Behind Ballet is taking a little holiday over the Christmas period, but we’ll be back in the new year.

If you need to get your ballet on over the break, you can visit The Australian Ballet’s website for videos, galleries, season info and more, wiggle over to our YouTube channel, or swing by Facebook.

Thanks for reading this year. Sophie Bastas is the winner of our comment of the month competition for December for her beautiful missive on Damien Welch’s final performance. For January, we’ll be giving away copies of Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake on DVD to TWO lucky commenters, so please keep the good stuff coming! We’ll announce the winners at the end of the month.

Have a fantastic Christmas and a balletlicious new year,
Behind Ballet

Image: Lana Jones. Photography Justin Smith

Lucinda Dunn, The Australian Ballet’s longest serving principal artist, is revered equally for her bulletproof technique and her sparkling approach to characterisation. As she prepares to tackle the complex and very demanding role of the Marschallin in Graeme Murphy’s The Silver Rose, Luci shares some of her favourite ballet moments so far.

The Sleeping Beauty
Aurora is one of the ultimate ‘ballerina’ roles to perform. It’s so pure and technical with big a story to tell, from Aurora’s 16th birthday right through to her marriage celebrations. Although I always find this ballet daunting and challenging, I have wonderful memories of performances where I danced to my full capacity. Plus, having a new version of a classic created on you and dancing the world premiere is every dancer’s dream.
Don Quixote
Don Quixote is another great technical, demanding and energetic three-act ballet, and  there are so many facets to the role of Kitri. I gained an Australian Dance Award for my performances in 2007. Read the rest of this entry »

Tan lines had to be avoided at all costs as four exquisite dancers from The Australian Ballet rehearsed on a custom-built poolside stage at Hamilton Island’s luxury resort, qualia. Factor 30 sunscreen was applied liberally as Yosvani Ramos, Stephanie Williams, Ty King-Wall and Kristy Corea perfected their pas de deux for a one-night-only performance: a culmination of one month’s preparation. “You can’t have dancers with lines across their back,” said The Australian Ballet’s Executive Director Valerie Wilder, who incidentally helped apply the sunscreen.

The previous evening, over a scrumptious dinner of seared scallops, lamb loin and eggplant caviar, about 200 guests probed the dancers and Artistic Director David McAllister during a Q&A session. The audience were showered in honesty and insights. “You never stop dancing.  It’s dancing that gives you up. You can’t do what you want anymore”, reflected McAllister who, after 18 years of dancing, retired from the stage in 2001. Other topics included career injuries, body image, life after ballet, and the hefty cost of pointe shoes. Read the rest of this entry »

Feet are one of several fetishes in the dance world. They are the anatomical tools that delineate a ballerina from other athletes and are commonly subject to injury.

Good feet are judged on the size of the dancer’s arch, their high instep, strength and endurance. For those not blessed with naturally flawless feet, much is done to mould the foot and contour the lower leg. Young dancers engage in basic and often dangerous routines with weighty objects, such as pianos and phone books, that force the ankle joint upward and the toes downward.*

More recently, however, foot-stretching machines and padded sleeves provide safer alternatives for improving arches. Pilates and simple exercises that encourage dexterity of the feet are also taught to strengthen the metatarsals.

Over the years, there have been many dancers praised for their beautiful feet. Their feet have become so beautiful, in fact, that one could spend days perusing images and video clips of their feet at work.

And so here I attempt to rank ‘great feet’. It is by no means definitive. Click on the dancer’s names to see their tootsies in action!

1. Paloma Herrera – American Ballet Theatre

2. Sylvie Guillem – Sadler’s Wells Theatre

3. Alessandro Ferri – American Ballet Theatre, retired

4. Svetlana Zahkrakova – Bolshoi Ballet

5. Lynette Wills – The Australian Ballet, retired

6. Lucia Lacarra – Bavarian State Ballet

7. Polina Semionova – Berlin State Opera

8. Tamara Rojo – Royal Ballet

9. Lucinda Dunn – The Australian Ballet

10. Maria Kotchekova – San Francisco Ballet

* No, we do not endorse putting toes under a piano to improve a dancer’s instep! All dancers are encouraged to improve their feet using safe methods that lead to prettier – not injured – feet.

Marissa Shirbin was a dancer, is now a romancer and an editorial assistant at Right Angle Publishing

Photography Tim Richardson