Table of contents for April-May-June 2023 in Dance Australia

SEEING the combined forces of Ballett Zurich and double choir – more than 200 performers altogether – moving as one in the Messa da Requiem at the Adelaide Festival recently, reminded me once again of the wonder of seeing large ensembles of dancers. Flocking, swirling, sculptural; artful patterning and beautiful stage pictures created with human bodies: it is a spectacle that has taken away the breath of audiences since, for example, Petipa created his murmurations of swans and Coralli had his ghostly maidens rise like mist in Giselle. Alas it was a reminder, again, of how seldom we see this kind of large ensemble dancing in Australia from our own contemporary dance companies. We just don't have big enough companies. With the exception of NSW, not one of our state…

iNSTEP THE West Australian Ballet is presenting a classical ballet triple-bill, “Ballet to Broadway”, from May 5 to 13 at His Majesty’s Theatre in Perth. The program comprises Raymonda Act III, staged by Javier Torres, who is already known to WAB audiences after his extravagant The Sleeping Beauty featured as Perth’s Christmas season in 2021. This will share the bill with the pas de deux from Sylvia, staged by Artistic Director Aurélien Scannella and his wife, Artistic Associate Sandy Delasalle. The third work will be Balanchine’s Who Cares? which was first performed by the WAB in 2015. The company’s winter contemporary season, “STATE” , will be held at the State Theatre Centre from June 23 to July 1.…

How do you find and recruit dancers for your company? We run an open audition day in December and also invite certain dancers for private auditions if we are interested. Are traditional auditions still the best way to find work as a dancer in 2023? Traditional auditions are a great way to introduce yourself to the company or job; however, it is more important to familiarise yourself with the company first. Many of our successful company dancers have made themselves known to us first by taking classes, open workshops and attending shows. How can dancers differentiate themselves, and make themselves known to artistic directors in the competitive, job-seeking landscape? The most important part of auditioning is not only the dancing but also the personality and vibe of the dancer. Making…

WHY would you want to be a critic? It takes a lot of courage to put your opinions out in the public arena, especially when your opinion is not a favourable one. Then you will make yourself unpopular, even despised. In fact, if you are a "popular" critic, then quite possibly you are not doing your job right. Take the shocking case of Wiebke Huester, a critic for the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper, a leading, national broadsheet newspaper in Germany. She reviewed an important premiere of a new dance work by Marco Goecke, choreographer and artistic director of the Hannover State Ballet in Germany. Called In the Dutch Mountains, it was his first full-length creation for the Netherlands Dance Theatre, where he is also an associate choreographer. Huester wasn't impressed. "Watching,…

INSTEP FOLLOWING a remarkable tenure of over a decade, Jacob Nash, Bangarra Dance Theatre's Head of Design, has departed the company. Nash designed the sets for more than 20 productions. His extraordinary visual sense has been fundamental to the artistic success and the distinctive style of the company. His celebrated productions include Dark Emu, Terrain and Bennelong, which earned him a 2018 Helpmann Award for Best Scenic Design. “I have been on some amazing journeys during my time with the company and I am so proud of the stories that we have created and shared with audiences together. I have collaborated with some of the countries most talented artists and theatre makers along the journey, and will always hold those friendships and memories close," he says. Above is a scene…

MELBOURNE'S new Rising festival has announced its 2023 program: and it’s huge! The program spans 185 events featuring more than 400 artists, including 35 commissions and 12 world premieres. The festival embraces the winter and the night, and will take place from June 7 to 18, with indoor and outside events – in historic buildings and traditional venues, in public gardens and squares, car parks and churches, from the ground to the sky. Many are free, with audiences invited to "reflect, reckon, rave, and revel in Melbourne’s nighttime culture". Like its predessessor, White Night, the festival boasts many family activities, such as iceskating along the Birrarung Marr, and fantastic light shows and fantasies. Many public arts institutions, such as the galleries, are open late into the night. The program is…

BEING a performer, especially in dance, demands so much beyond technique and artistry. It takes real guts to put yourself out there day after day. From dance exams to auditions, training assessments and reviews – not to mention the ubiquitous mirror – the feedback is all around in one form or another. How do dancers put all of this into perspective and come out the other side whole and healthy? And how do you avoid undermining your own success? I spoke with mental health coach, Will Centurion, about some of the approaches he uses when working with performers to overcome a range of issues, including performance anxiety, by helping them improve their mindset. Centurion is a former musical theatre performer with a tranche of shows to his credit, including West…

ANYONE following contemporary dance in the past decade will have been dazzled by the substantial talents of Samantha Hines. She has that "can’t take your eyes off" quality that draws an audience. In person, Hines comes across as someone who embraces every opportunity, and is eager for the next experience. She is self-effacing and describes herself as “straightforward” and “chill”. She is altogether refreshing and direct. Hines started her professional career dancing with Garry Stewart’s Australian Dance Theatre, where she spent four years before moving on to Dance North. Since then she has been working freelance with Lucy Guerin and Stephanie Lake, among others. She has recently been touring with Stephanie Lake Company in the thrilling Manifesto, a work for nine dancers and nine drummers, followed by Guerin retrospective for…

To mark its anniversary, LGI presented a performance installation called ‘NewRetro’ at the 21-year-old galleries of the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) in Melbourne from March 25 to April 2. The program featured a cast of 21 dancers, some reprising their original roles, and others joining the company for the first time. See review on our website.…

MOST Australians would have encountered Paul Mercurio in one of his many guises: dancer, actor, movie star, TV chef, TV judge, beer brewer, all-round entertainer and nice guy. Nonetheless, it was probably still a surprise to many when it popped up in his latest role: Member of Parliament for the Victorian electorate of Hastings. I met up with Mercurio MP at his new office, in a shopping square in Somerville on the Mornington Peninsula. I wanted to ask him the obvious question: what brought about his move into politics? “Three years ago I caught pneumonia," he explained over a cup of peppermint tea. "I was lying in hospital, quite sick, I was 56/57 years old, and really thinking I just can't go on with this way of life, it's not…

FORM Dance Projects and Parramatta Riverside Theatres are presenting a work by the appropriately named GUTS Dance, a dance "platform" based in Alice Springs (Mparntwe). The co-directors of GUTS are Madeleine Krenek and Frankie Snowdon, Victorian College of the Arts alumna who have been working together for 12 years. This particular work is called Value for Money, and is choreographed by Jasmin Sheppard and Sara Black. It "interrogates how relationships, community, proximity and place change our perception of a life’s worth". The performers, who are also collaborators on the project, are Gabe Comerford, Waangenga Blanco and Ashley McLellan as well as Krenek and Snowdon. Value for Money is being presented as part of Form Dance Projects Dance Bites seasons. It will be held from May 4 to 6 at Parramatta…

WITH the devastating war grinding on in Ukraine, many Ukrainian ballet dancers are still stranded outside their home country. One group is the Grand Kyiv Ballet. Formed in 2014, since 2022 the GKB has remained outside Ukraine, touring all around the world, through Europe, USA, China and South America. The company is now embarking on a tour of New Zealand and Australia. Heading the line-up of dancers are two highly decorated principals from the National Ballet of Ukraine (full name Taras Shevchenko National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre of Ukraine), Kyiv's main company. Oleksandr Stoianov (who is also the founder and artistic director) was named People's Artist of Ukraine in 2019, and Honoured Artist of Ukraine in 2016. His frequent partner is the beautiful Kateryna Kukhar, Merited Artiste of Ukraine…

AUDITION SPECIAL THE dance industry has often relied upon auditions to determine the next big thing. Auditioning successfully for an established dance company used to be a foot in the door to the dance world. Now, changes are afoot. The entry points to dance companies, residencies and opportunities are diverse and various. But how can you find these opportunities, and make yourself “known” in the increasingly changing dance world? One of the notable changes is the proliferation of small dance companies, in contrast with the primacy of major dance companies. The pathways into these companies are also various, with residencies, commissioned work and festival projects a few of the many. Speaking to several company directors and renowned choreographers in Australia and New Zealand threw some light on what it takes…

Rebecca Mansueto Present role: Cha Cha and Frenchy in ‘Grease the Musical’ Harmony of the Seas, Royal Caribbean Cruises When I was home in Sydney in the midst of a nationwide lockdown, I wondered how soon I’d perform again. The country had just opened up its borders to the world when I sent off an email to Royal Caribbean to inform them I was clear from an injury and ready to work. One email later a dream opportunity presented itself when I was asked by lead talent casting Greg Graham to attend an audition in New York City for Grease the Musical. I remember sitting in my bedroom within a week of the audition thinking, “I need to book a flight and take a risk!” Sure enough I took that…

HERITAGE THE times Dorothy Gladstone lived through her long and productive life were times of enormous change. Born in 1896, she was four when Australia became a Federation; when she was 18 there was a catastrophic World War, followed by the Great Depression, followed by another World War. Yet, through it all, Australia kept dancing, and Gladstone was a leading figure in its development. When she was growing up in Melbourne, dance as a local professional artform was virtually unknown in Australia. There were no professional ballet companies, and most dance was represented by vaudeville, in particular on the Tivoli circuit. But there was a great love of dancing. Audiences flocked to see visitors like Adeline Genee in 1913 and Pavlova in 1923 and 1926 and the Ballets Russes in…

The Australian Ballet DON QUIXOTE STATE THEATRE, ARTS CENTRE MELBOURNE REVIEWED WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15 The company is dancing with strength and aplomb, and dancers of all ranks are showing great polish. PURE joy! This is the only way to describe the Australian Ballet’s production of Don Quixote. From the moment the curtain opens to lights on the audience is transported to another world. It’s a world of silliness and romance, extravagant (over)acting and truly thrilling feats of classical technique. The ballet moves at a pace and sweeps everyone along. This version is based on the wonderful 1973 film arranged by Rudolf Nureyev for TAB and shot in a hangar at Essendon airport. It is an iconic ballet film, staring Nureyev as Basilio and the wonderful Lucette Aldous as Kitri. Sir…