30 June 2010
By Behind Ballet
filed under Flashback
In the almost 50 years The Australian Ballet has been rehearsing, touring and performing, there’s invariably been a photographer on the sidelines.
Filed away in the archives of The Australian Ballet and beyond are tens of thousands of images, taken in dressing rooms, rehearsal studios, theatres, and on tour – backdrops are as magnificent as the Great Wall of China, as humble as the Ballet’s first home, a disused ladies college, and as unexpected as the ocean floor of Coogee Beach.
As our 50th birthday in 2012 draws closer, we’ll be sharing some of the best images on Behind Ballet, many of which have never been published before.
The question is, what’s your favourite image of The Australian Ballet? Leave a comment below!
Image: Artists of The Australian Ballet in The Lady and the Fool, 1962. Photography by Darryl Smythe.
30 June 2010
By Behind Ballet
filed under The Dancers Company
The Dancers Company’s touring truck driver might be ballet’s most enthusiastic fan. Woody of Doser Freight Forwarding drives his truck, loaded with tutus, scenery and props, for over 8,000km around Australia every year. In 2010 he is especially excited because the regional touring company will perform Don Quixote, his favourite ballet of all time. We caught up with Woody and asked him how much he’s looking forward to hitting the road.
How long have you been driving The Dancers Company truck?
This is my 13th or 14th tour.
Do you remember your first tour?
It was brilliant! I didn’t drive a semitrailer; it was a rigid truck. So it was smaller and didn’t bend in the middle or carry as much. So that made it easy. The first tour was great. I remember most of the places we went to.
Do you get a chance to see the ballet performances?
I do – I love it. I get to see them from all angles, and I get to stand backstage. And I go in the auditorium as well. It sounds funny – a truck driver enjoying ballet – doesn’t it?
And what’s the best ballet you’ve seen on The Dancers Company tour?
By far Don Quixote, which is what they’re performing this year. I love the characterisations. The first time I saw it David McAllister performed as a guest artist and I’ll never forget it. It was just brilliant.
How many kilometres do you travel on The Dancers Company?
Around 8,000km. Read the rest of this entry »
29 June 2010
By Annie Carroll
filed under Ballets Russes
Rupert Bunny’s paintings glow with the kind of luminous energy that could only derive from a young Australian residing in Paris at the turn of the 20th century. His work is so sumptuous that at times it’s easy to forget his humble beginnings in 19th Century St Kilda. At barely 20 years old Bunny left the brown earth of Victoria for a more cosmopolitan European culture, quickly aligning himself with the Parisian art scene. Bunny received the most recognition and critical acclaim of any Australian artist of his time and it’s not difficult to see why. Rupert Bunny: artist in Paris, currently showing at the National Gallery of Victoria, exhibits Bunny’s exquisite range of work, from delicate depictions of mythological sea-idylls to his vibrant and richly saturated danse chromatique series.
His early work displays atmospheric light that lends itself to strong poetic feeling. Pastoral demonstrates Bunny’s skill in creating large-scale mythological work. The dream-like quality of the painting is accentuated through the use of faded pastel tones and poppies (a symbol of sleep). In many of Bunny’s earlier works, red flowers can be seen scattered on the ground. The bright bursts of colour stand out from the peachy melons and soft turquoises he was using at the time. In Endormies, one of Bunny’s most ambitious works, light falls on the subjects like dappled sunlight shining through summer blooms.
In 1909, impresario Sergei Diaghilev collaborated with revolutionary artists such as Picasso, Stravinksy and Nijinsky, shocking the world with his dazzling new dance troupe the Ballets Russes. In 1913, Bunny, like everyone else, watched in awe at the profound affect the premiere of Nijinsky’s Rite Of Spring had on the Parisian public. Influenced also by Matisse and Gauguin, it was at this time that Bunny began to reinvent himself as a modern artist. Read the rest of this entry »
28 June 2010
By Colin Peasley
filed under Ask Colin
Dear Colin,
My daughter loves ballet and would love to be a professional dancer one day. However she worries her dream may never come true, because she has fallen arches (flat feet). She works very hard to correct them through strengthening exercises, wearing orthotics in her shoes, etc. Do you know of any professional ballet dancers who have this problem?
Kind Regards,
Kate Salmon
Dear Kate,
Yes, The Australian Ballet does from time to time have dancers with fallen arches. One of our current coryphée dancers wears orthotic supports in her street shoes and, like your daughter, works hard to strengthen her feet. Although it is a problem, she is now more aware of how she uses her feet at all times. I would think this is an advantage in the long run. So encourage your daughter to continue following her dream.
All the best,
Colin
You can email your ballet questions to Colin at hello@behindballet.com
Photography James Braund
25 June 2010
By Behind Ballet
filed under Edge of night, From the studio
Stephen Baynes’ ballets are famously beautiful, often exploring themes of memory, love and loss. In the ’80s, Dame Peggy van Praagh encouraged the Adelaide-born dancer to flex his choreographic muscle. Today, Stephen is The Australian Ballet’s resident choreographer and has worked with companies worldwide. Edge of night features two beloved works by Stephen. In the first of two interviews, we chat to Stephen about Rachmaninov, writers’ block and his achingly romantic At the edge of night.
You’ve used the Rachmaninov score to inspire your choreography in At the edge of night. Does the choreography come before the music or the music before the choreography?
Never the choreography before the music. It’s usually a matter of finding a piece of music or knowing a piece of music. Apart from a couple of commissioned scores where there’s been an idea, and the music has been written after that idea, the music is always the primary motivation for the choreography.
If you could ask Rachmaninov one question, what would it be?
I’d ask him how personal his Preludes [the music used in At the edge of night] are to him. Are they autobiographical in any way? I’m sure that’s not something he’d let on! There’s a certain dialogue in them; each of them paint a little picture and set a mood. I sometimes think about the way music assists film – it does the same for choreography. So you imagine a scene, a story, a mood or an atmosphere in the music.
What are the kinds of feelings you want the dancers to communicate on stage?
Each of the Preludes are a little different. The ballet is very oblique, and very cryptic. It’s about a woman looking back on her past. But it’s left open for interpretation; I left it open deliberately. It’s mostly pas de deux, so they naturally have a romantic feel about them. One pas de deux features a dancer who’s an idyllic youth, in the bloom of first love. Another is parting. And another is just a memory. So they have their own stories. Read the rest of this entry »
23 June 2010
By Isabel Dunstan
filed under Flashback, Peggy
After dancing together for the first time, Rudolf Nureyev dropped to his knees and kissed Margot Fonteyn on the hand during the curtain call. The audience roared. From this moment, Nureyev and Fonteyn became a celebrity dance partnership. In a documentary about the couple, Nureyev said they danced with “one body, one soul”.
As part of her five point plan for The Australian Ballet, founding Artistic Director Peggy van Praagh was determined to present the world’s best dancers to Australian audiences. In 1964 she invited Nureyev and Fonteyn to dance the title roles in Giselle. Fonteyn had performed in Australia in 1957 with the Borovansky Ballet but, for Nureyev, dancing on the Australian stage was a new experience.
In an article tracing the history of international ballet dancers visiting Australia, published in The Age in 1964, Geoffrey Hutton described Nureyev and Fonteyn as: “… probably the most highly priced dancers in the world; Fonteyn the pride of the British ballet who has queened it for a generation; Nureyev the sensational young male dancer from the Leningrad Kirov who has brought a new sense of excitement into the Western ballet.” Read the rest of this entry »
21 June 2010
By Anna Sutton
filed under Ballet V Fashion, Film
What was it about French film stars that made them such perfect models for ballerina-inspired fashion? In the ‘50s and ‘60s the vogue manifested itself in Brigitte Bardot, whose inimitable French style never failed to deliver elegance and carefree chic. Bardot was the first foreign-language-speaking star to attain major international success and her films were pivotal in establishing a global market for foreign cinema.
When Bardot moves through film space, her classical ballet training is evident in her regal carriage and dance style. She studied at the Conservatoire de Paris and the classic dancer’s wardrobe of leotards, Alice bands, ballerina skirts, and ballet flats often appeared throughout her films and daily ensembles. What began as an anti-establishment look early in her career progressed into a glamorous, tailored flair that remains influential today. The pale make-up and bouffant hairstyle was the perfect counterpart to her mixture of passion and drifting insouciance.
Bardot provided the first celebrity endorsement of the luxury shoe brand Repetto when she asked Rose Repetto to make her a dance slipper she could wear on the unpredictable streets of everyday life. The ravishing results can be seen in the photo of her draped over a Simca at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. That same festival was the backdrop to the iconic image of her creating a spectacle as she swirled her ballerina skirt for photographers. For a woman who reportedly once said, “I absolutely loathe luxury. It is the one thing I cannot stand,” she had some pretty high-end taste in ballet flats, and the delicious ‘BB’ style was named in her honour. Read the rest of this entry »
18 June 2010
By Colin Peasley
filed under Ask Colin
Dear Colin,
I really want to become a good ballet dancer, I really do. My parents won’t put me in a school but I would like to learn from home. Could you please suggest some websites to visit to learn some dance steps?
Thanks,
Janelle
Dear Janelle,
Unfortunately it is not possible to learn how to dance from books or via the internet. Dance has to be taught one-on-one. If you do not learn the basics correctly you run the risk of injuring yourself and picking up bad habits, which will limit your future dance ability.
Best wishes,
Colin
You can email your ballet questions to Colin at hello@behindballet.com
Sarah Thompson. Photography Jeff Busby
16 June 2010
By Behind Ballet
filed under Outdoor
At the northernmost point of Hamilton Island is qualia, a resort where the sun shines, the waters are crystal-clear and yachts can be spotted from the shore. A small group from The Australian Ballet were lucky enough to travel to qualia last weekend for a very special event – Pas De Deux in Paradise – where guests were treated to a three-course dinner, a Q&A session with dancers, and an exclusive outdoor performance. With the Whitsundays as their backdrop, dancers performed pas de deux from beloved ballets Nutcracker – The Story of Clara, Swan Lake, After the Rain © and El Tango. Donna Demaio witnessed the magic.
Principal Artist Rachel Rawlins declares, “Success is the best revenge,” revealing that as a ten year old she was told: “you’re too short to be a dancer”.
Rachel’s revelation during a scheduled Q&A session opens the floodgates to a stream of anecdotes at Hamilton Island’s qualia resort on the eve of the spectacular Pas De Deux in Paradise, a showcase of some of the most beautiful classic and contemporary pas de deux in a unique and breathtaking outdoor setting.
Rachel wasn’t the only one sharing thoughts, fears and aspirations with a captivated crowd that listened while devouring a divine dinner of smoked mackerel, lamb loin and layered Valrhona chocolate with caramel candied almonds. Principal Artists Lucinda Dunn and Robert Curran and Senior Artist Andrew Killian were also fielding questions, perched on stools at the resort’s Long Pavilion restaurant.
Lipstick, perfume and a Tic Tac are Lucinda’s three pre-performance must-haves. Andrew describes the painstaking hours spent pinning up his shoulder-length hair before each performance for five years. “Since I’ve cut it, better roles have come along,” he grins. Read the rest of this entry »
15 June 2010
By Isabel Dunstan
filed under Edge of night, From the studio
Inspired by an ancient Greek myth, Tim Harbour’s brand-new ballet Halcyon explores weighty themes of life, death, pride, betrayal and transformation. We snuck into the studio recently to photograph rehearsals for Tim’s mainstage debut and caught up with him to find out how the work’s progressing.
Can you shed some light on Halcyon’s concept?
It’s based on a Greek myth. The allure of any Greek myth is that they’re always really simple. Even though this one is simple, it’s been a real challenge to get across the ideas in 25 minutes. As far as the narrative goes, it’ll be far more abstracted than Coppélia for example. Loads of imagery and symbolism; they’re the mechanisms I’ll be using to drive the story. Hopefully it’ll be an emotional drama.
Your work has never really been narrative-based. It’s always been quite poetic and abstract, correct?
Yeah, I’ve always tried to have a theme or some kind of poetic idea …
So why the change?
Ah, well, you’ve got to! This is a really big opportunity for me – it might be the only time I ever do something like this. I might as well try it. Even though this is a highly pressurised opportunity – a lot of people are going to see it; it’s The Australian Ballet, and there’s a lot of expectation – I do have the confidence of coming back to the dancers who I created my first choreographic works on. My time away has always been about coming back to this opportunity to try something bigger. So I’m confident in my Read the rest of this entry »
