After nearly a decade with The Australian Ballet Soloist Jane Casson is hanging up her pointe shoes to pursue other passions: motherhood and her own business. Jane has performed much of the classical and contemporary repertoire and has been lauded for her versatility and comedic portrayals. With a business already under her belt, Jane is looking forward to the new challenges ahead. Interview by Lydia Gibala

As a native Kiwi, you began your ballet career with the Royal New Zealand Ballet and joined The Australian Ballet three years later. What enticed you to make the move?
In short, I would say love. My now husband joined The Australian Ballet a year earlier and the long distance relationship was really hard. I also wanted new challenges, new repertoire and the opportunity to work with great choreographers. I never looked back, so it was a great decision on my behalf.

What are the top highlights of your career?
I won a Green Room Award in 2007 and feel really honoured to have received such a prestigious award. Another highlight was opening night of Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake in Sydney, 2008. I danced Baroness von Rothbart alongside Principal Artists Robert Curran and Madeleine Eastoe. It was a huge opportunity and very last minute. And on a personal note, developing my second family at The Australian Ballet. Even though I’m leaving, the company will always be a part of my life.

You’ve been praised for your animated portrayal of comedic characters such as the ‘bad dancer’, Felicita, in Scuola di ballo. What are some other comedic roles you’ve performed?
I’ve done a fair few comedic roles. One that stands out is the girl with the whip in Molto Vivace. It was great fun creating the role with Stephen Baynes. The Australian Ballet has given me so many opportunities. Felicita, for example, was so much fun and one of my final performances on stage. It was quite an amazing experience to dance this hysterical role with the serious knowledge that I was a mother-to-be.

What is the most challenging role you’ve danced?
Other than Baroness von Rothbart, I would say Queen of the Wilis when Maina Gielgud staged her version of Giselle. You have to be so dominant; almost ruthless. The role had so many layers. There were really soft, delicate movements one minute and the next I’d come on with a big grand jeté sequence. Maina pushed me to boundaries I never thought I could reach and I think I broke down barriers, both internally and physically.

What are you looking forward to doing in the future? Without a doubt my main priority is being the best mother I can be to Alexander. I’m looking forward to sharing and experiencing his milestones. And I’ve started my own business, Pilates for Mums. Having done pilates for over 15 years, I wanted to help time-poor mothers work out and meet other mothers. It’s a playgroup for mums!

With his new work Halcyon premiering on the mainstage in less than a fortnight, Tim Harbour has made a seamless transition from the top ranks of The Australian Ballet to the role of fledgling choreographer. We chatted to Tim about Halcyon and how he balances the excitement and hard work involved in his courageous career shift.

How did you come up with the title for your piece and what is it about?
Halcyon is the name of the lead character in a Greek myth. She falls in love with a mortal and they anger the Gods. He is killed and she redeems his body by transforming into the Halcyon, a type of kingfisher.

You drew inspiration from a Greek mythological love story. Where else do you draw inspiration from?
While I was thinking and working on this ballet I turned to works by Martha Graham, for the way she told stories through strong theatrical choreography. I’ve often thought of Graeme Murphy for the same reason. I also read about the art of the playwright and the structure of plays. I also looked to the stage and costume designers, and I collected a gazillion images that helped us to formulate visual ideas.

For Halcyon’s music you worked with Australian composer Gerard Brophy. Will this piece have an overall Australian feel to it?
To me it sounds more Middle Eastern, actually. Gerard took my ideas away after our talks and now his music is influencing me. I’m actually at a point where I’m trying to reconcile my earlier thoughts with the music. Sometimes that means changes. It’s a different process for me. It’s surprising and exciting hearing what Gerard’s done and wonderful to have someone working on Halcyon with me.

You’ve actually danced in Stephen Baynes’ Molto Vivace. How does it feel to have your work  featured next to his in Edge of night?
Yes, I created the role of the Cupid in Molto Vivace and danced in performances of At the edge of night, too. Stephen is a great choreographer and they’re wonderful ballets. I can only hope my work stands up alongside them!

When did you first try your hand at choreography?
In 2005 I made a duet that became part of that year’s Bodytorque programme. I wanted to try it before then, but time and courage failed me.

What is it like working with dancers that you were dancing alongside only three years ago?
Every dancer in my creative cast is someone I’ve worked with in the Bodytorque programme. It’s a luxury to know your dancers intimately, who are all so inspiring.

What was it like to choreograph a piece for Christopher Wheeldon’s company Morphoses in New York?
Both exhilarating and a little intimidating. I was a little unprepared for the pace of it all, but I’ve come to admire Chris all the more for his ability to produce such fine work so quickly and so often. He did it right before my eyes but I still don’t know how!

How have you found juggling your new career as a choreographer with a young family? [Tim is married to Principal Artist Madeleine Eastoe. They have a young daughter.]
To be honest, it is a challenge. Sometimes creativity seems like such an indulgence when you look at your kid and think of your responsibility as a parent. I’m working hard and I’ll just keep doing that.

Would you ever perform in one of your own ballets?
Yes, I think so. It would have to be a walk-on part though!

Edge of Night plays in Melbourne 26 August – 4 September and Sydney 11 – 29 November.

A former dancer, Lydia Gibala is now studying for a Masters in Marketing at RMIT University and recently completed an internship with The Australian Ballet’s marketing team.

Image: Tim Harbour and Rachel Rawlins in rehearsal for Halcyon. Photography Jessica Bialek

You’ve worked with Stephen Baynes before on 1914 and Requiem, both distinctly different to Molto Vivace. What most heavily influences the style of your designs?
I have designed the costumes for seven of Stephen Baynes’ ballets and they were all very different. Sometimes there was an established narrative, other times we were interpreting the nature of the music. My costume designs are influenced by the choreographer’s style, the choice of music, the size and nature of the performance space, the set design and the particular dancer who will be wearing the costume.

Do you watch many rehearsals prior to designing the costumes?
I try to watch as many as I can. It reinforces my connection with the choreography, allows me to visualise the costume in motion and realistically review the demands made of the garment. But, most of all, it allows you the privilege of witnessing the development of the choreography.

The music in Molto Vivace is by Handel who composed music around the 17^th and 18^th centuries, and yet the costumes are quite modern and funky. Can you talk about how Handel’s score fits with the costumes?
Stephen had a very particular attitude to the music which really influenced both the set and costume design. There was a formality on the surface of the music disguising a mad frivolity beneath. I tried to echo this in the costume designs in particular with the eclectic fabric choices, colours, and the silhouette.

Obviously dancers have to be able to move  freely in their costumes than, say, opera singers. Are there any tricks of the trade to accomplish this?
The choice of fabric is crucial: how it falls, its flexibility, and its ability to withstand strain and constant laundering. When drawing the costume on the figure, the designer has to bear in mind the skeletal and muscular structure of the human body. The cut of the design lines, in relation to the rotation of the body joints, often requires the cutter to adapt traditional pattern blocks.

What is the first thing you do when commissioned to design costumes?
I listen to the music as many times as I can, as often your mood at the particular moment of listening can affect your interpretative skills. But the very first time you hear the music is a moment that never returns and is particularly special.

You started out designing costumes for plays. How did you come to design dance costumes?
Dame Peggy van Praagh asked Kristian Fredrikson to suggest a designer for Barry Moreland’s ballet Trocadero, and he recommended me for the commission. I was very familiar with the world of ballet as my mother danced in the 1940’s with the Borovansky Ballet.

Is your approach different when designing costumes for the various art forms: theatre, dance and opera?
Yes, it is often a question of scale, though there are basic principles that apply to all areas of theatrical design.

You’ve designed extensively for television. How does that differ from designing for the stage?
You become aware of ‘the close-up’ in film and television. The area around the face and hands becomes important in terms of detail. Though you have to take ‘the big picture’ into consideration as well and plot the ‘extras’ palette carefully to support the principal characters. The costume designer, because of the size of the cast, often has the added task of combining hire costumes with those they have specifically designed for the film.

What do you do when you’re not designing?
I love gardening, travel, going to films and theatre, though I do spend a lot of time and energy working on a travel scholarship for theatrical designers and makers. The scholarship was established to create an ongoing memorial to the career of the late Kristian Fredrikson.

A former dancer, Lydia Gibala is now studying for a Masters in Marketing at RMIT University and recently completed an internship with The Australian Ballet’s marketing team.

For further information about the Kristian Fredrikson scholarship visit www.fredriksonscholarship.org.

Edge of night plays in Melbourne and Sydney in August and November

Image: Artists of The Australian Ballet in Molto Vivace 2003. Photography Jim McFarlane