited me. Equally importantly, my family used to take me to the theatre quite often, and I developed a curiosity for ballet and started dancing.”

Arencibia’s idol, Alicia Alonso, is by far the most important ballet icon in the history of Cuba. Extraordinarily, despite being 89 years old and partially blind since the age of nineteen, Alonso continues to personally direct the Cuban Ballet. “Although I’ve only had interactions with Alicia in a professional way, as a person I’ve been inspired by her perseverance,” says Arencibia.

When asked of her favourite roles to dance, Arencibia expresses a love for the classics. “There are so many – Giselle, Odile/Odette in Swan Lake, Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty and many, many others. They’re my favourites because they are the roles that all principal dancers aspire to dance, some of which I have already preformed.”

Returning to Havana immediately after her time in Queensland, Arencibia will perform at the International Festival from the 28th of October to the 7th of November, taking full advantage of every opportunity – something which she encourages all dancers to do. For the time being, however, Arencibia is content to enjoy her time in Australia as Kitri in this acclaimed production by Cuba’s dynamic dance hero, Alicia Alonso.

Top photo: Sadaise Arencibia. Photo: Jacques Moatti

Published by www.danceinforma.com
Published in Dance Informa Magazine.

Trespassing with....Chunky Move's Sara Black

2010-10-15T15:15:00.004+11:00

“Beneath the glow of a sophisticated video tracking system, a lone organic being mutates in and out of human form into unfamiliar, sensual and grotesque creature states.”

- Glow, chunkymove.com.au

Melbourne’s acclaimed contemporary dance company Chunky Move is busy performing a remount of the award-winning solo work, Glow for some very lucky Sydney audiences. Taking turns in the lead role are the talented performers Harriet Ritchie and Sara Black. Sara is no stranger to this work; in 2007 she was nominated for a Green Room award in 2007 and won a Helpmann award in 2008 for her performances of Glow.

Name: Sara Black
Occupation: Contemporary dance performer

1. How did you first enter into the world of contemporary dance? I was watching my aunt, Narelle Benjamin, being amazing.

2. Australian contemporary dance artists are constantly pushing the boundaries of what is dance. What is ‘dance’ to you? Dancing is breathing, and dance always has drama. Sometimes we choose to enhance our stories with lights and music; for instance, my fingers are dancing over the keyboard listening to Jose by the keyboard’s light.

3. Glow is a ‘live’ show in the most profound sense, as it involves working with a video tracking system. How does that experience of working differ from with working in a traditional environment with fixed lighting and sound? It becomes a duet; you are dancing with the light around you. No counts, no glow tape; you have the freedom to just truly perform.

4. How does Glow change each time you perform it? It evolves and becomes a part of you. You come to understand every movement and, over time, it is like it just oozes out of you instead of you having to think about the movements should be.

5. You won the award for Best Female Dancer in a Dance or Physical Theatre Production at the 2008 Helpmann Awards for your performances of Glow. What is it like reprising a role for which you have received such an honour? The same as if I were reprising any show. You always want to continue to evolve, to always find something new. But you also want to hold on to the integrity of the original concept.

6. An extraordinary number of dancers working in Australia, like you, are graduates of the Victorian College of the Arts. What is it like to bump into your classmates at work? The VCA is a strong part of the arts scene in Victoria and it encourages its students to make their own work. It’s really nice to have a working relationship with people that you have also studied with, and you also begin to make work for each other!

7. Unlike less established dancers, you have a strong working relationship with the Melbourne’s major dance companies. How has being able to find relatively constant work affected you as an artist? I feel so lucky, because since I left uni I have been able to work many different outstanding performers. I learn so much from the people I work with and I feel like every project has made me evolve ever more into the performer I am.

8. On a final note, what do you do on your days off, and how do you keep fit for the job? I lie in bed and recover!!!!!!

Chunky Move will perform Glow at the Seymour Centre in Sydney on October 13 – October 16

To purchase tickets visit: www.seymour.usyd.edu.au

For more information on Chunky Move, visit: www.chunkymove.com.au.

Meanwhile, check out the amazing video preview of Glow from stagenoise.com below:

Article published in its original form at Trespass Magazine

Published: Young Duncan Lyle to dance with Boston Ballet

2010-09-03T19:03:00.004+10:00

The hard work has paid off for Australian dancer Duncan Lyle, who recently scored a contract as a corps de ballet member of Boston Ballet. It’s not the first time he has received great news. Three years ago, at just seventeen years old, Duncan successfully auditioned for a place at the Royal Ballet School in London, where he moved after having spent his entire life in the Melbourne suburb of Kew. Dance Informa’s Grace Edwards speaks to Duncan about his exciting journey into some of the highest spheres in the realm of ballet.

What was it about Boston Ballet that made you audition in the first place?

I’ve always wanted to dance overseas and especially in America because it’s such an exciting place, full of so many opportunities!

Boston Ballet has a great reputation and it was easy to audition for them as they held auditions throughout Europe. I think it’s going to open up many doors for me, and dancing in the US is going to push me to become a better dancer.

What was the audition process like?

The Boston Ballet was holding open auditions throughout Europe, and I attended the audition in Amsterdam. I think there were three classes throughout the day, and I was in the second class.

We just did a class for the director, but he cut a fair few people after centre work and I was lucky enough to be the only boy to make it to Allegro. We then had to speak to Mr Nissinen, and he offered me a contract with Boston Ballet II [a pre-professional programme in residence at Boston Ballet]. I was ecstatic! I had an audition with Dutch National Ballet the next day but all that was on my mind was going to Boston Ballet II.

A couple of weeks later, I got a phone call telling me a place had opened up in the corps de ballet of the Boston Ballet, and they offered me the place!

Wow, how exciting to be living your dream! But it will not be your first move overseas. How did you end up in London at the Royal Ballet School?

A lady who was taking one of my ballet exams suggested to me that I should audition for the Royal Ballet School and arranged for me to go over to London and take class in January. I was lucky enough to be accepted and started in September!

You had lived in Kew your whole life before you moved to London at just seventeen. Was the transition hard?

It was actually a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. I was scared of the fact that I was going into a situation I didn’t know and wasn’t comfortable with. Once I got there and got into the swing of things it was fine and I made some really great friends with the people in my year.

What is the most difficult aspect of life as a ballet dancer?

As a dancer you’re always getting scrutinised as it’s the only way you can improve. So it’s always a great feeling when you get the rare compliment or score a good role. It’s only through perseverance that you get the rewards.

What do you think is the most important piece of advice you’ve ever been given with regards to your dance career?

“Perspective”. David Peden [former soloist of the Royal Ballet and teacher at the Royal Ballet School] always says this when he can tell someone is down. Think about the rest of the world – there are starving children in Africa, so there’s no point getting frustrated over your pirouettes.

Outside of ballet, do you have any other passions? What career do you think you might have ended up in, if not ballet?

I really love music. I spend a fair bit of my spare time arranging and composing music so I think I would probably follow that path if it I hadn’t had ballet.

Where do you see yourself in five years?
Working hard!

Congratulations Duncan! All of us here at Dance Informa wish you the best with your career. No doubt we will be hearing more about you in the years to come.

Published in Dance Informa Magazine.
Photo credit: Johan Persson

Musicals in Melbourne: Behind the Scenes

2010-09-01T16:00:00.003+10:00

Just published in Ausdance Victoria's Kinesis Magazine, check out my article on musicals in Melbourne - take a look behind the scenes of West Side Story, Mary Poppins and Hairspray. Here's the first paragraph to tempt you to follow the link....

Musical fever is running high in Melbourne; Mary Poppins is delighting audiences at Her Majesty’s Theatre, West Side Story is burning up the Regent Theatre on Collins Street, and Hairspray is set to do the same in early October. Onstage it may look like fun and games, but backstage it’s another story — one that involves its fair share of blood, sweat, and tears.

Almost 1,000 adults and over 300 children auditioned for the lead roles alone in Mary Poppins. The panel had to know exactly what they were looking for. “We needed people who could be quite inventive,” resident choreographer Lisa O’Dea explains. “For instance, one of our biggest numbers Step in Time required a very androgynous energy from the chimney sweeps, whereas Jolly Holiday, another big production number, needed the females to be quite feminine, like the Edwardian women of the period in which the show is set. So we required people who could do that cross-over.”

Over at the Regent, co-dance captain Brendan Yeates remembers his audition for West Side Story well. “It was short, but very intense. I was auditioning as a Jet, and we learnt the major dance breaks from the number “Cool”, which has to be one of the hardest numbers in the entire show.” After the first cut was made, Brendan and the other dancers had to do a ballet combination and sing a song from the show. Then came the wait to hear if he had been called back for the final day of auditions.

.....

Find the rest of the article here

Cheers,
Grace

Review: Carmen - Royal New Zealand Ballet

2010-08-07T12:50:00.005+10:00

So...this was a review I did some time back now, but as I rarely get the chance to review shows in Auckland these days, I thought I'd post it anyway! Grace x

Aotea Centre at THE EDGE, Auckland
July 8th

Set to Georges Bizet’s energetic score, The RNZB’s latest production of Carmen is a contemporary adaptation of the opera, which was premiered in 1875. This version is set in the heat of Rio de Janeiro, but the plot is essentially that of the original: Carmen, a sexy and rebellious cigarette factory worker, exercises her powers of seduction upon the hapless José, whose life is forever changed for the worse. The tragic ending is played out in the seedy Bar Pastia.

Orchestrator John Longstaff compensates for the absence of singers with solo instruments that capture the vocal qualities of the operatic arias, among them the well-known Habanera and Sequidilla. Thanks to the impeccable timing of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, who make light work of some tricky but crucial transitions, even love rival Escamillo’s rock star turn in this adaptation makes musical sense.

Didy Veldman’s choreography does not replicate nor ignore the score; instead it engages it in a musically intelligent and dramatically satisfying dialogue. Inventive lifts and seductive gestures are married with classical vocabulary and comic timing in a sound alliance, which the dancers embrace with admirable gusto and dramatic flair.

The pas de deux scenes between José and his forsaken fiancée Micaela are beautifully handled, and the love-making scene between Carmen and José proves the highlight of he evening. The sexualised masculinity of Escamillo’s rock persona proves an intriguing match to Carmen’s own heightened sexuality, though Carmen remains the true power-broker in their relationship. Though some of the male corps de ballet scenes, in which the men play gangsters clad in leather jackets with shades and mobile phones, are somewhat cliché, the dancers’ sense of fun partially rescues them.

It is with regret, that due to my time constraints, it was not possible to view the opening cast, which featured dancer Abigail Boyle in the lead role. Guest artist Pieter Symonds captured Carmen’s aloofness well and there was good chemistry between the two leads, which is to be expected in a dancer of Symonds’ calibre. Referring specifically to the portrayal of Carmen, however, a greater articulation of the limbs and freedom of movement would have lifted the interpretation to an even higher level.

Overall, the RNZB’s Carmen is a production of which the company can be proud. Whilst it is not as cutting-edge as some would like, it does maintain an invigoratingly contemporary aesthetic without sacrificing the essence of the original or indeed the appeal of classicism. The RNZB should be applauded for offering its audiences the chance to experience works beyond the classical canon.

The Royal New Zealand Ballet’s Meridian season of Carmen has now finished. However, the company will be crossing the ditch in August to present Romeo and Juliet. The dates and venues are:

Canberra – Canberra Theatre Centre
Tuesday August 10th – Saturday August 14th

Wollongong – IPAC
Tuesday August 17th – Sunday August 22nd.

For more information visit: www.nzballet.org.nz

First published in Dance Informa Magazine.

Audition: Free Piano Materclass with Elyane Laussade

2010-06-24T14:20:00.001+10:00

Call for Auditions:

3MBS will host a piano masterclass to be given by Elyane Laussade before an invited audience in the Marigold Southey performance studio, Abbotsford, on Sunday afternoon, 1 August 2010. The masterclass will be recorded for subsequent broadcast on 3MBS.

Elyane will audition prospective participants between 8 and 18 July.Three pianists will be selected to take part in the masterclass. Each will perform a piece of their choice which should be between 7 and 15 minutes in length.

If you would like to audition to take part as a pupil and have achieved at least Grade 8 piano you are encouraged to apply. Apply to Peter Gardner on peter.gcim@gmail.com giving details of the work you would like to perform. Applications close on Tuesday 6 July. There will not be a charge for taking part but a donation to 3MBS would be appreciated.

3MBS Radiothon 2010 - support Melbourne's music and arts scene

2010-05-07T20:49:00.004+10:00

Our local independent fine music radio station - 3MBS 103.5FM - is about to commence its annual RADIOTHON - a 10-day celebration where we call for support from our listening community. 3MBS receives no funding from the government for its operations and relies purely on the financial support of sponsors and friends to raise the $1,000,000 it costs per year to keep the station running.

A new level has been created just so that we, as students, can give back in our own way. For $30, you can sign up for a year as a 3MBS Fresher. This means you get the monthly magazine (with programme details, artist interviews, etc.) mailed or emailed to you, and you get to be part of the 3MBS community.

Radiothon runs from Friday 7 - Sunday 16 May and there are tonnes of prizes to be won when you sign up to support 3MBS, including the major prize - a beautiful Bernstein piano donated by Bernie's Musicland. Other prizes include ticket subscriptions to the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and more.

To sign up, call 9416 1035 to speak to one of our 230 friendly volunteers, or drop by in person to the studios - 1 St. Helier's St, Abbotsford (at the Abbotsford Convent), where a party of food, drink and smiling faces will be ready to welcome you.

Support the station and sign up as a 3MBS supporter or call 9416 1035.

Review: Fame!

2010-05-07T20:46:00.001+10:00

Fame!

Regent Theatre
Opening Night, April 21st

By Grace Edwards.

Fame: the musical is a fun and energetic romp full of big dreams and dashed hopes with a healthy dose of romance thrown in. If you are a fan of the film, you’ll love the musical.

Based on the movie released in 1980, Fame follows a group of high school students at New York’s esteemed High School of the Performing Arts. The musical focuses on several main characters: Carmen Diaz, a sexy Hispanic student and confident performer obsessed with fame; Schlomo Metzenbaum, the son of a famous violinist and himself a gifted flautist who is tired of the world’s expectations; Tyrone Jackson, a talented but illiterate hip hop dancer from a disadvantaged background; Iris Kelly, a graceful but socially insecure ballet dancer; Mabel Washington, an overweight dancer desperate to lose weight but who finds food irresistible; Serena Katz, a shy drama student, and Nick Piazza, a serious classical actor.

Opening with the energetic prologue Pray I make P.A, the relatively young principals make for a believable set of teenagers, fitting their characters like a glove. The remaining cast are evidently strong dancers with the ensemble dance scenes both polished and vibrant.

Perhaps one of the hardest things to get right in any musical is the casting of talent in the lead roles; in Fame, there is one crucial decision that needs to be made for each character: to cast a singer-who-dances, or a dancer-who-sings?

As singers-who-dance, American import Darlene Love (Miss Sherman) and Jazz Flowers (Mabel Washington) raise the calibre of the overall production. Love’s powerful gospel tones reach their pinnacle in the number These Are My Children, in which she palpably conveys her character’s misunderstood love for her students. Flowers gets her moment in Mabel’s Prayer, a hilarious plea to the powers above to stop her from becoming the world’s fattest dancer. At points her vocal control and athleticism threaten to bring the house down.

On the other hand, the characters of Tyrone and Iris are given to dancers-who-sing, which is an understandable choice given that both roles require far more dancing than singing. Banking on the success of So You Think You Can Dance Australia, 2009 finalist Timomatic and winner Talia Fowler make their appearances together as the famous dance leads. The results, however, are somewhat mixed.

Timomatic’s strength, the hip hop sections of the musical, provide some of the most powerful, electric dance moments of the evening. This is partly because of the ensemble dancers’ tight performances. But Timomatic is also a soloist and in one scene, he is duplicated on several large screens positioned behind him as he busts out a series of dance moves, including the moonwalk in a show-stopping moment. Indeed his larger-than-life role more than makes up for the odd moment of insecurity in his vocal performances. As the demure Iris however, Fowler suffers more obviously from the disparity between her dancing and singing skills and ultimately, the pair were lacking the necessary chemistry as the famous love-hate couple.

But at the end of the day, there is no doubt that Fame will secure fans an entertaining night out, and is guaranteed to have you humming catchy tunes for days. Cheesy, fun, dynamic and voyeuristic, it bears all the hallmarks of a classic musical. What more could anyone ask for?

Published in Dance Informa magazine

Chunky Move’s Kristy Ayre

2010-05-07T20:36:00.002+10:00

By Grace Edwards.

Having performed with Australia’s Chunky Move, Lucy Guerin Inc, Prue Lang, Kim Itoh, Shelley Lasica, and Luke George, dance veteran Kristy Ayre is one seasoned performer. And she’s far from done yet. Fresh from the successful Melbourne season of Chunky Move’s Mortal Engine, Kristy is set to reprise her role for Sydney audiences in May. Dance Informa’s Grace Edwards caught up with the talented dancer and emerging choreographer to chat about Chunky Move’s acclaimed work and her experiences with the company.

You’ve been dancing regularly with Chunky Move since 2002. Over that time, what do you feel has been the driving force behind the company’s success?

Well as you know, Chunky Move isn’t a full-time company, so all of the dancers and collaborators who are involved in making the works only come in and work for the amount of the time that the work is created for, and then are re-engaged to come on tour at later times. But I think what’s most interesting about the company is [Chunky Move Artistic Director] Gideon’s interest in what he’s trying to make, both spatially within whatever set is used and in the thematics of each show. The creative team and dance that make up each work at Chunky Move have been quite different from work to work, and the end results have been really different.

You’ve got everything from the really high-tech, fixed dance steps and raked stage of Mortal Engine to something like Tense Dave, which had a few sort of dancer-actor performances that, to me, could be classed more in the realm of physical theatre. I mean, it certainly was dance-based, but there were a lot of theatrics involved and there was a revolving set. It was very low-tech in a lot of ways, so yeah, I think it’s been the diversity of experience and the number of collaborators that has made the company exciting to follow.

Mortal Engine, in particular, is full of technological interactions. What’s been involved for you when working with movement-sensitive technology as a dancer?

It was interesting because we actually began the process with the solo work, Glow, which was made in 2006. I was one of the original soloists engaged to work on that show, so I was already quite experienced and knew how to work with Calypso when we came into the creative process of Mortal Engine. But I’d like to share with people that it’s a really liberating way to work as a performer. Unlike in previous works that I’ve done with conventional lighting, where there’s a spotlight that you have stay within or a place you have to be within a certain amount of time – works in which your relationship to light is really crafted, in this work the light is following you in a lot of the piece, because of the motion-tracking. So you have the freedom, as a dancer, to not be concerned with all of that and you can absolutely surrender to the physicality of the work, which is really, really nice.

There are so many interesting aspects of Mortal Engine, from the sense of collective ownership between collaborative artists, to the play on opposites such as mortal and engine, and light and shade. Where, for you, does the beauty of the piece lie?

I think the beautiful thing about Mortal Engine is that, because of the light and the way we’ve integrated the movement and the way that, as performers, we kind of selflessly give ourselves to the visual effects of this show and to the sound, it creates a very hypnotic world.

I mean, I say this when I’ve only ever seen the show on DVD, I’ve never actually sat in the audience to watch this show! But I think, having talked to people continuously all around the world because we’ve toured this show a lot now, people really feel like they have a kind of…“body-snatching” experience.

Because the sound is so consuming and the visual effects are startling, beautiful and dark, as a dancer, you really feel like you’re a part of some special, make-believe land for a period of time in the show. That’s really nice, because not all works have all the elements in place to do that and be successful in that way. So I think that Mortal Engine’s beauty is that kind of escapist, voyeuristic experience for the audience.

I completely agree. In fact, I took a friend of mine along to see the recent Melbourne season of Mortal Engine. Although she had never been to a contemporary dance show before, she was blown away by it all! I believe she had that voyeuristic experience you just mentioned.

Oh, I’m so thrilled to hear that. Yes, it’s a show that I really encourage people who haven’t seen a lot of dance to see for that reason, because I think it actually can appeal on a lot of levels. You know, I almost like to refer to Mortal Engine as simply a moving live visual artwork, because I think the dancer plays a really strong role, but it’s certainly just a component of what that work gives over to the audience.

Kristy, you’ve done numerous performances of this work. How does each performance differ?

This show is different, as was Glow. Because you’re working with motion-tracking, it does have a real sense of ‘liveness’ to it. I mean, all dance is live, but because you’re not in a fixed place or time in space, you can really absolutely give yourself over to the physical experience because the technology is following you. So we’ve guessed that one show has never been exactly the same.

I imagine there is now a core group of dancers who know and have danced in Mortal Engine, so what is the main focus in rehearsal these days?

Well actually, the biggest predicament with this work, and this is one of the things Chunky Move suffers from because unfortunately they can’t employ a full-time group of dancers, is that occasionally when we’re touring the show now, we won’t be able to have our original cast. Most of the performers who work for Chunky Move are also engaged in independent work of their own, or with other people, so the flux of this work is that we generally have at least one person who wasn’t a member of the original cast joining us for each new season. When we get back together, it’s kind of a culmination of bringing in someone new, and then them trying to learn the new material and become part of the group. It’s good in a way, because it keeps things really fresh for us. There’s a lot of partnering and intricate duets in this show, so when there are changes to the combinations of dancers that affects everyone, so that’s kind of nice about it.

As a performer with many years experience behind you, what keeps you going and how has your approach to your own dancing changed?

I guess I’ve become interested in different things. I’ve been dancing all my life and certainly as a professional artist I’ve been working for about nine years now.

The thing that I love about contemporary dance, the thing that always attracted me to it, is that it’s an ever-evolving form, and I think it’s really great that people are continually pushing the boundaries of what it is, what it can inhabit as a technical, physical, or performance medium. That’s interesting because you feel that you are very much a part of a contemporary dance form which is constantly evolving and doesn’t seem to sit in a world that’s too repetitive.

I think that one’s interest in the physicality of movement really changes. I’ve been working with independent artist Luke George this year and I’ve started making my own works seriously for the first time. So there is this transition happening, from being a tool for choreographers for a period of time when working in a company-based environment, to making works where you make the stuff that you want to make, utilising the physicality that you like. That’s been a really interesting process for me as I’ve matured.

Chunky Move’s Mortal Engine heads to Sydney Theatre from Wednesday 5th to Saturday 15th of May.
Book tickets online at www.sydneytheatre.org.au or phone (02) 9250 1999.
Published in Dance Informa

More than Music

2010-04-22T18:37:00.004+10:00

Head on over to Melbourne’s cultural precinct, Abbotsford Convent, and you’ll come across a peculiar building with classical music blaring from its doorstep. Behold the home of Victoria’s independent fine music station, 3MBS FM 103.5. As the state’s first FM and community station, 3MBS broadcasts mostly classical, but also jazz and world music under the umbrella term ‘fine music.’ The station, run almost entirely by its 230 volunteers, prides itself on its commitment to broadcasting music from Australian composers and performers, having aired 37 percent local content in January.

3MBS has seen some big changes over the years, including the birth of two education streams, Live at the Convent and Certificate III in Media (Radio). Live at the Convent provides opportunities for young musicians to perform on-air, whilst Certificate III trains students in all aspects of radio, from production to broadcasting.

I was one of those students, in fact. Yes, that’s right – they let me in, and let me touch all sorts of ridiculously expensive equipment. They even left me in charge of the station at nights on Fridays for a brief spell. Unsupervised. I’ve always believed that trust breeds loyalty, and anyone crazy enough to let me run wild in a radio station is more than deserving of mine. So when I discovered that funding for 3MBS’s Education programmes had run out, prompting 3MBS’s current Education campaign, I decided to speak to the station’s programme manager, Owen McKern, to learn more about 3MBS.

“I started at 3MBS in 2006,” says Owen. “I’d been involved in community radio since 1994 or thereabouts and I originally started in the role of education co-ordinator. Then after about a year, I moved into the role of programme manager. We’ve worked very hard in that four year period to bring in young volunteers, both as broadcasters and behind the scenes.”

Among the spots that have been opened up for new and younger volunteers are the late-night Night Owls slots, which is where yours truly started off. Indeed, many Night Owls candle-burners are recent graduates of the Certificate III programme.

“The students who go through Cert III will get a nationally-accredited qualification,” Owen tells me. “We’ve often felt it was important to show music students alternative career pathways. I think there is often an understanding, or even an expectation among music students, that you either graduate and become a professional, practising musician, or a teacher, or there’s nothing else. I don’t believe that.”

Between funding the programmes and training the budding broadcasters, there is clearly a lot of work involved for the station’s personnel. But Owen stresses that the benefits are mutual.

“From our perspective, we hope to put these people on air. We don’t train just for the sake of training, we very much want these students to engage with us as volunteers, long after they’ve graduated, be they as producers, content-makers, programmers or on-air presenters. In the three years that we’ve run this programme, I’ve been thrilled with the people that we’ve put on-air in regular, ongoing ways, not only because they’ve been fine broadcasters, but they’re also typically younger than the average volunteer who walks in from off the street.”

“For me, it’s been really exciting,” Owen continues. “Many of our volunteers who’ve been here for a long time have been really energised by new people coming in the building, even some of our more senior volunteers. One in particular springs to mind, who has been so motivated by the new people coming in that it has helped his own broadcasting practice. He’s significantly increased the number of hours he spends at the station, simply because he feels the new energy, and wants to be a part of that. So it’s had great outcomes, both for the volunteers and for the students.”

On the other side of the spectrum, Live at the Convent, hosted by Susan Batten, goes to air with its live performers on 103.5 FM every Tuesday between 1.30 and 2.30pm. Preparation, however, begins much, much earlier.

“Even though [the show's] on-air manifestation is an hour broadcast, we get the musicians in at 10.30am,” says Owen. “In the morning, we talk them through all aspects of radio music production. We might talk them through why we put the piano in a certain place, or why we use certain microphones and why we place them a certain way, and through the process of getting from an existing on-air programme in one studio to a live broadcast from a second studio.”

“We then ask the musicians a series of questions on air about their music practice, potentially about the works they’re presenting and why they’re presenting those works, a bit of history and a bit of background, so we take a holistic approach. We also explain to them our Broadcast Release Agreement. Under copyright law, there are certain rights and responsibilities that we have, but there are also responsibilities that the artist has, so we explain what those are. For most students, this is the first time they’ve ever had that kind of contact with copyright and intellectual property, and I think that’s very, very important. Then of course, they go live-to-air for an hour, and at the end of that hour they also get a high-end, master recording of their performance.”

It all sounds incredibly exciting for the musicians. But I had to ask – with musicians, a broadcasting studio and an impending live performance coming together each week, do things ever go wrong?

“There’s an expression in radio that’s called dead-air,” says Owen, who informs me that is when a station goes silent whilst still technically on-air. “We’ve had instances of dead-air that, at the time, were quite terrifying, but in retrospect, just seem funny. I remember we had two musicians performing live-to-air, a duet between a piano and a harpsichord, and I remember we had to go through all the rigmarole of hiring a harpsichord and getting it delivered to our studio.”

“They finished the first piece they were performing together, and for people who aren’t familiar with our environment, the recording studio is a long way from our performance studio. We heard silence, and I could see through the glass, into the performance studio, two musicians in a panic, pointing and waving at each other, not prepared to make any sound because they knew we were live-to-air. After what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was probably only a few seconds, we quickly went to some other content and sprinted into the studios. The two musicians were shouting at each other, saying, “I thought you had the music; no I thought you had the music!” They just didn’t have their sheet music. So we’d rehearsed for three hours with everything fine and gone live-to-air and somehow, they’d left their sheet music in the kitchen at 3MBS. At the time it didn’t seem funny at all, but in retrospect, the looks on their faces when they were in a panic was really quite humorous!”

Luckily for Siobhan Stagg, a singer and volunteer at 3MBS, her experience on Live at the Convent was far less dramatic. In fact these days, she helps produce the show.

“I sang on 3MBS as a participant on Live at the Convent last year, before I started producing,” she tell me. “It was very nerve-wracking and different to a live performance. It feels quite isolated singing in the small studio, but you know lots of people are listening, so the pressure is on. Radio performance is a completely different medium from any other, so we need as much experience as we can get! It’s important to learn to put as much into the music as you would with an audience, even though it looks like you’re just giving it to the four studio walls at the time. You still need to find the ‘x-factor’ in your performance and need to give it everything you’ve got.”

So what has been her favourite aspect of working with 3MBS? “Discovering the exciting world of radio! It’s opened my eyes to so many things I wasn’t aware of before, and I’m loving it. Especially if you’re musically inclined, radio adds another whole dimension. There’s also lots of lovely people that volunteer there, and the facilities are great.”

For Owen, it’s all about the community. “I love the fact that I get to work with people who are genuinely passionate about music at the arts. Automatically there’s something I have in common with most people who walk through the door.”

“I love the fact that we have some editorial independence, so that those volunteers can use their own judgement about what they present. You know, at commercial stations, the programme manager or programme director determines a play list, which says what will be played on any given day of the month. We don’t do that. My role is to set broad programme parameters and then trust in the volunteers to use their judgement to fit in to those parameters.”

It is also about supporting talent. “Because of our resources, we’re able to offer real opportunities for musicians and artists that otherwise wouldn’t exist; in the three to four years that I’ve been here, we’ve commissioned a number recordings of Australian compositions that otherwise would never have been recorded. We’ve allowed many, many musicians to have their first ever opportunity to perform live-to-air on radio, many musicians and artists to have their first interview on radio, and many their first recordings ever in a high-end studio, so I really enjoy the fact that we are able to facilitate opportunities, particularly for young and emerging artists. I think that it’s vital part of who we are as a community radio station, and I enjoy that in my role I have a very direct say in that.”

In my far smaller role as a broadcaster at 3MBS, I can’t help but feel the same. But then, 3MBS is far from alone in supporting Melbourne’s arts scene, and that’s what I feel makes it so great. I suspect Owen agrees. “It’s no coincidence that Melbourne has the strongest radio community anywhere in Australia. I think more and more of Melbourne’s art community have a broader appetite for music and the arts, and I find that really heartening.”

Visit 3MBS’s website at www.3mbs.org.au or make a donation by calling (03) 9416 1035. You can also find 3MBS FM on Facebook and Twitter at http://twitter.com/3MBSfinemusic.

Published in Trespass Magazine

Published: Zoe and Emily head off to the Royal Ballet School

2010-04-12T12:52:00.003+10:00

By Grace Edwards.

Have you ever dreamt of dancing with the Royal Ballet? That dream just became a reality for dancers Emily Smith and Zoe Roberts. Both girls, who study at the Tanya Pearson Classical Coaching Academy in Sydney, were recently accepted into the Royal Ballet School’s final year programme, to commence in September.

“I couldn’t believe it!” says Zoe. “It still seems so surreal. I was over the moon, I can’t even describe how excited I was, because in all honesty, I never ever in a million years thought I’d be accepted let alone into third year! I just went along to the audition for experience. I was also thinking how proud it would make my mum. She is an ex-dancer from the Australian Ballet and has always been so supportive and helpful. I am so excited that I’m going to be living in London, it’s such a beautiful city!”

Zoe received her offer after completing an audition tour earlier this year. Along with her classmates, she travelled through Germany, Holland, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Austria, and England, auditioning everywhere, including the Royal Ballet School. Incredibly, Zoe was offered a place at every school for which she auditioned.

Emily’s offer, on the other hand, followed successful appearances at the Youth American Grand Prix in 2008, the Genée International Ballet Competition in Singapore and the Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland.

“I was at the Prix de Lausanne when I found out,” says Emily. “I was so excited, it was literally a dream come true! The first thing I wanted to do was to ring my parents. I couldn’t wait for a reasonable time to call them, considering the 10-hour time difference, so they got woken at 2:30 in the morning, but they didn’t mind the slightest. They were just as thrilled as I was!”

There is no question these girls are blessed with natural talent. However, they stress that their good fortune has come after years of hard work. “Ballet is such a disciplined art form,” Emily explains, “you have to be so motivated and dedicated. I think that’s why I love it so much. The perfectionist in me truly comes out. We’ve probably done 10 thousand demi plies and battements tendus in our life time, but we still come in everyday trying to perfect them that much more. There is always room for improvement.”

Emily’s typical day begins at 9:15 in the morning. First she warms up with a one and a quarter hour limbering class, which is followed by a one and a half hour ballet class. After this comes an hour of variations, then lunch and finally one and half hours devoted to a coaching, character, contemporary class, or rehearsals.

Zoe’s day is similar, but also involves a private lesson, physio and pilates course or another ballet class, after hours. Both girls underwent extra preparation for competitions. “I’ve never cared about competition results,” says Zoe, who competed at the Genée International Ballet Competition, The Sydney Eisteddfod McDonalds Challenge and Society of Dance Arts. She will also appear at this year’s Youth America Grand Prix. “I just really enjoy the preparation process. It requires intensive coaching on variations and I like having goals and new challenges to work for.”

Despite the numerous sacrifices the girls have made for their future careers, they insist it has been worth it. “I love being able to make people think what we do is easy, because only I will ever know how much hard work and effort went into achieving that,” says Emily.

“In saying that, it truly is very hard work and at times it has you question whether it’s worth it, but then you’re given the opportunity to perform on stage in front of an audience and you’re reminded why you are doing it. I love being able to tell a story without words through the emotions and body language I portray. If I manage to reach at least one person, it is so satisfying.”

Zoe agrees. “It’s hard to explain in words. I suppose the music inspires me to move. My favourite thing about ballet is how we can express what the music is saying using our bodies. I also love technique, learning about the anatomy of my body and how I can most correctly and efficiently work to coordinate my muscles.”

“I love how you can build beautiful lines with your body. I love the aesthetics of ballet and how nothing is impossible if you are prepared to work hard enough. I was a late starter at the age of twelve, so I’ve had to do a lot of hard work just to catch up.”

How gratifying then to see the work pay off. So what advice do the young dancers have for others wishing to follow in her footsteps?

“You have to be prepared to commit to ballet, you have to make certain sacrifices, but I think it’s worth it,” says Zoe. “You have to be prepared to work very, very, very, very hard (that’s right, four “verys”). Always try and watch as much dance as you can. But it’s something you have to be really passionate about or it won’t last.”

For Emily too, it’s all about putting in the hard yards. “My advice would be work hard every day in every class. Never allow yourself to ‘slack’ off. Be motivated to spend time by yourself in front of the mirror, perfecting all the little things. However, be sure to have a healthy balance in your life between the hours you spend doing ballet and the amount of downtime you get. It is important to find time to relax and have fun regularly, whether that’s spending time with friends, seeing a movie, going to the beach or having a massage. It helps rejuvenate your body and keep you sane!”

Congratulations Zoe and Emily on your amazing achievements. Good luck for your final year at the RBS. There’s no doubt we’ll be hearing more about you both in the near future!

Published in Dance Informa Magazine
Top photo: Emily Smith

Review: The Lady of Shalott (Early Arts Guild of Victoria)

2010-04-12T12:16:00.003+10:00

As one of the most beloved poems of all time, Alfred Lord Tennyson’s The Lady of Shalott,[1] is not to be tampered with lightly. Thankfully, the Early Arts Guild of Victoria’s presentation of the ballad gives it the loving care it deserves.

Dressed in stunning period costumes, surrounded by such period instruments as a harpsichord and a fidel (similar to a cello), the performers look the part. This is to be no mere recitation; a meticulously chosen selection of music, songs and dances from the eighteenth and nineteenth century accompany each verse, assisting the audience’s emotional journey.

Actress Annabel Green’s performance is timed to perfection. Her clear diction and expressive body allows the poem’s romantic visual imagery to take centre stage. A notable aspect of Green’s performance is her use of gesture, taught to her by the Guild’s Artistic Director, Helga Hill, herself a former pupil of the late Dene Barnett. An almost forgotten eighteenth-century art, gesture enables Green to reinforce the verses’ meaning with a subtle physicality, as they may often have been in Tennyson’s own time.

Also skilled in the art of gesture is vocalist Rebecca Moret. Her rendition of John Dowland’s Time Stands Still beautifully captures the Lady of Shalott’s isolation. Her interpretation of the well-known When I am laid and Chorus from Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, is also deserving of mention. Dressed in black from head-to-toe, with a black veil enveloping the upper half of her body, Moret provides a mournful but beautiful compliment to the tragic final verse of Tennyson’s poem.

Integral to the presentation are the musicians of the Early Music Consort of Melbourne and the Rippon Lea Baroque Dancers. It is not often that we are privileged enough to witness dances from the Baroque era, or to hear music from the Renaissance performed on period instruments. Early instruments present a whole host of unusual challenges to those who dare play them individually in private, let alone together in public. Despite a couple of false starts, the Consort successfully master these difficulties, and are at their best during the more rhythmic works. Not to be outdone, the Baroque dancers, dressed in white wigs and impressively detailed garments, are a feast for the eyes. Their delicate arm movements, so distinctive of the Baroque period, light footwork and clear floor patterns offer a fascinating insight into another world.

The Early Arts Guild of Victoria’s The Lady of Shalott is a poignant presentation of Tennyson’s famous ballad. Offering a unique window into Western culture, the tireless efforts of this not-for-profit organisation are to be applauded and supported. If you’re an arts-lover living in Victoria, and you haven’t seen this group perform, you’re missing out.

Presented by The Early Arts Guild of Victoria in assoc. with Bayside City Council

Director: Helga Hill

Upcoming programmes from the Early Arts Guild of Victoria include:

Sights and Sounds of the Renaissance Courts 1550-1625, Bairnsdale Uniting Church, cnr. Great Alpine and Lanes Roads, Sunday May 30th, 2.15pm.

Heimatland – The German Heritage 1450-1750

National Gallery of Victoria, Sunday August 8, 1pm and 3pm

National Gallery of Victoria, Sunday August 22nd, 1pm and 3pm

Brighton Town Hall, Wilson St, Brighton, Sunday September 5th, 2.15 pm

For more information and a more detailed list of upcoming events,visit the Early Arts Guild of Victoria’s website at http://home.vicnet.net.au/~earlyart/
***
[1] http://charon.sfsu.edu/TENNYSON/TENNLADY.html

Published in Trespass Magazine

Trespass Mag: Chunky Move- Mortal Engine

2010-03-14T01:28:00.001+11:00

Choreographer Gideon Obarzanek describes Mortal Engine as a dance-video-music-laser performance. The hyphens are fully justified. An awe-inspiring hybrid work that explores the relationship between movement and technology, Mortal Engine takes live interaction to a new level.

Obarzanek’s fixation on the idea of contrast is boldly visual from the outset. The performance begins in darkness, with a host of laser images flashing across the raised stage. A single dancer emerges, bathed in white light. As she moves, she leaves a white glow around her, a beacon in the dark.

Only when this image is reversed do we see the sinister ‘other’ side of the equation. A blackened multi-legged creature, made from the intertwined bodies of several other dancers, chases our heroine, enveloping her in its shadow. It is at once a part of her and also her nightmarish opposite. Good and evil, light and shadow, the self and the other, mortal and engine; all these themes resonate throughout the performance.

Whilst the movements themselves, though beautifully danced, hold little intrinsic interest, the effects they trigger in the music, lighting, and lasers are astonishing. Mortal Engine has no pre-rendered video, light or laser images and the music is similarly generated by movement. Pre-composed phrases are triggered by the dancers’ motions, or by the operator at the correct point in the performance. The whole production is pulled together by computer engineer, Frieder Weiss. That means each night, Mortal Engine is truly live. Though its sequences are always in the same order, the work’s total length is determined by the rhythm of its performers.

Many moments brought to life through this interaction are magical. In one instance, a dancer is followed by trails of marble-like dots, made of light, across the stage’s platform. After each pause, the dots are sucked back into the dancer’s physical frame, only to spread out again as she resumes her dance.

Another note-worthy sequence sees two dancers, a man and a woman, stand together against the now vertical platform-turned-wall. As they lean away, peeling noises from Ben Frost’s experimental score integrate so seamlessly with their movements that the dancers seem to literally peel off each other. As in film, each element of the performance is perfectly integrated, creating a satisfying, total experience.

It must be said, however, that Robin Fox’s laser designs steal the show. Though the laser-only section of Mortal Engine lacks the dynamic tension of the other hybrid sequences, the show would be barely recognisable without the lasers that interpret and transform almost every scene. Special mention must be made of the show’s conclusion. Smoke machines engulf the audience, isolating each member, and green lasers project outwards into the theatre, creating an illusory tunnel. The distortion of space and perception is both fascinating and somewhat unsettling.

Though it seems an obvious warning for a show involving lasers, epilectics beware. Strobe-lighting is used heavily, and if you happen to be conservative in your artistic tastes, please note that partial nudity and uncomfortably loud noises also feature. For those who have seen Mortal Engine in the past, the ending has been slightly altered for this revival.

Mortal Engine is a captivating exploration of the line that separates movement and technology. Guaranteed to keep you thinking for days, the return of Chunky Move’s award-winning hybrid show to Melbourne is a triumph for Victoria’s own state-funded contemporary dance company.

Trespass Mag: An Open Letter to Captain Planet

2010-03-14T01:26:00.001+11:00

Dear Captain Planet,

We need your help! The planet is getting hotter, and the climate scientists on television tell me our (future) children are going to die. DIE. So I beg you Captain, on behalf of all the Earth’s citizens, to return to us, just this once, and zap all our troubles away.

Please?

If the predictions of the Department of Climate Change are correct, Australia is set to warm a further one degree Celsius, see drought frequency increase by 20 percent and fire danger increase 25 percent all by 2030. Clearly, we are in a state of emergency.

And let’s not forget my first home, New Zealand. Given the apparent tendency of my fellow kiwis to head towards potential tsunamis, rather than away from them, they could well end up extinct.

I know you’re based in the United States, but I would like you to consider a temporary migration to Australia. Think about it for a second. America already has Superman, Spiderman and Batman at their disposal. Don’t you think that’s a little unfair?

In any case, you would be nothing if not unique on this side of the globe. Seriously, you wouldn’t have to share the glory with anyone (let’s be honest Cap, Superman is a hard act to follow, eh?) and as I’ve mentioned, you’d have tonnes to do here.

Mr. Planet, please cast your mind back to the good old nineties.

You. Were. A. Legend.

Whenever things got out of hand, you and the Planeteers were always there to ward off the eco-villains of the day. Don’t think we didn’t notice your efforts. As a fat-faced, eager-to-please young child with early onset acne (I was eight), I lived to watch you work your magic every day at 5.30pm on Channel 2.

Wielding the forces of nature the way you did, with your sexy green hair and blue skin – what was there not to like?

Please don’t be angry. I do realise it has taken a potential apocalypse to get many of us properly interested in the welfare of the planet (including myself). I know there are still sceptics that continue to dispute science, rejecting figures which show the planet has been warming, and that deny human activity has anything to do with our current problem. One need look no further than our very own Opposition leader Tony Abbott to realise this.

Even so, let me be the first to offer my apologies. Climate scientists and environmental activists have been prodding me for years through the television to save water and electricity, and until now, I’ve mostly ignored them despite my good intentions.

But now they’re telling me that the world might die and I’m afraid, Mr. Planet. Very afraid.

I hope you realise that most of us believe the planet is important. Some of us even learnt that from you; I know I did. The freckly-faced gap-toothed version of me that watched your show did more than just sit in front of the telly all day – she also picked up rubbish in exchange for ‘Be a Tidy Kiwi’ stickers at school, and wrote letters to the Prime Minister and the Queen about the planet. I’m sure you’ve inspired more than one kid to do the same.

Captain, you and the Planeteers taught me and my friends to look after the environment because it is the right thing to do. Not because our future children might die if we didn’t, but because the planet is worth our love. Though some of us have lost sight of this, I think there’s still hope. After all, measures like reducing air and water pollution, cutting emissions, saving electricity, taking care of plant life and finding alternate energy sources are all indisputably good for the environment. Surely there’s still time for reason to take hold, if only you would give us a chance. We’ve harnessed all the elements – Earth, Fire, Wind and Water. Now we just need Heart (sorry, just had to add that).

So by our powers combined, I summon you, Captain, to show us the way forward. Captain Planet, you’re our hero, let’s take pollution down to zero!

Kindest regards,

Grace Edwards

Reformed Greenie/Captain Planet fan

CANADA: Night Owls, 3MBS, 26/27th Feb (tonight), midnight-2am

2010-02-26T22:28:00.005+11:00

Paying tribute to the terrible coverage of the Winter Olympics at the moment,tonight's theme on Night Owls,3MBS 103.5 FM, is CANADA. Canadian composers, Canadian performers, but no, I refuse to put on a Canadian accent - that might just be overkill :)

Here's the programme for tonight for those who want to check it out.

Cheers,
Grace

Programme - Friday 26th Feb

John Weinzweig:
Two choral works - Prisoner of Conscience and Hockey Night in Canada. Opera in Concert Chorus/Robert Cooper.

Denis Gougeon:
Concertino for Guitar and Strings. Dimitri Illarionov, gtr., The Seasons Orch/Vladislav Bulakhov.

Robert Nathaniel Dett:
Juba. Dennis Hennig, pno.

Leonard Cohen (arr. Wells):
Hallelujah. David Hobson, ten., Teddy Tahu Rhodes, bar., Sinfonia Australis/Guy Noble.

Ann Southam:
Remembering Schubert. Mary Kenedi, pno.

Jack Behrens:
Hommage to Chopin. Mary Kenedi, pno.

Nicolo Paganini:
Sonata No.16 in E. Norbert Kraft, gtr., Moshe Hammer, vln.

Jacques Hetu:
Guitar Concerto, Op.56. Dimitri Illarionov, gtr., The Seasons Orch/Vladislav Bulakhov.

Johh Weinzweig:
Red Ear of Corn. Ottawa National Arts Centre Orch/Mario Bernardi.

Bach:
English Suite No.1 in A, BWV806. Glenn Gould, pno.

An Education

2010-02-25T00:42:00.005+11:00

Education is the key to success. It’s true; if you don’t believe me, ask my mum. Since before I could tell the time, this adage was drummed into me by family and friends. Study hard, they told me; then you’ll be able to get yourself a respectable, useful degree, land your dream job and live happily ever after.

So I studied, got the grades and began my ‘useful’ double-degree combo of Media and Communications and Law. I even signed on for a Diploma of Modern Languages in Japanese, just because I could. Six months later, having seen the proverbial light, I dropped out of all three components and embarked on my current path, that of the lowly Arts student. The funny thing is that deep-down, I think I knew even before I applied that the Law course wouldn’t be right for me. So why did I go through with it?

The short answer is that I wanted to be educated. Or at least, I wanted to appear that way to everyone else. In high school, that meant being good at maths, a black and white subject with right and wrong answers. At uni, that meant studying law, dentistry, medicine or commerce. It didn’t matter to anyone around me at the time that I found history and the arts infinitely more appealing, for those interests were frivolous.

I remember telling a fellow high school student that I wanted to be a writer. He looked at me disappointedly and remarked, “Is that all?” Another baulked when I told him I was considering taking an Arts degree. He promptly informed me of his intentions to study a ‘real’ course that would actually challenge him, like engineering or medicine. Years later, I still marvel at how easily the benefits of a liberal education were dismissed by my peers, and how pressured I felt to conform.

Education should harness your full potential as a human being. Relevant work experience and real-world skills can greatly enhance both the learning experience and your employability. But simply training to be one of a million highly-skilled drones sitting in a cubicle somewhere is not educating yourself.

Surely an arsenal of vocational skills is best wielded by ethical, responsible individuals. By men and women with a basic understanding of the world’s uneven playing field, who think about their role in society. Superb organisations like The Big Issue exist thanks to individuals who combine practical know-how with a humanist outlook. Together, these qualities can do more than just land you a job. They can transform your life and the lives of others.

I don’t claim to be fully educated, whatever that means, and anyone who does almost certainly isn’t. But my Arts degree has helped me become a more culturally-aware and ethical human being.

I’m sure there are people out there who are passionate about their vocational degree, and many more who go to bed dreaming about the car, the house and the six-figure income that their law, medicine or commerce degree will all but guarantee them. It’s just not me; never again do I want to be stuck in that strange limbo inhabited by students who take vocational courses courtesy of a super-high Year 12 score, or who suffer through subjects they hate because they sound more worthwhile. I doubt I would learn anything that way.

As an Arts student, it’s fair to say that I possess a humanist view of education. At University, alas, this means I am often dismissed as indecisive, impractical and stupid. To be my own person however, I’m willing to wear that bizarre prejudice a little while longer. I know myself, and I know that I am none of these things. Whilst I’m not at all fazed by the idea of making financial sacrifices in the name of a non-traditional career, I have also racked up numerous paid and unpaid hours gaining skills alongside my degree which will hopefully give me currency in the job market.

The greatest gifts my education has offered me are the power to choose who I want to become, and the tools to get there. I look forward to continuing the journey.

Published in Trespass Magazine

The Ballets Russes, TODAY, 8-10pm, 3MBS 103.5 FM

2010-02-11T17:27:00.006+11:00

It's TODAY!
Tune in to 3MBS 103.5 FM at 8pm via your radio or through Internet live streaming for the the first in a new monthly dance series on Friday Night Special, entitled, The Ballets Russes. For what it's worth, the show is produced and hosted by yours truly :) For instructions on how to Internet stream, click here

Click here to see a post about the show on Dance Informa Magazine.

There will be interviews with dance writer and historian/former NLA and New York public libraries dance curator, Michelle Potter and former Royal New Zealand Ballet and Queensland Ballet Artistic Director, Harry Haythorne, who witnessed the Ballets Russes tours to Adelaide as a boy.

Expect music from ballets such as The Firebird, the Rite of Spring and Graduation Ball ( the only Ballets Russes production created in Australia) among others, funny anecdotes and history to round off the mix.

Pretty please invite your friends to listen. You can even invite them via facebook here

Lots of work has gone into this, so I truly hope you enjoy it. Feel free to write on the event wall above or just let me know if you like what you hear (or not)!

I know it's wrong but I love

2010-02-09T00:31:00.003+11:00

Here's the general intro and my section from the latest cover story on Trespass Magazine, which you can view in full here. Please don't judge me too harshly!

It is Love Week at Trespass and we have asked some film enthusiasts to look deep inside their artistic souls and let out their darkest filmic secrets. Taking the immortal words of Millie Jackson - ‘if loving you is wrong, I don’t want to be right’ as our mantra - it is time to find out who and/or what these movie-buffs know is so wrong, but can’t help loving anyway…

Grace Edwards (Trespass Contributor)

I know it’s wrong, but I love…

* The Scream franchise - He dies, she dies, everyone dies; except poor teenager Sidney Prescott, of course. Much to my dismay, watching a Halloween mask-clad murderer leave scores of students dead in pools of their own blood seems to do it for me. Isn’t human nature fascinating?

* Leave It to Beaver (1997) - There’s nothing wrong with loving this remake of the 1950’s feel-good series about a curious but naïve boy named Theodore “Beaver” Cleaver; as long as you’re under the age of twelve. In my defence, the little boy who plays Beaver is absolutely adorable. Those wide eyes, those goofy antics, how could you not love him?

* Species - Gorgeous, often-naked, killer alien Sil (Natasha Henstridge) escapes from a lab and scientists try to track her down before she mates with a human male. Not hard to see why the boys like this film. Though I hate to admit it, I see the appeal too. Blood, sex and tonnes of fight scenes add up to one very successful C-grade sci-fi movie.

Waitangi Day Special TONIGHT on Night Owls 3MBS 103.5 FM

2010-02-05T10:40:00.003+11:00

Midnight tonight is technically midnight tomorrow, which is....WAITANGI DAY in NZ!

In other words, an excuse to hear the finest kiwi composers and performers on Night Owls, midnight-2am, 3MBS 103.5 FM. That means Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Douglas Lilburn, Teddy Tahu-Rhodes and more!

Check out the list below.

AND, don't forget to mark Friday Feb 12th in your diaries - PASSION FOR DANCE's first ever show starts at 8pm on 3MBS. It focuses on the BALLETS RUSSES,a revolutionary company that gave us classics such as The Rite of Spring and The Firebird and features music, interviews, scandal and history. Don't miss it.

The show is technically hosted on the show Friday Night Special, so if you hear me mentioning that don't be alarmed :)

Invite yourself here

See the latest post on Passion for Dance - The Ballets Russes here

Cheers,
Grace

Night Owls Programme list (in no particular order)

Trad. E papa (Dame Kiri)

Lilburn, Aotearoa Overture

Trad. (arr. Heenan), Hokihoki tonu mai (Dame Kiri)

Trad. (arr. Heenan), Hine e hine (Dame Kiri)

Trad. (arr. Heenan) Tahi nei taru kino (Dame Kiri)

Whitehead. Manutaki

Tomoana (arr. O'Boyle), Pokarekare Ana (Tahu-Rhodes)

Lilburn, Symphony No.1

Hill (arr. Krips), Waiata Poi

Hill, Sacred Mountain

Lilburn, A Song of Islands

Whitehead, The Journey of Matuku Moana

Published: review: Warriors of Brazil

2010-02-04T21:53:00.002+11:00

To see fit, half-naked men flip and kick for an hour-and-a-half to infectious Brazilian beats, buy a ticket to Warriors of Brazil. Just don’t be surprised if you come out feeling a little like you’ve attended a sermon.

Warriors of Brazil is a dynamic celebration of the martial art, Capoeira, blended with music and dance. The show opens with a punch, as several young men flip and tumble onto the stage in front of the live band. Soon enough they are no longer wearing shirts, their gyrating pelvises and tumbling tricks taking centre stage - not that anyone complained.

The performers’ athleticism and skill are awe-inspiring. At one point, the warriors bring on to the floor a generous number of young women from the audience, packing them together tightly in a line, before a man emerges from the wings to soar over the tops of the ladies’ heads in a death-defying jump.

Rhythm Carnival’s talented musicians were no less impressive, the jazz flute taking on a personality of its own. Singer Paloma Gomes stole the show with her stunning voice, diva-like stage presence and colourful outfit changes.

Least effective were the sections of talk that alternated with the action. Hailing from the once notoriously violent favelas and ghettos of Salvador de Bahia, the performers were understandably keen to voice their love for Capoeira. However, Rayson Santana’s heavily-accented call to take up the sport that saves people from drugs, violence and even death, grew tiresome in the end. The message was disconcertingly drummed home by an on-stage gang violence re-enactment, which ended with a man dragged into the wings to the sound of gun shots.

However, the sheer energy and skill of the performers ultimately won the day. Warriors of Brazil proved to be a fun, athletic and action-packed event, suitable for all ages. Ideal for summer or simply an evening out with friends.

Tickets are available:

Melbourne:
Her Majesty’s Theatre
2-7 Feb,2010
Bookings: 1300 795 012 www.ticketek.com.au

Adelaide:
Festival Theatre
9-11 Feb,2010
Bookings: 131 246 www.bass.net.au

First published in Trespass Magazine

Published: Lucy Guerin – ‘A Human Interest Story’

2010-02-03T10:45:00.004+11:00

By Grace Edwards.

Adelaide-born contemporary dance choreographer Lucy Guerin has much to be proud of. Since her company, Lucy Guerin Inc. was established in 2002, Guerin has become one of the nation’s most highly recognised and influential dance figures, whose works have been toured across the globe. Dance Informa’s Grace Edwards caught up with Lucy to discuss her work and life as a choreographer.

You started out as a dancer, but now work as a choreographer. Did you always see a career as a choreographer ahead of you?

“No! I don’t think I was really that aware of choreography when I started actually, or the scope of it. When you study very known vocabularies, like ballet, which has a set number of steps strung together in different ways, there’s still choreography involved, but I think when I started studying contemporary dance and there was an infinite number of possibilities for creating movement, that’s when I started to become more interested in choreography as perhaps a future career. But I definitely wanted to dance initially and didn’t begin choreographing until my thirties.”

What, to your mind, makes for a good work, choreographically speaking?

“For me personally, I like to see either dance vocabulary or combinations of movement that are unusual or unfamiliar to me. Something that makes me see the subject of the work in a new way or understand myself in a new way.

I’m quite demanding of works in that I’m not just interested in seeing fantastic dancing and flashy choreography. I really do want to have an unusual experience, and that’s what I try to do with audiences in my own work. I know that’s a big ask and it’s not going to happen every time to every person, but that’s what I’m aiming for.”

How do you sense when your own works have reached completion?

“I think there’s a certain point when I’m making works when it moves out of just being sections that you have to put together. You can’t work on a whole piece at once, so you tend to work on sections, but then when you start putting them together, that’s when things change, or you think to yourself that something has to go.

Once that process is done, once the work has a trajectory and has a sense as a whole, as a structure, that’s when I hope that it’s finished. You could go on forever of course, but I try to have all the details and these individual moments come together to make something bigger.”

On the flip side, how do your works take form in the beginning?
“Generally, I have an idea about the subject matter, what aspect of the world I want to connect with dance, it’s quite broad. Then I bring it into the studio and I work on a process for that subject matter.

The processes that I’ve used in my last few works I’ve made slightly different for each work, and so really the first step in the studio is to do a number of experiments to figure out the process for generating new material. For instance in my last work, Corridor, that was to develop a lot of lists of instructions and deliver those instructions quickly to the dancers and create the movement that way.

In my most recent work (Human Interest Story), I’m interested in current events and in the way news is brought and how we respond to that, because sometimes I feel that dance often only speaks about certain things and can be quite an interior, personal art form. I’m interested in this latest work to see if the movement can be pushed outwards to connect with more day-to-day, real-life events.”

How has your way of working evolved since you started out as a choreographer?

“In early works I used to create all of the movement myself and the dancers would learn the phrases that I made, but in more recent works I’ve generated the material differently, mostly through the dancers.

When I made my very first piece with other people, I can remember being terribly nervous about having to stand in front of other people and tell them what to do, because they were all my peers at that point. I worked out the entire dance in the studio by myself first.

Now it’s evolved over the years such that, although I have some ideas for the content, subject and the process, I don’t work out anything ahead of time. I think now I trust much more my situation, my art form, the environment in which I make it and the dancers, and that all those things will come together on the day to produce different material. It’s a dance between coming in and being very prepared knowing that you’re going to try this and this, but then also trusting your instincts.”

You re-staged your work, Structure and Sadness, last year in Melbourne. How did the experience differ this time around?

“Well, the cast was a little bit different. Otherwise, I don’t tend to change my works a lot once they’re premiered, because once you’ve seen a work over and over you start to recognise flaws and sometimes if you try to fix them another part of the work becomes a problem, and the whole thing becomes too unwieldy.

You know, I actually really like re-staging works because I feel quite separate from them. I feel like they belong to the dancers and to the audience and I like to see how they respond to them.

And now I don’t get quite so nervous! I’ve always been very, very nervous in that work just because, you know, there are the normal nerves that go with presenting a new work, but also everything, in this work in particular, could just go so horribly wrong. We do have a back-up plan, but it really is a real-life situation happening up there for the dancers.”

You are taking your work Untrained to Adelaide in February, which features two trained and two untrained performers. What has it been like working with such a mix?

“It’s really fun for one thing! It’s just wonderful to watch untrained dancers dancing. And not just social dancing, but doing abstract movements alongside trained dancers. I mean, they can’t really do them, but they do these approximations of them which are quite beautiful in a different way.

It’s beautiful to watch how training changes people’s bodies, but it’s also interesting to witness how much more you can read in untrained dancers. Their ‘personalities’ can be read through their movements because they don’t share that common intonation that all dancers have.

There are an infinite number of things that interest me about that project. It was never meant to be a performed work, it was really just a week of research for me, but by the end I thought we’d gotten so far along that I should make it into a piece. Now the untrained are actually improving though, so I’ll have to change them soon because they’re starting to pick up a few tips!”

What do you find most rewarding and challenging about working as a choreographer in Australia?

“I think there are amazing dancers here. I love Australian dancers. I did work for quite a long time in New York, but I think there’s just something about having to grapple with your own culture and strengths and weaknesses in relation to art. I’ve been very fortunate here in that I’ve been well supported, I have a studio and a small functioning structure to support my work so I’m not struggling in the way I would be in some other countries, or in the way that some of the younger choreographers are.

One thing that’s a little hard in Australia is that we don’t really discuss ideas and possibilities for our art form as much as we could. But I think that the people in the dance community we have here in Melbourne are very supportive of each other, and choreographers work together to try and allow dancers to get as much work as possible. We’re always in constant conversation with other dance companies to work out clashes in touring seasons, because we share dancers. I know that’s something that would not happen in a lot of other countries.

I think it would be hard on the dancers though, because there aren’t a lot of full-time companies. My company is not full-time, and many others are project-based, so I think that’s why it’s really important to work together and try to create an environment that’s stimulating and inspirational.”

Lucy Guerin Inc. will perform Untrained at the Adelaide Festival between February 24-27th at 7pm and on February 28th at 5pm, at the Adelaide Centre for the Arts. To book tickets phone 121 246 or visit www.adelaidefestival.com.
For more information, see Lucy Guerin Inc.’s official website at www.lucyguerin.com.

Photo: Lucy Guerin Inc. Untrained. Photo: Jeff Busby
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First published in Dance Informa http://www.danceinforma.com

Published: Andrew Simmons creates A Song in the Dark

2010-02-03T10:39:00.004+11:00

By Grace Edwards.

He’s danced with the Royal New Zealand Ballet, travelled the world and worked in Europe as a freelance dancer and choreographer. Now Germany-based choreographer Andrew Simmons returns to New Zealand to create his third work for the RNZB, A Song in the Dark.

A Song in the Dark is one of three works featured in the RNZB’s upcoming TOWER season, From Here to There. Dance Informa’s Grace Edwards asks Andrew about his latest offering.

Andrew, your piece, A Song in the Dark, has been described as “exploring themes of missed opportunities, love and beauty in the ordinary.” What inspired you to create such a work?

The inspiration for the work comes from many difference places, mostly from day to day experiences, the interactions that we have with others, and the beauty that is all around us in things we take for granted, such as friendship, people, nature, art, and architecture.

Much of the movement in my work is fleeting and danced in couples, which heightens these aspects.

Why did you choose to set A Song in the Dark to music by minimalist composer, Philip Glass?

I didn’t really set out wanting to use his music, as a lot of it, while interesting, can be quite overwhelming. I happened to find the longest of the three pieces I have chosen by chance. I really liked it, as it is for piano and strings only, so it sounds very rich. It sounds like it moves in waves while at the same time having good clear leads to follow.

Once I’d decided that I wanted to use that piece, I thought more about how I wanted to structure the work, and the other two pieces were easy to find.

Is that how you always begin the creative process? How do you usually conceive and create your works, from start to finish?

I almost always start with the music. That gives me the best indication of how I want to the piece to feel and look. Then it gets more specific, working out the number of dancers and which sections of music may fit group, duet or solo work best.

I start with a few steps that I can give the dancers on day one, and the movement vocabulary evolves from there. I try to work as fast as possible so that there is time left for things to be expanded on and cleaned once the rough draft of the work is finished. Then, once you’re in the theatre, you see if anything looks strange in the space and, of course, if there are any traffic problems moving on and off stage.

Once that’s all done itʼs time for the dancers to do what they do best and present the work, hopefully in the same way it was initially envisioned.

You have worked as both a dancer and a choreographer. What do you consider some of the personal highlights of your career?

The transition from dancing to focusing more on choreography has only recently taken place for me, and at what is quite a young age for that change to happen. To be honest, the highlights are the people Iʼve been able to meet and work with.

Dancing throughout the UK, China and Australia with the RNZB gave me some great experiences, and dancing Jorma Eloʼs Plan to A was one of my most enjoyable moments as a dancer because of the unique choreographic style of the piece. And of course, the opportunities I have had to create works for the RNZB.

Having been an RNZB dancer yourself, does that affect the way you work with your dancers, particularly in relation to A Song in the Dark?

Itʼs really great actually. The times which I’ve found the hardest were during choreographic workshops and when I was still a dancer in the company creating things. Coming from the outside and then working with the dancers has been easier, as there is less of a blur about what position each person is in. It is now clear that I am there as a choreographer and that that’s my job, first and foremost.

It also helps that we can have a relaxed working environment, as I’ve spent many years working with the same people and we’ve shared a lot of good times together.

What is a typical day like working with the RNZB?

The dancers start the day with class for an hour and a half at 9:30am. Then the day is split up into three main rehearsals, one in the morning, then two after lunch. During a triple bill season there is one rehearsal for each piece. There are also rehearsal times that can be used in other studios if there are dancers that are free whilst not being used in the main rehearsal.

Finally, what would you like the audience to take away with them from A Song in the Dark?

Thatʼs a hard question to answer, as itʼs so individual. The times that people come and tell you their thoughts and feelings about a work, ones that are so removed from anything you had been focusing on whilst creating it, are often the most interesting. I donʼt feel you can or should tell someone what they should be looking for in a work, or what they should ‘get’ from something like this. My job, as an artist, is to help create individual interpretation and thoughts.

All the best for the season, Andrew!

The Royal New Zealand Ballet’s TOWER season, From Here to There, runs from February 25th to March 27th 2010. It begins in Dunedin and tours to Invercargill, Christchurch, Hastings, Hamilton, Auckland and Wellington. To book tickets or to find out more, see the RNZB’s official website at www.nzballet.org.nz

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First published in Dance Informa http://www.danceinforma.com

Published: RNZB's Artistic Director, Gary Harris, on Life After the Ballet

2010-02-03T10:33:00.004+11:00

By Grace Edwards.

After almost a decade with the Royal New Zealand Ballet, Artistic Director Gary Harris is leaving. He plans to step down at the end of this year, after the company’s final performance of his own version of The Nutcracker. “I’ll miss the people and the company,” he tells me, “and my mates. There’s a lot I will miss.”

So what does he intend to do next, I ask, sitting across from Harris in his office at Wellington’s St. James’ Theatre. His answer? “I really don’t know!”

A self-described jack of all trades, Harris worked as a dancer, teacher, repetiteur and designer for such companies as the London Festival Ballet and Royal Ballet before landing his current role at the RNZB in September 2001. Despite his varied background, Harris insists that being an Artistic Director was never part of his master plan.

“I just loved the company, New Zealand and all the people. I loved the company’s energy – they were like little sponges just saying ‘Oh, give me that!’ I was lucky enough to work as a guest teacher over the next few years and got to keep coming back. I was looking for a change when the Artistic Directorship came up, and I thought ‘I’ll go for it.’ It was never on my list of things to become Artistic Director, I was just interested in the company. But I got the job!”

Gary HarrisIndeed he did, and since that day the RNZB has grown and evolved to fit Harris’ vision. I ask him how he feels the company has changed under his direction. Harris replies “I think the company has more line and stretch about the look of the dancers, if that makes sense. Obviously everyone has individual things they want to see. I’m quite firm about port de bras and, you know, ways of working that they now all understand. But it was a slow process. You know, I always thought I’d do maybe six years and see how I was feeling after six years was up, but when I got there I thought ‘No, there’s still more to do.’ It really was slow, moving the company forward and changing its shape and work ethic. I mean the RNZB’s always had a good work ethic, but I suppose it was them getting used to me and me getting used to them.”

After nine years of spending almost every day at the RNZB, Harris will now have to get used to their absence. But don’t fear, Harris is not gone for good just yet. “I’m back next year anyway, because we’re doing a new production of The Sleeping Beauty which I’m designing,” he informs me. “So I’ll still be back here quite a bit!”

Harris tells me that apart from the people, what he will miss most about the RNZB is the creative freedom he enjoyed. “It’s such a good model here. It’s such a nice company – it’s well-funded, it’s well supported, it’s very well-contained and one can pretty much do what one likes in terms of programming. There’s nobody in the background saying ‘Oh no, you can’t do this’. I have everyone’s support to really pick and choose what I feel is right. Everyone just jumps on board and gets on it with such energy and passion. There’s no bureaucracy, and I think in European houses and companies there’s much more of that, so I’ll miss that aspect.”

Yet creative freedom can be a double-edged sword, as Gary found out a few years ago. “We’re pretty well-organised as a company, so there are generally no disasters. But I think the worst experience I’ve had was with The Wedding, a ballet we did, which had, I think, seven creatives on board and they all had an opinion about the work.” He adds, smiling, “and they continued to have an opinion about the work until half an hour before the curtain went up! It was a nightmare trying to placate, juggle and satisfy all of their needs and still keep a vision of what the work should be and what it was agreed to be. It drove me nuts! Now I think about it, it was just funny because we were all screaming at each other and having a right old match. I had to go find somebody at a pub and someone else had gone off on a ‘strop’ at a café and I had to pull everyone together again.”

Fortunately, Harris has a sense of perspective. “Oh, you’ve got to laugh,” he cries. “I mean it’s only ballet, it’s not rocket science you know!”

Having been there through the company’s highs and lows for over a decade, Harris’ relaxed attitude is to be admired. So what does he see in the company’s future? “Let’s see, international touring to keep the standard up. More New Zealanders staying here to dance with the company, rather than wanting to run away and have careers overseas. This company really is a solid option to want to have a career in. More people coming here to train that will want to come to the company and yeah, just to keep growing and keep the reputation of the company getting out there.”

Whoever Harris’ successor may be, they will certainly be inheriting a vibrant and professional company, thanks in no small part to Harris. No doubt, we will continue to see Harris’ magic sprinkled on the RNZB for some time yet.

For information about the Royal New Zealand Ballet visit www.nzballet.org.nz
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First published in Dance Informa magazine, www.danceinforma.com

Ballet, music and NIGHT OWLS...

2010-01-28T20:48:00.006+11:00

I'M BACK! And with me comes my first Night Owls show for the year.
There's a great line-up for tomorrow night (not that I'm biased or anything), so tune in if you can!

So when is it? MIDNIGHT, JAN 29/30th (i.e. tomorrow), 3MBS 103.5 FM Classically Melbourne www.3mbs.org.au. See the bottom of this post for a list of pieces to be aired.

If you're a ballet-lover, mark FEBRUARY 12th, 8pm in your diary right now. I'm hosting a 2-hour dance special on 'The Ballets Russes' on 3MBS, which marks the beginning of a monthly series on dance on the channel. It's the only one I know of currently gracing the air waves in Victoria, so it's worth checking out. See this post in Dance Informa Magazine for more info. Go on. Do it. You know you want to. Oh yeah, and tell your friends! :)

Speaking of Dance Informa, the next edition is coming out soon, so look out for interviews by yours truly with the Royal New Zealand Ballet's Artistic Director Gary Harris, RNZB choreographer Andrew Simmons and our own Lucy Guerin.
Hope you'll enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them!

Cheers,
Grace

Night Owls programme list (in no particular order):

Purcell, Dido and Aeneas, Act I.

Adam, Giselle, Pas de deux, Act II.

Lloyd Webber, excerpt, Phantom of the Opera.

Brahms, Symphony No.4 in E minor.

Mahler, Symphony No.5, Adagietto.

Berlioz, Les Troyens, Nuit d'Ivresse.

Schoenberg, Pierrot lunaire.

Top 5 Moments of 2009

2009-12-28T15:52:00.005+11:00

2009 is nearly over and what a year it has been. Before we hand ourselves over to the New Year, I thought it might be nice to share my top 5 moments of 2009 with you.

I put together my list as part of this week's cover story on Trespass Magazine, which you can find here. This article features other 'top 5 moments' from the editors and some of the writing team at Trespass Mag, and they make for a thoroughly interesting read. I encourage you wholeheartedly to comment on the article with your own top 5 moments. Without further ado, here's my section of the article for your reading pleasure.

My Top 5 Moments:

Grace Edwards

It was a tough process attempting to distil a year of celebrity deaths, bankruptcy, natural disasters and general lunacy into five defining moments. Instead of trying to objectively sort the events into some sort of a list or method, I opted for a more intuitive approach. Below are the moments that most thoroughly astounded, wowed or shocked me this year.

Global Financial Crisis

The big, bad and the ugly all rolled into one. Christmas is hard enough on the pockets as it is, but this year the GFC cast a gloomy shadow over the holiday season for many families the world over. Hopefully 2010 will take us out of financial doldrums, having made us all a little wiser for it.

The Inauguration of Barack Obama

Yes we can! Obama’s rise to power brought hope for a better, more progressive future and ushered in a new era for the Democrats in the States. Though his acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize and his administration’s health bill caused controversy this year, the President’s true legacy remains an open book.

Michael Jackson

Wacko Jacko’s sudden death ushered in a state of mourning across the globe. Fans grieved, the media profited and Jackson’s doctor became the world’s most hated man overnight.

The Twilight Franchise

The vampish successor to the immensely popular Harry Potter series arrived with a bang in 2005 and teenage girls around the globe have been calling themselves ‘Team Edward’ and ‘Team Jacob’ ever since. Though terribly written and strapped to a movie series containing some criminally bad acting, this complicated love story centring on teenager Bella Swan and her vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen can count 2009 as its most successful year to date.

The Tiger Woods Scandal

From family man to serial adulterer, the golfer’s squeaky clean image finally fell into the hole he created for himself. Wood’s downfall serves as a warning to anyone in the public eye - your private life is not out of bounds as far as the media is concerned, and if you’re a cheater, be prepared to face your woman’s wrath.

Published: Trum Ceps and Ginger Crunches

2009-12-23T18:05:00.004+11:00

Last year, whilst going through my ‘lite’ milk phase, I wandered over to a waitress at a well-known café in Auckland and ordered myself a skinny cappuccino. Big mistake.

The waitress looked up at me with a quizzical expression and asked that I repeat myself. Thinking she hadn’t heard me, I happily obliged. This time she chuckled loudly, shook her head and replied:

“Don’t you mean a trum cep (translation: trim cappuccino)? I’ve niver heard enyone call’em ‘skunny ceps’ before!”*

Well I’ll be. A trim cappuccino. Who would have thought a simple cappuccino order in Auckland could get so lost in translation? Vigorously nodding, I explained to the waitress that, as I had just returned from Melbourne where the term ‘skinny’ reigns supreme, I was not yet acquainted with this alternative lingo.

Settling down with my ‘trim’ cappuccino and regular serving of ginger crunch, also known as ginger slice, I thought I might well have discovered the first legitimate difference between Aussie and Kiwi culture since “feeesh and cheeeps versus fush and chups.” Tip of the iceberg, my friend. Tip of the iceberg.

Turns out my precious ginger crunch, in all its creamy, buttery glory, is nowhere to be found in Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane. Why, oh why, did no-one warn me of this before I made my move to the Land of Oz? More importantly, how is it, given the Aussie tendency to steal all things nice from New Zealand, that they could have missed this little gem?

Then it dawned on me. The Aussies do not possess our beloved Edmonds Cookbook! The trusty reference on every Kiwi Mum’s kitchen shelf lovingly passed down from generation to generation. Surely this is where the most famous recipe for ginger crunch comes from? For those of you who haven’t heard of this delectable dessert, it has a ginger-flavoured, biscuit-like base covered over by smooth ginger icing, and is often found in tea-rooms, Kiwi-Mum’s kitchen, and cafés. Intrigued? Here is the original Edmond’s version, which my mother and I cherish.

Ingredients:

125g Butter

125g Sugar

200g Flour

1 teaspoon Ground Ginger (though my mum recommends adding a bit more if you prefer!)

1 teaspoon Edmonds baking powder

Method:

Cream the butter and sugar, then add the sifted, dry ingredients.
Knead the mixture well and press into a greased shallow tin. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 190 degrees celsius in a regular oven.
Place into a saucepan 4 tablespoons of butter, 8 tablespoons of icing sugar, 4 teaspoons of golden syrup, and 2 teaspoons of ground ginger. Heat and stir the mixture until melted.
Pour the saucepan mixture over base in the tin whilst it is still hot, and cut the whole into squares before it gets cold. Leave the crunch in a well-aired room and wait for it to set. Enjoy.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Sorry my fellow Kiwis, you know I love you best, but I couldn’t resist that cheap shot. They say the teased eventually become the taunters and I am no different. For years, my faint kiwi accent has outed me to some of the most ruthless Aussies you’ll ever meet and as a result, I am currently struggling with Stockholm Syndrome. Please forgive me.

Published in Trespass Magazine

World Famous in New Zealand

2009-12-18T17:17:00.003+11:00

Every country has its own bevy of home-grown celebrities, but for some reason, the concept of ‘celebrity-fever’ seems that much more bizarre in New Zealand. Don’t get me wrong, I love Bic Runga, Brooke Fraser and Scribe just as much as the next Kiwi, but are they famous? Well, world-famous in NZ perhaps.

Maybe it’s just me, but my idea of the ‘celebrity idol’ was someone held up on a pedestal, someone who seemed unapproachable or unattainable. But every time I return to Auckland, I manage to bump into just about everyone on television at that given moment. I’m sorry, but that’s just not right.

Today for instance, whilst loitering around St. Luke’s Shopping Centre with my mother, I passed Britta from the TV show, Go Girls. Well, technically Britta is her character’s name, not her name, but you get the idea. Presumably she was doing her Christmas shopping like everyone else. Never heard of her? I assure you, you’re in the majority. Funnily enough, Mum bought me a TV guide along with the groceries which featured the actress. The same section in the guide also featured an actress currently on Shortland Street, who was in the same year as me in high school.

When I told Mum about my ‘celeb’ spotting (she’d never heard of Go Girls either), she told me that only a couple of months ago she saw current PM John Key at St. Lukes too. They were letting people take photos with him. She simply walked away, uninterested. Mum also bumped into actress Lynette Forday (Go Girls, Shortland Street) recently, being acquainted with one of her young children. Nobody around her gave a damn.

In a country in which I can get (and, in fact, have got) a photo with ex-PM Helen Clark and Mum turns down a photo opp with current PM John Key; in which the Opposition leader Phil Goff has regularly visited my old school for years and remains my Mum’s local MP; in which one out of every ten people I bump into are currently on or have been on Shortland Street – who are the celebrities??

I don’t know and I don’t care. I like it this way. They say New Zealanders are a friendly lot - maybe it’s because we all live in each other’s back pockets and have to learn to get along. Or maybe it’s because everyone gets to say they're world famous in New Zealand.

Cheers,
Gracee:) xo
World-famous in New Zealand
(09) #-F-A-M-O-U-S

Published: Cover story: The Body of Ballet

2009-12-15T14:32:00.004+11:00

It frightens me that I can walk into a competitive ballet studio, take a two-second glance at the aspiring young dancers in front of me and predict, with alarming accuracy, who will achieve their dreams and who will not. I may not know them or have seen them dance a single step, but their destiny is writ large in their DNA – in the length of their thighs, the shape of their feet and even the size of their breasts. It’s not right, but it is the reality.

Every year, thousands of would-be ballet dancers are turned away from elite schools around the globe simply because they have the ‘wrong’ body type. The ‘right’ ballet body type, on the other hand, is increasingly at odds with the average physique, where desired traits include high arches, a flexible torso, small head, small bust, slim hips, small ankles, long arms and legs. As a ballet student in my teens, I was always aware that anatomy was destiny, particularly for females. In fact, it was one of the reasons I quit studying ballet seriously at the age of fourteen. As a solid, round-faced young girl standing at 5 feet 2 inches, I knew I had little chance of making it beyond the bottom ranks of a ballet company, even assuming I made it past the entry requirements of a selective dance institution.

Margot Fonteyn wouldn’t meet today’s ’standards.’ Her thighs are too big. Mikhail Baryshnikov may well not have had his legendary career had he stayed in the USSR, where he was considered too short. It’s enough to make you wonder, how many Baryshnikovs and Fonteyns are rejected by elite schools each year?

Now, I have been a part of the ballet world since I donned my first leotard at the age of six, but this practice of selecting individuals on the basis of specific physical traits for aesthetic reasons, whilst excluding numerous talented others, has always seemed inherently unethical to me. In an age in which discrimination based on age, gender or race is considered intolerable in most professions, why is this allowed to continue?

Let’s get one thing clear. All dancers who do make it in this unforgiving profession are completely deserving of their success. I am proud to know many dancers who are studying at, or have recently graduated from such prestigious institutions as the Australian Ballet School, all of whom are exceptionally talented, dedicated individuals. It must also be said that not all full-time vocational schools are equally strict about physical requirements. But the myth of the ‘ideal physique’ remains strong enough to disqualify many otherwise talented individuals from a ballet career, and compel others to maintain unnaturally low weights.

For every talented dancer I know who has ‘made it,’ I know scores more who graduated with honours, but could not find work after graduation because they were too short or too muscular or too tall. It is upsetting to see amazing dancers spend hours every day for years refining their technique, entering competitions, and in some cases forgoing an upper secondary education, only to fall at the last, arbitrary hurdle.

The counter-argument says that aesthetics can’t be ignored because ballet is a visual art form - fair enough. But why does that mean that everyone has to be uniformly thin and androgynous? Why can’t there be a greater range of fit, strong, healthy physiques represented on stage? You’d have to be pretty fit simply to dance a three-hour long production of Swan Lake, so I would think. Thinness, and willowy legs and arms do not have to be the defining characteristics of a great ballet dancer. If you don’t believe me, then just take a look at history.

Look up any picture of the great ballerinas of the 19th and early 20th centuries, and you will amazed at their comparatively stocky figures. Whilst directors are quick to cast the most fragile and delicate in the company as their Giselle in the ballet of the same name - as a young girl who dies and rises again as an ethereal nymph – they often forget that buxom ladies with rounded arms and strong legs and feet were the original stars of the role, ladies who captured the Romantic spirit by flirting with the dual image of the woman as a sexual creature and an elusive, fragile other. They forget that the role of Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty too was created for a strong woman with resilient toes and a generous physique that hinted at Princess Aurora’s impending maturity. The current trend in ballet for long, thin bodies is a relatively recent development, encouraged by the personal tastes of influential choreographer George Balanchine, who wanted fast-moving, streamlined dancers to tackle his neo-classical works. The ‘Balanchine ideal’ was never meant to be extended to the entire ballet community.

I don’t go to the ballet to watch thoroughbred athletes perform feats of agility; I go because I want to see art. A thin physique does not, necessarily, a good artist make. Teachers and directors need to see dancers as more than just a sea of bodies from which they can pluck their ideal instrument.

To point the finger at the ballet community without considering audience expectations would be irresponsible. I have often asked myself if we as spectators fuel the problem. Are we so used to seeing unusually slender dancers moving in front of us that the sight of an average, healthy body seems distasteful? I believe the answer is yes and no.

A significant number of ballet-goers have at one time or another done a class, studied dance as a child, or are dancers themselves. If you have ever been to a ballet class as a young student, you’ll likely agree that it’s not hard to pick up the message that a good dancer is a thin dancer, and that bulky thighs or curvy hips or a well-endowed bosom are to be feared because they are ‘ungraceful.’ That some of these dance veterans might project their experiences onto the dancers they see at the ballet is only to be expected.

However, the majority of ballet’s audiences are casual viewers who may also be theatre and music lovers, or first-time goers. Most of these people only expect to see healthy dancers, and pay far less attention to matters of shape or technique versus physical form than the ballet world recognises. Let’s not forget that countless would-be spectators have likely been put off by ballet’s austere image and reputation for breeding eating disorders and damaged feet.

If I sound angry, it’s because I love ballet and I hate to see it’s potential as an art form hindered by such outdated and harmful practices. Ballet brings meaning and joy to the lives of many, including mine. But I cannot close my eyes to the fact that numerous people have had their lives damaged by the flawed reasoning that still exists in the ballet community. This reasoning affects not only professionals, but also former amateurs and students whose ideas of what a healthy body should look like have been seriously distorted, and who continue to struggle to maintain their self-esteem even in adulthood.

Even people who are well into their forties and beyond continue to link their worth and happiness to their dress size. They refuse to meet up with friends they haven’t seen in years because they are ashamed of how they now look, and thus feel inadequate compared to others they see as possessing the ‘ideal body.” To be told that you are unacceptable because of your physical appearance or that you need to ‘compensate’ for your physical shortcomings relative to others is devastating on so many levels and completely untrue - the words ‘talent’ or ‘potential’ are not synonymous with skinny or undeveloped, nor is the word ‘healthy’ synonymous with ‘fat.’

So where to go from here? An ethical conundrum presents itself whenever I tackle this question.

Physically-selective ballet schools exist because of demand from ballet companies, which want dancers that fit their aesthetic. If these schools were to widen their doors tomorrow, this would not change the fact that companies employ certain kinds of dancers over others. Given the educational, financial and emotional sacrifices that aspiring dancers have to endure, would it not be most humane to select dancers with the best chance of employment in the current market, even if that means only thin students make the cut, even if it perpetuates the very problem it attempts to solve?

Personally, I can’t accept this solution. It is the responsibility of directors and choreographers to safeguard both their discipline and the dancers who make their work possible. If this involves actively employing dancers against type, then so be it. Creating a more inclusive environment will not only save dreams, but also - dare I say - ballet itself. In the face of changing values, tastes and increased consumer choice, ballet needs to deal with its ’stuffy’ image. Valuing artistic excellence and health over thinness and technical competence in performers will only bring more dynamic artists to the attention of the public, and create the kind of energy that is too often lacking on stage.

Ballet is art, and dance is life. Anything that contradicts these two tenets should have no place in the dance world. Let’s keep it healthy and fun, and accessible to everyone, regardless of their size and shape.

Published at Trespass Magazine

Radio: Night Owls, midnight-2am, Friday night AND Saturday interview with Simon Hoy of Melbourne Ballet Company on Weekend Score, 11.30am-1pm

2009-12-11T17:09:00.006+11:00

If you haven't tuned in so far, tonight's the night to do it!

Right after Night Owls I'll be leaving for New Zealand, where I'll be honing my kiwi accent until the 21st of January. So my first Night Owls of the new year will happen on the 29th of January 2010 - over a month away!

Tonight's programme features, in no particular order:

Beethoven. 'Eroica' Symphony (No.3).

Mozart. Catalogue Aria from Don Giovanni.

Donizetti. Mad scene from Lucia di Lammermoor.

Khachaturian. Spartacus - Ballet Suite No.4.

Faure. Pavane (vocal and instrumental).

Saint-Saens. Bacchanale from Sampson and Delilah.

Gabrieli. 3 selections from Sacrae Symphoniae, 1597.

Debussy. Nuages.

Also, tune in tomorrow for my interview with Simon Hoy, resident choreographer of Melbourne Ballet Company on John Sheridan's Weekend Score 11.30am-1pm, Saturday (i.e. tomorrow) on 3MBS 103.5 FM.

Catch you tonight!
Grace

A cup of coffee with...

2009-12-04T22:02:00.007+11:00

I've been having a lot of coffee lately. This is because I like to meet people over coffee, and because I have recently had a lot of interesting people to meet. Whilst pondering this fact, it occurred to me that perhaps you might like to hear about these people too. So I've put together a mini-list of awesome things with which I am in love.

Trespass Magazine: This online mag appeals to young twenty-somethings around the globe and is updated daily. Trespass has approximately 40 writers at the moment and is growing rapidly for a magazine that is barely a year old. It also has an arts and culture section (in which you will often find my work), as well as tonnes of other sections such as food and opinion. Check it out. You won't be disappointed.

Move Through Life Dance Company and Flare Dance Company: From Adelaide and Melbourne respectively, these non-profit amateur dance companies are filling an important gap in the dance world. Check out their sites for classes and concerts and extras :)

Weekend Score with John Sheridan, 3MBS 103.5, Saturdays 11.30am-1pm: You can't go past this one for interviews with artists working in Melbourne. As I have indeed met John, I can say confidently that he is passionate about the show, and I think it's great. If you tune in next week you will find an interview by yours truly with choreographer Simon Hoy of the Melbourne Ballet Company. But more about that later...

Anyway, that's all from me! If you are staying up late tonight, then be sure to tune in to 3MBS 103.5 FM and listen to my weekly Night Owls programme from midnight to 2am.

Cheers,
Grace

Radio: Night Owls, midnight-2am, Friday night

2009-12-03T13:49:00.005+11:00

The programme for tomorrow night is, in no particular order:

Nicolo Paganini. Fantasia on Rossini's 'Moses in Egypt.' Op.24.

Ludwig van Beethoven. 'Moonlight Sonata.' Piano Sonata No.14 in C sharp minor. Op.27/2.

Claudio Monteverdi. Scenes from L'Orfeo, act. I.

Pyotr Tchaikovsky. White Swan pas de deux. Swan Lake.

Rae Howell. Thirteen.

Arvo Part. ...which was the son of... .

Samuel Barber. Nocturne. Op.33.

Ross Edwards. Violin Concerto, "Maninyas."

Bela Bartok. The Miraculous Mandarin. Op. 19.

As usual, the two-hour show will start at midnight tomorrow night (or Saturday morning to be precise) and will continue until 2am. It'll be good. Promise ;)

Once again I remind you, if you have a request either let me know in person, comment here or email me at g.edwards3@ugrad.unimelb.edu.au.

For more information about programmes on 3MBS, click here.

For more about me, click here.

Published: Review: Lucy Guerin Inc. - Structure and Sadness

2009-11-30T18:31:00.006+11:00

Lucy Guerin rediscovers a world on the brink of destruction in her acclaimed contemporary dance work, Structure and Sadness. Utilising the language of support, suspension, torsion and fall, the piece explores themes of shock and grief central to the tragic West Gate Bridge collapse in 1970, which killed 35 workers. Despite the sensitive subject matter, Structure and Sadness proved a work of rare beauty, presenting piercing insights with calculated subtlety.

First performed as part of the 2006 Melbourne International Arts Festival, Structure and Sadness was received warmly by critics and has since been toured internationally. It is not hard to see why.

Together, the dancers successfully illuminated the structural vulnerability of the world they have constructed onstage. At times entwined in mutual dependence with large bands of elastic, at other times adjusting to buoy planks of wood moving over their bodies. As living planks of steel, they tested gravity and flirted with disaster. Taking on the roles of workers, the dancers built a giant structure out of wood, held together only by the laws of physics. By the time the structure was complete, the audience was fully aware that it has been built to collapse.

Visual artist Michaela French’s motion graphics backdrop presented an electrifying metaphor for the shock of a catastrophe, alternately fragmenting and recollecting the image of the bridge. Sound designer Gerald Mair’s experimental score, on the other hand, isolated the groans and booms of infrastructure, which edged uncomfortably close to the sound of a human voice.

In a moving tribute to the workers who died on that fateful day, the final scene depicts the workers in abstract form, moving with quiet energy, twisting and joining in partnership to see their last project through. The concluding moments, in which the workers lay peacefully still underneath the bridge whilst the room faded to black was powerful, creating an image capable of etching itself in the memory for days.

Lucy Guerin Inc’s Structure and Sadness is an artfully constructed and sensitive study of fragility and memory. For a valid and stirring artistic experience, one needs to look no further than this poetic offering from one of the most successful contemporary dance companies in Australia.

Image Credit: Jeff Busby.
Published in http://www.trespassmag.com/?p=6926

Radio: Night Owls, tonight, 27th/28th Nov, midnight until 2am

2009-11-27T16:57:00.004+11:00

Another Friday, another Night Owls. Remember if you have any requests for upcoming shows, feel free to let me know either by email or by commenting here. On another note, I will be reviewing Lucy Guerin Inc's Structure and Sadness tomorrow, so look out for the review to be posted here and published in Trespass Magazine

So what's on tonight you ask? In no particular order, the show will feature:

Verdi, 'Va pensiero' from the opera Nabucco.

Ravel, Bolero.

Barber, Knoxville: Summer of 1915 featuring soprano Kathleen Battle.

Brahms, Scherzo from Piano Quartet No.2 in A major.

Gottschalk, Souvenir de Porto Rico.

Copland, Appalachian Spring.

Dvorak, Slavonic Dances, Op.46.

La Comtessa de Dia (female troubadour), A Chantar.

For more information on programmes at 3MBS, click here.

Cheers,
Grace

Radio: Night Owls, 3MBS 103.5 FM, tonight, 12am-2am: A few notes

2009-11-20T21:02:00.016+11:00

To accompany tonight's show, I thought I'd put up a few notes about some of the major pieces.

Alexander Borodin, Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor

These Polovtsian Dances are perhaps the most well-known excerpts from the opera Prince Igor, Borodin's most famous work. The opera follows the story of Prince Igor, whose city, Puitvil, is overrun by the Polovtsi, a Mongol-like nomadic tribe.

The dances take place after Prince Igor has been captured by the Polovtsi. The male and female slaves dance to entertain the prince and the leader of the Polovtsi, Khan Kontchak. As an orchestral excerpt, the dances are usually understood to include the 'Dance of the Polovtsian Maidens' from Act I, and tonight will be no different.

First performed independent of the opera at fellow composer Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov's request, The dances achieved their first great success when Sergei Diaghilev choreographed them for the Ballets Russes in 1909. If you are a fan of musicals, you may be happy to know that the melody from the first dance is featured in the Broadway musical Kismet.

Igor Stravinsky, Petrushka

A little plot summary for you:

The ballet opens to the colourful and bustling atmosphere of St. Petersburg's Shrovetide fair. An organ grinder and two dancing girls entertain the crowd, and a magician warms the crowd. The magician brings forth the lifeless puppet figures of Petrushka, a Ballerina, and a Moor, and casts a spell on them. Suddenly they come to life and dance, all to the astonishment of the spectators.

The second scene, after the performance, is set in Petrushka's Cell, where Petrushka is forcefully led. As a living being, Petrushka feels human emotions, including resentment toward magician over his imprisonment, and love for the beautiful Ballerina. Petrushka tries to escape from his cell, but fails.

The Ballerina enters the room. Petrushka professes his love to her, but she rejects him and leaves hurriedly. Petrushka is heart-broken.

In the third scene, the magician places the Ballerina in the Moor's room. She is attracted to him and attempts to seduce him. Breaking free from his cell, Petrushka sees this and attacks the Moor. However, the Moor overpowers Petrushka, who runs for his life.

The fourth and final scene returns to the carnival. Petrushka dashes across the floor, followed by the Moor in hot pursuit brandishing his sword. In front of a horrified crowd, the Moor catches up with Petrushka and slays him with a single stroke of his blade.

The police arrive, but the magician simply shakes Petrushla's corpse in the air to remind everyone that Petrushka is only a puppet. The crowd and the magician leaves with Petrushka's body.

But alas, Petrushka’s ghost appears on the roof of the little theatre, crying out in angry defiance. Completely alone and isolated, the Charlatan is terrified. He runs away, with a single frightened glance over his shoulder.

Tableaux:
Part I: The Shrovetide Fair
Part II: Petrushka's Cell
Part III: The Moor's Room
Part IV: The Shrovetide Fair (Evening)

For more information about 3MBS 103.5 Classically Melbourne, click here.

Radio programme: Night Owls, Friday nights, midnight until 2am.

2009-11-16T18:28:00.011+11:00

Starting next week, you'll be able to tune in to 3MBS 103.5 FM Classically Melbourne on Friday nights (or technically-speaking, Saturday morning) and hear me present some wonderful music on the Night Owls programme!

Feel free to let me know if you have any favourites that you'd like to hear on future shows. Either comment here or email me at g.edwards3[at]ugrad.unimelb.edu.au.

Graceegirl will feature a list of the Friday Night Owls programme's music line-up each week from now on, so watch this space to see whether your favourites or requests are to be featured. Bear in mind that 3MBS is a classical music station, so Metallica requests are likely to fall on deaf ears!

This week, the line-up includes, in no particular order:

Gustav Mahler, Songs of a Wayfarer, voice and piano.

Igor Stravinsky, Petrushka. To view a clip of this famous 20th century ballet, go to:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vMpNfsYuvw

Henry Purcell, Come Ye Sons of Art.

Alexander Borodin, 'Polovtsian Dances' from Prince Igor. Instrumental version. To view a clip of the opera/ballet, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8C8frqCKKg

Antonio Vivaldi, Concerto for mandolin in C major.

Arvo Part, Spiegel im spiegel.

To learn more about 3MBS FM and the station's other programmes, you can go to the 3MBS website at: http://www.3mbs.org.au/

Spotlight: Bangarra Dance Theatre

2009-11-10T15:56:00.004+11:00

Bangarra Dance Theatre, one of Australia’s leading contemporary dance companies, is currently in Melbourne celebrating their 20th anniversary with its latest offering, Fire - a retrospective.

Fire brings together a selection of scenes from Bangarra’s best creative works as a tribute to the company’s success and longevity.

Renowned for its distinctive blend of indigenous, contemporary and urban dance styles, Bangarra has been led by its current Artistic Director, Stephen Page, since 1991.

Among the company’s most well known works are Rites (2007), choreographed by Page in collaboration with the Australian Ballet, and Awakenings, the indigenous section of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games opening ceremony. This production featured the Bangarra dancers, Djakapurra Munyarryun, the company’s cultural consultant for many years during the nineties, and over 1000 indigenous people from clans across Australian and the Torres Strait.

Founded in 1989 by Carole Johnson, an African American dance leader and founder of NAISDA (National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association), Bangarra describes itself as being “fuelled by the spirit, energy and inspiration derived from the culture, values and traditions of Indigenous Australians.”

Bangarra has toured internationally since 2001 to critical acclaim,and has travelled to the United States, North America, Monaco, Japan, New Zealand and to the United Kingdom.

Fire by Bangarra Dance Theatre runs from November 6-14 at the Arts Centre Playhouse, Bookings: 1300 182 183.
Website: www.bangarra.com.au

Video: Anaheim Ballet's Elan Alekzander

2009-11-07T19:37:00.004+11:00

Since I'm in exam mode right now, with essays coming out of my ears, I've decided to put up a video today and invite you to indulge in some dancer worship. This is a clip of the Anaheim Ballet's Elan Alekzander, who I'm sure we'll be hearing more about in years to come. Check it out...

Exhibition: The Dream and the Dance: 3 – 29 November 2009

2009-11-06T19:14:00.004+11:00

Whether you are a dancer or simply love art, Australian artist Debra Luccio's latest exhibition The Dream and the Dance, now showing at the Steps Gallery on Lygon Street, is a must-see.

In this ballet-inspired offering, Luccio showcases the fruits of her collaboration with the Queensland Ballet as they rehearsed and performed 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. This is not the first time that Luccio has worked with dancers, for in 2007 she travelled to New York to capture the dancers of the prestigious New York City Ballet. As in her previous work, Luccio focuses on the human form and its expressive and communicative possibilities.

The Dream and the Dance is Luccio's first exhibition since she was announced the winner of this year's CPM Printmaking award.

3 – 29 November 2009
Steps Gallery 62 Lygon St Carlton South 3053
Gallery Hours: Tue-Fri 12-4 Sat-Sun 12-5
P: 0448 026643 E: info@debraluccio.com W: www.debraluccio.com

Residency at Victoria University

2009-11-06T18:56:00.003+11:00

I found this on the Dancehouse website at
http://www.dancehouse.com.au/news/newsitem.php?id=106.
It sounds like a great opportunity if you are seeking greater professional development (and who isn't these days?)

Mid-career theatre, dance and performance artists invited to apply to:

Performance Program, School of Creative Industries, Victoria University
Residency artists get:

· on-going access to studio and theatre space

· support from other resident solo artists and industry mentors

· group studio sessions and immersive experiences

· a mid-year immersion experience that can include international workshops or period of development in a country of your choice with travel grant support from VU International (up to $4,000)

The residency provides a professional development framework to investigate your performance making process- usually with respect to creating a solo work.

First round applications must be received via email by Friday 27 November 2009

More info go here or email: perform@vu.edu.au

Sylvie Guillem in William Forsythe's 'In the middle somewhat elevated'

2009-10-30T17:32:00.003+11:00

I have loved this video for years, but it's taken me this long to put it up on Graceegirl. Well, better late than never, right? It's a little bit dark, but Sylvie's so good in it that it hardly matters! Enjoy :-)

A Thousand Encores - the Ballets Russes in Australia

2009-10-29T20:33:00.008+11:00

The Ballets Russes documentary, A Thousand Encores -the Ballets Russes in Australia , is set to grace our television screens in just a few days.

The film includes exciting archival footage, interviews with ex-dancers and footage of Graeme Murphy and Janet Vernon in rehearsal with the Australian Ballet during the creation of their Ballets Russes tribute, Firebird.

The story of the Ballets Russes tours during the thirties is one of the most compelling and enduring in Australian dance history, yet outside of the dance world it is little-known. The path-breaking, colourful creations of the Russian troupe drew on the fields of the visual arts, design, music and dance, and received a huge amount of attention in the media.

The company's revolutionary spirit inspired audiences worldwide, whilst the dancers who chose to stay behind after the war broke out profoundly influenced the landscape of Australian dance in the decades that followed, sowing the seeds for the birth of the Australian Ballet.

A Thousand Encores screens on Tuesday 3 November, 8.30pm on ABC 1.

A preview of the show on youtube is available at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s62OdKOfO50

There's also an interview with the film's director Mandy Chang on the Australian Ballet's Behind Ballet blog at:

http://www.behindballet.com/a-thousand-encores-the-ballets-russes-in-australia/.

Renaissance dancing: a unique hobby

2009-10-25T23:45:00.007+11:00

Every Wednesday, at around seven in the evening, I arrive at the church hall where class is held, put on my ballet flats, and begin to warm up. I say hello to my friends and approach the centre of the room along with the others, ready to receive instructions and notices from our teacher.

What I do after that will only be familiar to the rather small number of ladies (and one gentleman)in the room. Together, we are the Rippon Lea Renaissance Dancers, a group that rehearses and performs dances from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance in full-fledged costume, to music performed on period instruments.

It is always amusing to observe the reactions of my non-renaissance dance friends when they ask me what dance styles I have done over the years. Over the years I have done ballet, jazz, contemporary, and for one term as a child, even did 'Riverdance' back when it was the coolest thing a kid could do. But Renaissance dance is the one that most consistently draws expressions of bewilderment from the uninitiated.
Well, at least that or expressions of complete disinterest.

The obvious question people ask is 'What the hell is that?' Basically, we learn courtly dances from around the tenth to sixteenth centuries, which are mostly quite civilised, graceful and often flirtatious. Back then, this was how potential couples got to know each other and (oh the scandal!) touch each other, before deciding to tie the knot. If you are a classical or early music buffs, you'll be familiar with the names of these dances, most often simply played as musical pieces - the slow and stately pavan and the sprightly galliard are among the most common of our dances.

And of course, then there are the dresses. Always big, bright and heavy. Sometimes, I admit, it's hard to believe that people actually danced in these fabric mountains regularly. But it is interesting to note that big hips were apparently in vogue back then, because part of the reason my costume is so heavy is that it requires me to actually add padding to my hip area with a piece of cushion called a bum roll, in order to look more attractive to men. Go figure.

Intrigued? The Rippon Lea Renaissance Dancers perform regularly throughout the year, so if you are keen to try something different, you are now officially invited to come and watch us! And, if you are brave enough, especially if you happen to be male, you are welcome to join us too. I'll keep you updated.

Review: Published: Chunky Move - Black Marrow

2009-10-23T15:22:00.012+11:00

Melbourne International Arts Festival
Season: 21-24 October 2009, 8pm, the CUB Malthouse, Merlyn Theatre
Tickets: m-tix.com.au or 9685 5111

Set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland inhabited by nightmarish mutants, Chunky Move’s latest offering, Black Marrow, presented a frightening vision of the future and a confronting reminder of humanity’s ancient roots. At least its best moments did.

Questioning our troubled relationship with the planet, and our primal origins, Black Marrow opened with a visually stunning, if terrifying, depiction of the earth. Enveloped in darkness, with only Australian- Icelandic composer Ben Frost’s disturbing minimalist score for company, the barely-clad dancers moved as though they were half-human, half-monster – twisting, flexing and wrestling with each other as though some unnatural presence was attempting to burst from their skins. The imagery in this section was brilliant, a pulsing heart formed by the dancers’ bodies simply typical of the many powerful moments provided by choreographers Erna Ómarsdóttir and Damien Jalet in the opening.

From this point onwards, however, Black Marrow ran out of steam. In an attempt to inject some humour into the heavy subject matter, the commanding introduction was replaced by a comic monologue which seemed to dilute rather than liven up the theme. Abruptly awoken from our dystopian fantasy, we were instead invited to sniff petrol and relax, for after all, the end was nigh.

This pattern of juxtaposing the serious with the droll continued throughout, which was unfortunate as there were otherwise many exceptionally imaginative sections that could have carried the show on their own. These highlights presented us with an unstoppable human machine in which the dancers comprised the levers and hinges, heavy-metal inspired scenes in which striking hybrid designs from Alexander Mein visually illuminated our dependence on petrol, and poetic moments in which the dancers roll around and slip on a black liquid resembling oil, on the one hand desiring the substance and on the other, dragged down by it.

In essence, Black Marrow is a work of amazing talent and creativity, let down by a lack of lucid direction. Two parts drama and one part comedy, this programme from Chunky Move though at times brilliant, might have worked better as two different shows rather than one.

Published in Trespass Magazine at http://www.trespassmag.com/?p=6149
Photos courtesy of Proud Mother Pictures

Review: Published: Collaboration The Project: Down The Rabbit Hole

2009-10-18T21:26:00.007+11:00

Season: 15th-24th October 2009, Tues & Wed @ 7.30pm, Thurs to Sat @ 8pm
Venue: Theatreworks, 14 Acland Street, St Kilda
Tickets: www.theatreworks.org.au

Collaboration The Project’s Down The Rabbit Hole, a sinister adaptation of the classic Alice’s adventures in wonderland, may well give the children nightmares. For everyone else, this quirky, Tim-Burtonesque reinterpretation of the childhood tale will deliver an entertaining, fun night of dance, showcasing both the considerable talent of its performers and the creativity of its director, Paul Malek.

From start to finish, Down The Rabbit Hole proved a powerhouse of energy, featuring contemporary-edged choreography that spotlighted the characters of Alice and the White Rabbit. Whilst in some sections the music was loud enough to make a case for the provision of ear muffs, overall, the reworked but modern accompaniment energised the atmosphere, and alongside the hypnotic chequered floor and red stage lights, admirably set the scene for the dark tale.

The petite Kim Adam made an excellent Alice, with her clean technique and lines playing second fiddle to her apparent acting ability. As the villainous White Rabbit, Brendan Yeates was outstanding, reaching beyond the limits of choreography to present a truly charismatic interpretation of the character. The partnering sections between the two dancers were full of chemistry, illuminating the White Rabbit’s seductive power over Alice as he led her further and further down the doomed path.

Though hard to believe, the second Act pushed up the energy levels even further, featuring the Mad Hatter’s delightful tea party and the violent Queen of Hearts. This opened the way for more choreographic scenes involving the entire cast. In these sections, Malek demonstrated a good awareness of space and the logistics of ensemble performance, never allowing the choreography to seem messy despite having many characters onstage performing wildly different movements. In line with this, sections in which the dancers performed in unison were employed to great effect, balancing out the freer sections of choreography.

Utterly witty and zany, Down The Rabbit Hole is a great choice for a night out with friends. Unlike many adaptations of classics, which attempt to offer a cerebral, highly intellectualised version of the original, this production doesn’t pretend to be more than it is - an enjoyable work of entertainment. For this reason and many others, Down The Rabbit Hole is a refreshing addition to the Melbourne dance scene.

Published in the December issue of Dance Informa

Review: Published: Sasha Waltz and Guests' Korper

2009-10-17T17:07:00.011+11:00

Photo: Arnold Groeschel
Melbourne International Arts Festival
Season: 15,16 and 17 October 2009 at 7.30pm
Venue: State Theatre, The Arts Centre

Seeing Sasha Waltz and Guests’ Korper is not an experience to forget. Conceptually mind-blowing and intellectually demanding, this 90-minute piece of dance theatre is an electrifying exploration of the human body.

Grappling with the physique’s strength and fragility, its possibilities and limitations, Korper presents a series of bodily re-imaginings. Waltz harnesses the interpretative powers of spoken word, stage design and its magnificent cast of dancers to astounding effect, at times emphasising the harsh geometry of the dancers’ limbs in demanding partnering and floorwork sections, at others illuminating the poetic beauty of human biology.

Simple but carefully orchestrated scenes highlight Waltz’s astute appreciation of detail. Dancers walking briskly forward in unison, chanting ‘yes’ over and over again, suddenly reverse backwards chanting ‘no’, drawing attention to the forward backward momentum of decisions. They also recite and move to simple spoken monologues which toy with the relationship between real experiences of our bodies and our spoken representation of them.

One of the most memorable moments involved a cluster of essentially nude dancers weaving their physiques into the confines of a grid, their bodies sometimes suspended, sometimes touching. The dancers’ illuminated skin contrasted with the quiet blackened surrounds, their curved and intertwined trunks and extremities remaining at odds with the rectangular dimensions of the grid.

Be forewarned: Like all great art, Korper requires an open mind, imagination and a willingness to be confronted with the baffling. Leaving open limitless possibilities for interpretation, it requires its audiences to take from it what they will. For those who accept the challenge however, the rewards are bountiful.

Published in the December issue of Dance Informa magazine

A Day Out with Melbourne Ballet Company

2009-10-13T17:42:00.005+11:00

Last weekend, I managed to take a few pics of the recent Melbourne Ballet company audition. Here are just a few:

Melbourne Ballet Company's Final Audition

2009-10-11T20:01:00.008+11:00

This afternoon, a group of nervous young dancers gathered at Melbourne Ballet Company's studio in North Balwyn to attempt to secure a place in the cast of Melbourne Ballet Company's upcoming project 'Moment of Inertia', to open this December.Having written a few articles for the growing company over the last year, I was invited along to watch, and found it a very instructive experience indeed.

The audition started at 2pm and ended some time after 5pm, and consisted of a classical open class and contemporary workshop, followed by pointe work for the ladies and partnering for the men. Auditions had already been held in Queensland and Sydney, so the pressure was definitely on for the dancers to stand out from the crowd.

Sitting up the front of the room, I recognised a few faces from my brief flirtation with the National Theatre Ballet School last year, and could feel the eyes of others on me as I looked around the room. Many more eyes, no doubt, were on Remi Wortmeyer, Alisa, Sharon, Jane Casson and her husband Gennadi Koutchin, who were sitting next to me.

The first section started without a hitch under the competent leadership of Justine Miles. Many of the dancers had beautiful extensions to show off and a few favourites began to emerge right off the bat. By the end of the day however, most of these dancers no longer figured as my top picks, others having surpassed them in the contemporary section. One lesson to take from this is that firm, clean technique does not a dancer make.

Personality, an ability to pick up steps quickly, musicality and most of all, versatility really separated the dancers as time progressed,and in a few cases,so did stamina. Dancers who had been invisible became dark horses, rising to the many challenges presented by the choreography of Simon Hoy and Robert Kelly, whilst shining stars receded into the corners of my memory as they presented relatively underwhelming performances. Some dancers, otherwise promising, managed to ruin their own chances by simply not listening to finer details in the choreography, performing the wrong moves confidently in blissful ignorance of these mistakes whilst others were so lovely to watch and so personable that their faults seemed instantly forgiveable.

I don't envy Melbourne Ballet Company - they are going to have a difficult task deciding between all the deserving dancers who want perform with them. However, I will certainly be awaiting the announcement of Project Six's cast with keen interest.

Review: Published: Melbourne Dance Theatre's Leviticus

2009-10-09T10:58:00.004+11:00

Melbourne Dance Theatre’s Leviticus promised a night of ‘unique thrilling aerial partnering and amazing virtuoso solos’. What it delivered was a surprisingly typical mixture of contemporary and jazz-ballet. Disappointing as this was, other aspects of the show, as it turned out, sadly proved even more underwhelming.

As its name suggests, Leviticus deals with laws written the third book of the Hebrew Bible, which concerns immoral and sexual desires. The show’s heavy theme contrasted awkwardly with several unintentionally comical moments. One of these involved a bizarre solo in which involved choreographer/dancer Martin Sierra put a black bucket over his head before attempting to clear a completely blacked-out stage, all the while making noises under his breath for no discernible reason.

Technically, the dancers were not up to par. Whilst some were better than others, the overall standard was such that one could be forgiven for thinking that this was an amateur dance school production. More than a few of the dancers seemed unsure of their cues, whilst others danced only vaguely in sync with each other for much of the show, and one dancer even audibly whispered ‘Shit!’ in the middle of the production.

Whilst there were certainly some interesting choreographic passages to be seen, particularly in the show’s partnering sections, these were tragically obscured by clumsy transitions and a lack of attention to detail. However admittedly, this was opening night, so hopefully the dancers will improve in confidence as the season continues.

Perhaps the biggest problem with Leviticus is that it tries so hard to be edgy, eccentric and ‘cool’ that it ultimately fails to be any of these things. If Melbourne Dance Theatre wants to be counted among the cutting-edge, it will need to recognise the difference between trendiness and genuine innovation.

Review as posted in the dance section of the Buzzcuts website : www.buzzcuts.com.au

Review: Dance Miniature, Melbourne Fringe Festival, ends 10th October

2009-10-06T18:25:00.006+11:00

Re-imagining fantasised moments in time, engaging in bizarre encounters with strangers and attempting to capture time as an abstract reality, the emerging artists of Dance Miniature covered a lot of ground in the three short dance pieces that comprised the first of its two sessions. Alternately contemplative, humorous and challenging, this cross-disciplinary contemporary dance exploration proved an excellent example of wonderful art resulting from collaboration and risk taking.

Inspired by the text on Helene Cixous’ The Third Body, Shian Law’s Personal Mythology 1: The Marine Lover, explored the memory of a fantasised experience. Intimate solos from Law and fellow performer Anna Simm created a serene, reflective ambience, beautifully echoed by Tim Hecker’s water like music .Though the venue’s limitations made for some frustrating moments, with several floor work passages tragically obscured by The Warehouse’s floor-to-ceiling columns, the piece’s quiet grace ultimately made this problem of logistics worth overlooking.

Paradise Pop-up was arguably the most disconcerting work, requiring audience members to engage directly each other and dancer Natalie Abbott. Many nervous laughs accompanied the ‘performance’, particularly when the voice of Ben McDonald instructed all present to hug ‘tightly’ the stranger opposite. However, judging by the smiles and wide eyes of those resuming their seats, the thrill of being so integrally involved in the performance was overwhelmingly appreciated. Whilst not for the shy or inhibited, Paradise Pop-up proved a humorous and energising experience.

The final piece of the session, Per/, ambitiously attempted to articulate the relationship between movement and time. The disrupted movements of a dancer were projected onto a series of white boxes, which were then moved around the stage as an artist attempted to capture in charcoal the ever changing outline of the dancer projected onto them. Utilising sound, video, dance and visual art, Per/ is a work of conceptual brilliance, each of the disparate elements combining seamlessly in a genuinely integrated collaboration. The visual impressions captured on the boxes were fascinating in their own right, and the tension in the room was palpable as the dancers frantically moved over the continually evolving dancescape. The exhilarating conclusion was exceedingly gratifying, and marked Per/ out as the highlight of the evening.

Thought-provoking and entertaining, Dance Miniature is a definite must-see of the Fringe, and a tribute to the talents of the young artists involved.

Published in the dance section of Buzzcuts at http://www.buzzcuts.com.au

The Mapping Room

2009-10-05T18:03:00.005+11:00

Well.... the Mapping Room is now largely wrapped up, but in case you're still keen to find any of the remaining messages, or to take a personal tour of places where experiences were made just for you, here are some extra clues if you didn't make it to HQ in Northcote.

1) One jar is a columnist on Elizabeth Street
2) In God we must trust if we desire to find this jar
3) An envelope awaits those who like to read and drink coffee in the city.
4) Only those with some blue blood will find this little present
5) This little jar is a unionist at heart.

Thanks,
Gracee xoxoxo

Feature: Published: Melbourne Ballet Company

2009-10-05T13:58:00.009+11:00

Melbourne Ballet Company auditions are underway for its sixth project, Moment of Inertia, to open this December. Applicants are lining up around the block. “I’m getting about ten applications a day from beautiful, highly trained dancers in Australia and internationally who all want to be a part of Project Six”, says Artistic Director Alisa Finney. “When I see all these beautiful resumés coming in, it just makes me more determined to keep MBC going so that we can continue providing opportunities for them.”

Determination has been Melbourne Ballet Company’s driving force since day one, and in the two years since their ‘relaunch’ in 2007. The company has created twenty world premieres. For Finney, the company’s success has been a dream come true. “I always knew that it would be my destiny to one day take Melbourne Ballet Company into the future and make it something big”, she informs me, “I just needed the right people around me.”

Full article at http://www.danceinforma.com/magazine/?p=261
Subscribe for free to receive the bi-monthly magazine in your inbox.

First photos

2009-10-05T11:11:00.004+11:00

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2552440&l=07d253610c&id=508088655

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2552441&l=3a56260522&id=508088655

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2552443&l=4380697639&id=508088655

The Mapping Room

2009-10-05T10:46:00.004+11:00

The Mapping Room

2009-10-05T00:10:00.003+11:00

Hey there,

After a hectic week, The Mapping Room is now officially launched.

It is classified as part of the new 'live art' section of the Melbourne Fringe programme, which tends to encompass programmes which involve art that moves into real world settings, art that may well have fallen through the cracks in previous years.

The Mapping Room features both established and emerging artists including Analogue Art Map, Bettybooke, Well theatre, Emma Rochester, Kelly Ryall, and Buzzcuts writers Lin and myself.

In our section of the gallery Head Quarters (on the corner of Westgarth and High Street in Northcote), you will find a massive array of poems and love letters filling message jars, envelopes and bottles, some of which have been planted around the city for you to find. Hopefully the process of looking for the jars, and realising that they are out there waiting for you will get you thinking a little more about the surroundings we all take for granted in our daily lives.

The first clue for jar 1 out in the city is : "One jar is a columnist on Elizabeth Street'. Visual clues will be uploaded soon here and more written clues will follow.

Ciao,
Gracee :-) xoxoxo

Melbourne Fringe Festival Reviews

2009-09-28T14:55:00.004+10:00

Hi hi hi....

I'm-heading back to Melbyville tonight (Look out Melbourne!), which means I'll be checking out the local arts scene once again, and in particular, Melbourne Fringe Festival. I always find it helpful myself to check out reviews of shows before I decide which ones to go to and I thought I'd draw your attention to this website:

http://www.expressmedia.org.au/buzzcuts.php

The Buzzcuts programme is run by Express Media and hosts tonnes of up-to-date reviews written by young writers and artists in partnership with Melbourne Fringe Festival. The opinions are entirely those of the writers themselves and are generally current enough for you to catch a show after reading a good review of it.

I will be reviewing two shows myself as part of the programme in early October and as I mentioned in an earlier blog, I am working as a creative writer as part of Willoh Weiland's 'The Mapping Room' live art project, (http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/the-mapping-room)
which features many different artists who have come together for the common cause and is currently running at Head Quarters(http://www.headquarters.org.au/index.php?/art-time/-the-mapping-room) and at selected venues around Melbourne.

If you live around the Carlton/Brunswick area there is no excuse not to catch something on at the moment, as La Mama and Dancehouse are two of the Fringe's main venues. So....what are you waiting for? Get away from the computer and go explore!

Best,
Gracee xoxoxo

Auckland's Tempo Dance Festival

2009-09-26T21:20:00.005+10:00

Ooh this is such bad timing! I've just realised that just as I'll be heading back to Mebourne after a brief trip back to Auckland, Tempo Dance Festival will be heating up! Grrr.....but that doesn't mean the rest of you can't enjoy it.

The festival is Auckland's most established and features dance from all genres from ballet and contemporary to burlesque and hip hop. It showcases both established and emerging artists and judging by the programme list, this year's line-up is going to be great.

So if you have time to kill in the next couple of weeks definitely go see something.

Technically the festival runs from the 26th of September to the 31st of October, but there is an 11 day season of dance starting some time around very early October. For more info, suggest you go to the Tempo website

Until next time....
Gracee xoxoxo

3MBS 103.5 FM Classically Melbourne

2009-09-26T20:12:00.006+10:00

It's awesome!

If you are a classical music fan living in Victoria than you might already know what I'm talking about...

3MBS is a Victorian community radio station which specialises in classical music, but also features jazz and the odd world music programme. They have the regulars such as Breakfast and Drive, as well as more specialist programmes on opera and film music, and feature Australian performers and composers more than any other radio station in the state.

I was talking to a friend the other day and she was telling me that she had just started switching on the radio more and listening to ABC Classic FM. When I told her about 3MBS 103.5 FM, she wondered what was the difference between the two. I just told her that I think both are great, and the major differences are 3 MBS has more Australian content and in particular more Victorian content, and more support for local arts organisations. Oh yeah, and there is the minor issue of pay.....3MBS basically runs off the strength of its 200-ish volunteers (a large number even for a community radio station!) whilst ABC presenters are, of course, paid.

I'm doing a 'work placement/cert III' in Media there at the moment and I can't say enough how lovely everyone is there, it really is such an inclusive environment.

Anyhow, check it out if you get the chance. It's a great station to support if you're looking for a cause :-D

Ciao for now,
Gracee xoxoxo

2009-09-26T20:10:00.001+10:00

Fringe Fever in Melbourne

2009-09-25T14:37:00.003+10:00

It's that time of year again!

This week has seen the opening of the annual Melbourne Fringe Festival (23 Sept-11 Oct 2009) and there are tonnes of great shows to see...

If you aren't familiar with what the Fringe is all about, it is an open access independent arts festival in which thousands of established and emerging artists from all different disciplines (and some that don't even have proper names yet) get the chance to showcase their work.

Above all, Melbourne Fringe values the cutting-edge, work created by artists who put creativity and risk above financial considerations, and has an Awards programme that allows the most promising artists to invest more time in their work or exhibit/perform at another festival.

Some of the festival's highlights include Fringe Furniture, a curated 'furniture' exhibition; Take Off Your Skin (Toys), a large scale collaborative dance project; and The Mapping Room, a live art open exhibition featuring writers, hybrid artists exploring ideas of cartography, such as the relationship between what we see on a map and how we experience that place personally. I admit to a bias here, I am one of the writers in this project! But I can vouch for its quality!

For more info, visit: www.melbournefringe.com.au. Hope to see you there!

Gracee :) xo

Tribute to Hilary Crampton

2009-09-09T23:05:00.002+10:00

I am sad to report that my friend and esteemed dance critic and advocate Hilary Crampton passed away over the weekend.

Hilary was well-known as an educator, critic for The Age and as a champion of arts policy and management, having been a former president of Ausdance and, in her last job, a Senior lecturer at Melbourne University.

I met Hilary a couple of years ago when I was wondering about what steps to take to get myself involved in arts reviewing and writing. It was after googling Hilary's name that I realised she was working at Melbourne University and decided to email her, not really thinking that she would give a random student like me the time of day. Within a couple of days I had received not only a reply, but an invitation to coffee. I was thrilled!

I had never written an arts review in my life, or anything even remotely like it at that point, so I turned up at Potter's completely wide-eyed and eager to absorb her advice. She encouraged me to get out and take advantage of the vibrant dance scene in Melbourne to learn and suggested that I go see the late Merce Cunningham and his dance company when they came to Federation Square, an experience I appreciate I was lucky to have had. It was thanks to Hilary that I started out writing for the university magazine. My dance history 'reading list' was based heavily on the one Hilary emailed me after our talk.

I kept her up to date with my progress through the years, but we were never met face-to-face again. I suspect that her health deteriorated quite soon after that meeting, and so in a sense I was very lucky to have had the opportunity to meet her. I was thus aware of her battle with cancer, but never realised the illness was so advanced - to the point that I even invited her out to coffee around the time of the Australian Dance Awards earlier this year, so the news was still something of a shock to the system when I found out.

By writing this, I hope I have honoured Hilary's memory. She was more widely loved and admired than she likely realised. Rest in peace, Hilary.

Love Grace

Review: Published: Paris Opéra Ballet - La Bayadère

2009-08-27T19:31:00.002+10:00

As the late Rudolf Nureyev’s last homage to Marius Petipa, the Paris Opéra Ballet’s La Bayadère has never had any difficulty attracting audiences. Regarded by many as one of the company’s signature pieces, the production’s magnificently exotic costumes and sets seemed to transform the atmosphere even before the dancers had made their first appearances. As the night progressed, the dancers proved themselves to be the true jewels of the company, performing with such artistry that their dancing surpassed in beauty even the brilliance of their inspired stage universe.

For the rest of the article go to:

Feature: The Ballets Russes - A Centenary Tribute

2009-08-27T19:25:00.006+10:00

Portrait of Irina Baronova in Choreartium, 1938 or 1939
Dupain, Max, 1911-1992. National Library of Australia
Used by Permission nla.pic-an12114762

On the evening of 19 May 1909, the legendary Vaslav Nijinsky leapt and turned his way into French ballet history. Glorified by Mikhail Fokine’s naturalistic choreography and glamorised by the impressionistic flavour of the mixed French rococco and baroque setting in the ballet Le Pavillon, the ever-charming Nijinsky took Paris by storm. The troupe responsible for bringing Nijinsky to the rest of Europe was none other than the Ballets Russes, headed by Diaghilev and boasting some of Russia’s finest artists. In celebration of the Ballets Russes’ centenary, Dance Informa pays tribute to the company, shining a spotlight on the troupe’s impact throughout the Western world and in Australasia.

Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes

The Ballets Russes’ first season ballets - Les Sylphides,
Le Festin, Cléopâtre and Le Pavillon - were neither completely original nor were they the sole attractions on the programme, alternating with operatic acts such as Prince Igor’s ‘Polovtsian Dances’. Despite this, they did push several boundaries of convention existing in France at the time.

Though middle-eastern, oriental and Spanish exotica had all enjoyed immense popularity, the signature exoticism of the Ballets Russes, as typified by the Egyptian-themed Cléopâtre, proved more daring in both choreography and attire. The high standard of the troupe’s male dancers lent an air of scandal to the productions, Nijinsky’s popularity arguably helping to soften discrimination in a Paris highly uncomfortable with homosexuality. Unapologetically progressive, the company would leave an indelible if controversial impression on Parisian society, demonstrating ballet’s potential as an artistic medium.

Capitalising on the foreign mystique that had captivated Paris in 1909, the Russian Ballet’s second season programme the following year included the mysterious Schéhérezade and the orientalist L’Oiseau de feu, or in English The Firebird. This season earmarked the beginning of the Ballets Russes’ commitment to collaboration between artists, musicians and choreographers, amongst them the then little-known composer, Igor Stravinsky. Stravinsky’s score for The Firebird would create a fresh sound-world for ballet and was received with a great deal of enthusiasm by critics. One of the most popular collaborative ballets involving Stravinsky was Petrushka, a ballet about a tragic love triangle involving three puppets. A creative child of the company’s third Paris season in 1912, Petrushka was also the first to feature the Ballets Russes as a permanent company.

The very next year, the company would reach the heights of controversy following the premiere of the infamous Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring) in Paris on the 29th of May 1913. The troupe’s previous production, Debussy and Nijinsky’s creation Jeux,had already received a cool response from the French, and many were expecting the night’s performance to redeem the Russian Ballet’s season. Even before the rising of the curtains, however, hissing and whistling had broken out among the crowd. Anarchy was to break loose when the curtains lifted to reveal a mass of dancers dressed identically in primitive costumes. Their feet were blatantly turned inwards against ballet convention, and they repeatedly jumped up and down to Stravinsky’s bizarre score. A number of audience members left abruptly during the performance in an act of defiance. Le Sacre had simply proved too much for them.

Despite the storm of opinion that the Ballets Russes inevitably generated wherever it went within Europe and the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, Diaghilev’s company managed to survive right through until his death in 1929. Though personal dramas had seen Fokine and Nijinsky leave the company, and Léonide Massine and Serge Lifar join it, the company maintained its commitment to modernism and collaboration. Even when the original troupe disbanded, the name and spirit of Diaghilev’s company continued through both Massine’s and Colonel Wassily de Basil’s respective offshoots of the franchise. Colonel de Basil’s ‘Ballets Russes’ brought three tours to Australasia between the years 1936 and 1940, which would prove to have a immense impact on Australia’s artistic development.

The Ballets Russes in Australasia

The de Basil company’s visits to Australasia saw the blossoming of dance and music criticism, and an improvement of dance training standards. Even the history of the modern-day Australian Ballet can be traced back to the company, through the migration of a handful of influential de Basil company dancers to Australia in the wake of the Second World War.

The de Basil troupe was enthusiastically received by Australian audiences, the ‘cream of society’ appearing often at premieres decked out in their finest. The presence of internationally-acclaimed ballerinas such as Irina Baranova helped to greatly boost ticket sales and members of the public such as Dr. Ewan Murray-Will even managed to befriend the dancers. Numerous artists, among them Daryl Lindsay and Hugh Hall, photographed and sketched the dancers and some were also commissioned to design sets and costumes, including Sydney Nolan, who was involved in the creation of the ballet Icare. The company also visited New Zealand to great acclaim as part of their first two tours, travelling to Auckland, Hamilton, Wanganui, Palmerston North, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. Unfortunately the outbreak of the Second World War meant that the company was forced to cancel its third tour to New Zealand. Many of the dancers chose to remain in Australia rather than return home, feeling that this was the safest option.

Not everyone had been pleased about the presence of the Russian company. One letter that appeared in the Melbourne newspaper The Argus, signed ‘Dancer’, read ‘it is time we gave work to our own girls and boys, and not a pack of foreigners. In other words, we don’t want the Russian Ballet now!’ By and large, however, such opinions were in the minority, and the de Basil dancers who migrated during the war would profoundly change the landscape of dance in Australia. The most well known of these was Eduoard Borovansky, whose company holds the esteemed position of being the predecessor to the Australian Ballet. Others, such as Kira Bousloff, Helène Kirsova and Raissa Kouznetsova also formed their own companies, generating audiences for ballet throughout the country.

Ballet-lovers throughout Australia can therefore be proud to be a part of the Ballets Russes awe-inspiring legacy, happy in the knowledge that the country’s vibrant ballet scene is rooted in the legendary troupe’s progressive, modern and collaborative ideals.

References:

Europe:

Buckle, Richard. Nijinsky. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1971.

Calvocoressi, Michel D. Music and Ballet: Recollections of M.D. Calvoressi. London: Faber, 1934.

Eksteins, Modris. Rites of Spring: the Great War and the Birth of the Modern Age. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1989.

Garafola, Lynn, ed. The Ballets Russes and Its World. NJ: Yale University Press, 1999.

Australasia:

Potter, Michelle. 'Mutual Fascination: the Ballets Russes in Australia 1936-1940'. Brolga. 11 (1999): 7-15.

Potter, Michelle. 'De Basil in Australia: Publicity and Patronage.'Dance Research: The Journal for the Society for Dance Research. 11.2 (1993): 16-26.

Sorley Walker, Kathrine. 'Australia.' De Basil's Ballets Russes. London: Hutchinson, 1982.

Published in Dance Informa Magazine at:
http://www.danceinforma.com

Blog Notice: A fitting tribute: Creative Australia and the Ballets Russes exhibition

2009-08-27T19:20:00.005+10:00

See my blog post on the Australian Ballet's Behind Ballet Blog at this link

www.behindballet.com/a-fitting-tribute-creative-australia-and-the-ballets-russes-exhibition/ -

Review: Published: Believe, Melbourne Ballet Company

2009-07-29T16:39:00.004+10:00

Melbourne Ballet Company: Project Five - Believe 27th-31st May

Melbourne Ballet Company’s fifth project, Believe, was the latest in a series of productions representing the company’s “re-launch” in 2007. Featuring three pieces from resident choreographer Simon Hoy and one from dancer/choreographer Sharon Fernandez, Believe highlighted the grand scale of the emerging company’s accomplishments, as well as its challenges.

Hoy’s Submerged and Placement demonstrated an open and inventive use of the classical ballet vocabulary. Many choreographers before Hoy have attempted, with various measures of success, to capture the middle ground between classical ballet and contemporary dance. What allows Hoy to succeed where others have failed is his apparent commitment to form, beauty and physicality.

In Submerged, Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings was coupled effectively with motivic gestures and phrases. The choreography worked best with the music when at its most simplistic, as it did in Placement. Infinite Space, the most intimate of the three, was for this reason the most successful, and ending the piece with an acknowledgement of the audience was a stroke of genius from Hoy that was audibly appreciated. Dancer Rani Luther proved to be the evening’s standout performer, a powerful technician and a charming, dynamic interpreter.

Sharon Fernandez’s Wall 2 Wall, inspired by the current economic recession was the most ambitious piece featured in MBC’s programme. Overall, the piece suffered from a lack of cohesion, the splicing of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony with commercial music highlighting a general sense of stylistic incongruence within the piece. However, Christopher Favarolo’s solo deserves special mention, showcasing the dancer’s interpretive maturity and quiet strength.

Logistically, there were several areas that required attention. For instance, the lack of rehearsal time for the dancers, a mere three weeks, meant that choreographic sequences were not always as polished as they should have been. Regardless, Melbourne Ballet Company clearly has all the talent and commitment required to overcome these challenges for future programmes and is definitely a company to watch in the coming years.

Reviewer: Grace Edwards

Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2

2009-07-19T14:25:00.004+10:00

Recently, due to my ongoing task of creating programme notes for the Parkville Symphony, I was fortunate enough to write about Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No.2. Consequently I have had a perfect excuse to play the Second Concerto continuously over the last week.

There is no doubt about it. I am in love..<3

Many moons ago now, I heard this Concerto without knowing its name or composer, and the intensity of its opening coupled with the unrivalled lyricism of its melodic lines moved me to consciously file it away in my memory for future reference.

But this week, I have made an important decision. I have decided to share my love for this work of musical genius with the rest of the world! If you love Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto too, please leave a comment! xo

Article: Published: The Royal Ballet's Dame Monica Mason Appauds Ballet on the Big Screen

2009-06-09T00:25:00.004+10:00

Dame Monica Mason Applauds Ballet on the Big Screen
Hear from The Royal Ballet's Artistic Director

Beautiful physiques, glamorous décor, and a chance to see your favourite dancers in the flesh – these are but a few of live theatre’s many rewards. Securing a good seat, however, can prove both a challenging and expensive task. Thanks to the recent launch of Palace Theatrical’s World Opera & Ballet Cinema Season in HD, ballet-lovers will now have the opportunity to see world-class productions in High Definition and 5.1 Surround Sound at their local cinema.

According to the Royal Ballet’s Artistic Director Dame Monica Mason, “The beauty of the cinema screenings is that people curious about dance who would perhaps think twice about buying a theatre ticket can go to their local cinema for much less. Those who find it difficult to get to their nearest dance theatre will have these productions brought right to them.” Dame Monica has reason to be excited about the cinema screenings, for among the productions featured in Palace Theatrical’s line-up are the Royal Ballet’s The Sleeping Beauty featuring Alina Cojocaru and Romeo and Juliet, choreographed by the late Kenneth MacMillan.

......

To view full article, please go to link

http://www.danceinforma.com/EZINE15_Mason.html

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Interview: Published: The Australian Ballet's Damien Welch

2009-06-09T00:18:00.006+10:00

Damien Welch - a passion for both dance and music
Hear from The Australian Ballet Principal Dancer

By Grace Edwards

Already one of the nation’s best loved dancers, Principal Artist Damien Welch of the Australian Ballet has showcased his versatility in the company’s acclaimed choreographic season - Bodytorque 2.2 – performed in May. A self-described music lover, Welch’s piece entitled Chemical Trigger features not only his own choreography, but also his own music. Dance Informa’s Grace Edwards caught up with Damien to talk about his new piece and his passion for music.

How exciting for you Damien! Tell us a little about your piece, Chemical Trigger
Chemical Trigger is an abstract piece about a man and his relationship with different women. There are three short musical pieces within the work and the music starts off very rhythmically. By the third piece an overlying sense of distance has taken over. This man is very distant from the women who he supposedly loves – or I should say, the three women that represent three different relationships at three different points of his life - this piece is about that lack of intimacy within himself, which borders almost on violence simply because he can’ t understand his own lack of connection.

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to read the full interview, click on the link below

http://www.danceinforma.com/EZINE15_Damien_Welch.html

or subscribe to Dance Informa for free at www.danceinforma.com

Interview: Melbourne Ballet Company's resident choreographer Simon Hoy

2009-05-24T13:31:00.005+10:00

“Dance is the poetry of athleticism,” says Simon Hoy, resident choreographer of the emerging Melbourne Ballet Company (MBC). “It’s the bodies, it’s the craft, the stamina and the expression. The dancer’s craft is the ability to express, whether it is through the gesture of the hand or a larger movement of the body. A lot of years go into the work that is produced by the dancers I work with.”

For a man who insists that communicating his love of dance to others represents a task of great difficulty, Hoy is surprisingly articulate. Perhaps his years abroad provided him with time for personal reflection – “working with Peter Schaufuss in Germany was incredibly influential in my approach to dance,” he says. “He is someone whom I will always try to mold myself on, he was just very inspiring.”

“Also, living in New York,” he adds, “I think it represents the epitome of what you strive for. It’s that feeling of ‘wow, we’re here and working in New York’ that makes it so exciting.”

Despite his stimulating work overseas, Hoy has chosen to return to Melbourne and work with a fledgling local company. At first I was a little puzzled by this, but the more we discussed Hoy’s work at MBC, the more I understood his decision. Apart from the Australian Ballet, none of the smaller dance companies around Melbourne share a classical focus. Whilst the MBC does not stage any Sleeping Beauties or Swan Lakes, it boasts a hectic schedule of around three projects per year. The company’s particular blend of classical with modern and its dynamic image have contributed to its growing popularity. “Our last show was pretty much sold out and it’s a great, younger demographic that we’ve got attending. It’s going to take a while to know how what we are doing will ultimately be received, but the audience is definitely growing.”

The MBC’s upcoming project Believe features two works created by Hoy: a pre-existing piece entitled Submerged, and a new work entitled Infinite Space. Submerged, he explains, “is an abstract piece about the feeling of entering a space that is somewhat sacred. People often ask me if I consider Melbourne my home. In a sense yes, but my real home I feel is the studio, that space – that is what this piece tries to communicate.” When asked about Infinite Space, Hoy replies, “It’s a work I’ve been considering for a couple of years. At this point, the work is a tribute to the concept of believing in one’s journey, which is important when you find yourself in front of an audience.”

As we part, I ask Hoy what he would tell students who are considering attending an MBC show. “Bring a friend” he chuckles. I know I certainly will.

To book tickets to Melbourne’s Ballet Company’s ‘Project Five: Believe’ phone: (03)829 07000 or book in person at Chapel Off Chapel theatre, 12 Little Chapel Street, Prahran. Season length: 27-31 May 2009. For more information see MBC website: www.melbourneballetcompany.com.au. Prices - Dress rehearsal: $20.00; Adult: $38.50; Concession and child $28.50.

Review: Beaconsfield the Musical

2009-04-29T14:44:00.006+10:00

Beaconsfield: The musical (review for Farrago Magazine)

Melbourne International Comedy Festival

Recently resurrected as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Beaconsfield: The Musical, a.k.a Beaconsfield: A musical in A-flat minor, proved as scathing and entertaining as ever. Despite being labelled by the commercial media as a crass and insensitive exploitation of the 2006 Beaconsfield mine tragedy, the musical in reality primarily concerns itself with ridiculing the media coverage of the disaster. Anyone not clued up on the who’s who of breakfast television, I imagine, would have had a hard time keeping up with the countless quips poking fun at such television personalities as Eddie McGuire, David Koch and Naomi Robson.

Whilst the music itself was not particularly memorable, it was seamlessly woven into the fabric of the comedy, treated as if it were just one of many tools enhancing the comic effect of the whole. Highlights of the show included the ‘love’ duets between ice-queen Naomi Robson and her loyal lizard, a scandalous portrayal of politician Bill Shorten, and of course, we all love a good old-fashioned joke about our kiwi cousins (‘d’ya wan tha chucken aw tha fush???’) - in this case it was the stewardesses of Air New Zealand that came under fire.

Whilst the venue - Arthur’s Bar - must have been incredibly cramped for the performers, it lent a special intimacy to the production, especially effective during the audience-interaction scenes. The general feeling in the audience at the conclusion of the comedy was both light and uplifting, and I suspect many among them would have rushed home to rave to their families and friends about their great night out.

Dance, music and life: graceegirl

Book Review: Every Step You Take by Jock Soto with Leslie Marshall

Queensland Ballet - Fit For A King

Dancesport in Victoria: An Inside Look

Ballet Masters Frederic Jahn & Patricia Ruanne

On Side with Craig Bary and Lisa Griffiths

Telstra Dancer Award Nominee Karen Nanasca

Keeping Kids in Ballet

Dance Massive (March 15-27th, 2011)

Suite Synergy - opening night, Wednesday 23rd March

Review: Narelle Benjamin's In Glass - Dance Massive 2011

Trespassing with...Mod Dance Company

Trespassing with...Mod Dance Company's Teagan Lowe

Name: Teagan LoweOccupation: Dancer and Associate Artistic Director, Mod Dance Company

Mod Dance Company's Jessica Franke

Mod Dance Company

Review: Sydney Dance Company's We Unfold

Rafael Bonachela's WE UNFOLD (music Ezio Bosso)

Bejart Ballet's Paul Knobloch

Cuban National Ballet's Sadaise Arencibia

Trespassing with....Chunky Move's Sara Black

Published: Young Duncan Lyle to dance with Boston Ballet

Musicals in Melbourne: Behind the Scenes

Review: Carmen - Royal New Zealand Ballet

Audition: Free Piano Materclass with Elyane Laussade

3MBS Radiothon 2010 - support Melbourne's music and arts scene

Review: Fame!

Chunky Move’s Kristy Ayre

More than Music

Published: Zoe and Emily head off to the Royal Ballet School

Review: The Lady of Shalott (Early Arts Guild of Victoria)

Trespass Mag: Chunky Move- Mortal Engine

Trespass Mag: An Open Letter to Captain Planet

CANADA: Night Owls, 3MBS, 26/27th Feb (tonight), midnight-2am

An Education

The Ballets Russes, TODAY, 8-10pm, 3MBS 103.5 FM

I know it's wrong but I love

Waitangi Day Special TONIGHT on Night Owls 3MBS 103.5 FM

Published: review: Warriors of Brazil

Published: Lucy Guerin – ‘A Human Interest Story’

Published: Andrew Simmons creates A Song in the Dark

Published: RNZB's Artistic Director, Gary Harris, on Life After the Ballet

Ballet, music and NIGHT OWLS...

Top 5 Moments of 2009

Published: Trum Ceps and Ginger Crunches

World Famous in New Zealand

Published: Cover story: The Body of Ballet

Radio: Night Owls, midnight-2am, Friday night AND Saturday interview with Simon Hoy of Melbourne Ballet Company on Weekend Score, 11.30am-1pm

A cup of coffee with...

Radio: Night Owls, midnight-2am, Friday night

Published: Review: Lucy Guerin Inc. - Structure and Sadness

Radio: Night Owls, tonight, 27th/28th Nov, midnight until 2am

Radio: Night Owls, 3MBS 103.5 FM, tonight, 12am-2am: A few notes

Radio programme: Night Owls, Friday nights, midnight until 2am.

Spotlight: Bangarra Dance Theatre

Video: Anaheim Ballet's Elan Alekzander

Exhibition: The Dream and the Dance: 3 – 29 November 2009

Residency at Victoria University

Sylvie Guillem in William Forsythe's 'In the middle somewhat elevated'

A Thousand Encores - the Ballets Russes in Australia

Renaissance dancing: a unique hobby

Review: Published: Chunky Move - Black Marrow

Review: Published: Collaboration The Project: Down The Rabbit Hole

Review: Published: Sasha Waltz and Guests' Korper

A Day Out with Melbourne Ballet Company

Melbourne Ballet Company's Final Audition

Review: Published: Melbourne Dance Theatre's Leviticus

Review: Dance Miniature, Melbourne Fringe Festival, ends 10th October

The Mapping Room

Feature: Published: Melbourne Ballet Company

First photos

The Mapping Room

The Mapping Room

Melbourne Fringe Festival Reviews

Auckland's Tempo Dance Festival

3MBS 103.5 FM Classically Melbourne

Fringe Fever in Melbourne

Tribute to Hilary Crampton

Review: Published: Paris Opéra Ballet - La Bayadère

Feature: The Ballets Russes - A Centenary Tribute

Name: Teagan Lowe
Occupation: Dancer and Associate Artistic Director, Mod Dance Company