A fitting tribute: Creative Australia and the Ballets Russes exhibition

An exotic temple dancer, a magical firebird and a love-sick puppet — what do they have in common? They are among the many colourful characters associated with Sergei Diaghilev’s legendary company, the Ballets Russes. Coinciding with the Ballets Russes’ centenary, the Creative Australia and the Ballets Russes exhibition now showing at the Arts Centre highlights the contribution of the company to Australia’s artistic landscape.

Keep an eye out for the ‘Ballets Russes’ memorabilia display. Though Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes never visited Australia, Colonel de Basil’s version of the company made three visits in the 1930s. Posters, sketches and photographs such as those in the exhibition were an important part of the company’s glamorous image, and impart a sense of the troupe’s appeal.

The Ballets Russes-inspired costume designs of The Borovansky Ballet, The Australian Ballet’s direct predecessor, are another special feature. The company’s designs are not only strikingly attractive; they also reveal the centrality of the Ballets Russes legacy to our current ballet scene.

Beautifully capturing the energy of The Australian Ballet’s 2009 Ballets Russes season are the artworks of Wendy Sharpe, Tania Mason, and Natalya Hughes. Their contributions are inspiring and like artists before them help to capture the Ballets Russes for future generations.

Rounding out the exhibition are pieces of footage from Sydney Dance Company’s Schéhérezade and The Australian Ballet’s Petrouchka, as well as memorabilia from Graeme Murphy’s recent production of Firebird. Together, they represent some of the most visible modern-day manifestations of the Ballets Russes in Australia, and demonstrate the company’s continuing hold on the public imagination.

The Creative Australia and the Ballets Russes exhibition runs until 20 September in Gallery 1 at the Arts Centre before touring rural and regional Victoria

Grace Edwards

Image: Forbidden Feathers, Tania Mason 2009