Students in the senior levels of the School recently showcased their potential performing at Hamer Hall, at the Arts Centre and the Drum theatre at Dandenong, as part of the Morning Melodies series. The programme included the much loved, perennial favourite, Swan Lake Act II; Leigh Rowles’ exciting new work, Matya’s Dance; Timothy Harbour’s, Songs of Light and Mark Annear’s Graduation Waltz. Tim’s work was commissioned by The Australian Ballet for this year’s Dancers Company, which had its very successful opening night in Ballarat on 15 July.

The Australian Ballet School has been invited to participate in the Putrajaya Arts Festival Malaysia on 5 and 6 December alongside local and international dance schools. Jessica Fyfe and Benjamin Stuart-Carberry (Level 8) will present the pas de deux from Swan Lake Act II and Dale Baker, who will be accompanying Jess and Ben, will be conducting masterclasses in Kuala Lumpur.

I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to Colin Simpson, Principal of the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School (VCASS), on achieving his dream of providing students and staff with a unique, world-class facility where excellence and creativity can flourish. The official opening of the wonderful new building was a most moving and significant event, with our own students joining the full school choir.

Our 45th Anniversary year is passing at a rapid rate, with our most significant events fast approaching: the much anticipated Graduate Exhibition on Sunday 13 September and international repetiteurs, Arlette van Bovan (Kylian Foundation) and Victoria Simon (Balanchine Trust), soon arriving to begin setting works for the anniversary performance in November. I hope to see you there!

Marilyn Rowe OBE
Director
 

To celebrate the School’s 45th Anniversary this year, a small exhibition will be on display in the Arts Centre’s Smorgan Plaza until the end of November.

The display is drawn directly from The Australian Ballet School’s archives, showcasing a cross-section of the collection, from the School’s inception in 1964 to its current day. The material featured includes a portrait of each Director and a biography for each plus a selection of photographs, costumes and memorabilia that correspond with each Director’s time at the school.

The Exhibition revisits the profound vision of Dame Peggy van Praagh – “to establish a School to continue to nourish the growth of The Australian Ballet” – and looks to a new era in ‘Creating the Future of Dance’ as we move confidently into the second half of our fifth decade of achievement.

Special thanks to the Arts Centre, especially Cherie McKeich, for curating the exhibition.

Janet Karin OAM, Kinetic Educator at The Australian Ballet School, has been chosen to join the Board of The International Association for Dance Medicine & Science (IADMS). The International Association for Dance Medicine & Science was formed in 1990 by an international group of dance medicine practitioners, dance educators, dance scientists, and dancers with the purpose of enhancing the health, well-being, training, and performance of dancers by cultivating educational, medical, and scientific excellence. We were able to chat with Janet about her role at the School, and her associaton with IADMS.

When did you first become interested in ballet?
I fell in love with the idea of ballet very young but had never seen it. For years I impressed my friends with the wondrous things I did ‘at ballet’. Finally, at the age of 14, I was able to start classes once a week with Laurel Martyn. From that day, there was no stopping me until I became a principal dancer of The Australian Ballet.

How has the dance profession changed during the course of your career?
When I started learning ballet, there were no full-time professional dancers in Australia. Borovansky employed dancers for set periods, but then they had to find other jobs until ‘Boro’ found the money to start up again. The founding of The Australian Ballet in 1962, with continuous full-time employment, was an incredible feat.

When did you first become involved with The Australian Ballet School?
I was with the company when the School started and we were all very interested in the young dancers, who seemed so much more talented than we were. Later, many of my own students completed their training at the School and joined the company, so I never really lost touch. It is wonderful to be working here.

What do you do with the students?
I help them to move more efficiently and more freely so they can dance safely and make the most of their natural grace and expression. My work is a mixture of motor re-patterning (changing the way the brain makes the muscles work) and somatic imagery, which makes technique feel easier and more natural.

What does a typical day involve?
Between six and thirteen individual students come for half-hour sessions each day, and we work on anything they need. They may want to improve things like their turnout, feet, line, balance or breathing, or they may have an injury or signs that their bodies are not working efficiently. We also have weekly health team meetings with the teachers of each class, and we discuss how we can assist students. Then, I teach Cultural Studies to Levels 3-7. Outside these responsibilities, I invent things! This year students have started using my new insoles for improving balance, and we are at present incorporating training with my new unstable ‘wobblebars’ into the male gym program.

How did you become involved with IADMS?
Marilyn Rowe OBE has been wonderfully supportive of my long-time interest in dance science and the School has sent me to IADMS conferences since 2002. I have presented many papers on my work at the School as it is seen as quite innovative overseas. This has given me the courage to undertake various research studies with international experts. I was the Chair of the host consortium (The Australian Ballet School, Australian Sports Commission and Ausdance) which brought the 2007 IADMS conference to Australia.

How will your role with IADMS change now that you are a Board member?
I am already on the IADMS Education Committee and Chair of the Resource Paper and Poster subcommittees, so I know a certain amount about how things work at the top. I am sure there are many new challenges awaiting me, but that is what I like – to push past my comfort zone.

What do you like the most about your roles?
I love, really love working with the students. It’s an immense privilege to help gifted young people who are striving to make beauty and art. They inspire me every day. I also love the opportunity to develop new ideas, whether they are training strategies, inventions or simply ways of opening students’ eyes to their own potential.

Janet Karin OAM
Kinetic Educator
 

Students Robert Binet, Sara Coffield and Linden Kuitenbrauwer from Canada’s National Ballet School (NBS), have spent the past three weeks at The Australian Ballet School, participating in Level 7 classes as part of an ongoing exchange programme between the two Schools. We caught up with Sara and Robert to chat about their experiences.

How are you finding your time at The Australian Ballet School?
SC: I’ve really enjoyed my time here at ABS with the range of classes available. Everyone has been very welcoming. ABS has such a nice environment that I like to think we fit in very easily.
RB: I have really enjoyed my time here. All of the classes have been very challenging and the teachers have been knowledgeable and encouraging. All the students have been so welcoming and it has been fun getting to know them and work with them in class. The family I have stayed with has been so kind as well, helping me to get the most out of this amazing experience as I can, and making it even more enjoyable.

Are there many differences between your experiences of dance training here and at home?
SC: I don’t think there are huge differences between the two schools; they both have a very strong technical base and yet still incorporate artistry. It’s always nice though to get some new corrections and different points of views from teachers who aren’t as familiar with you.
RB: The training here is different, but exactly what I need at this stage. We are pushed to attempt difficult steps and movements which is exciting because It shows you what you need to work on, or you surprise yourself with what you can do sometimes. The pas de deux classes have been very exciting as our teachers ask us to do lifts that seem impossible when we think about them, but after a few days they become very manageable. At home, there is more of a focus on refining our movements before we attempt more complicated ones, so it has been very exciting to try all sorts of new things. Both methods are very effective, but it is great to have a change in focus, which is very much the purpose of this exchange.

When did you first start ballet classes?
SC: I started ballet at the age of 3 with my playgroup friends.
RB: I started dancing when I was 9 years old in the Associates Programme at Canada's National Ballet School. My grandmother took me to see a performance of the I, and I've been hooked ever since!

What are your goals for the future?
SC: In the future, I hope to have a job dancing in a professional company possibly in Europe. I’d like to dance both classical and contemporary repertoire.
RB: I have just graduated and will be joining the Post-Secondary Programme at my school in the fall. I would like to work as a dancer at a company in Canada or Europe, and after this trip, Australia. I am very interested in choreography, so I would like to pursue that and have a career as a choreographer after dancing.

What do feel you will take away from your exchange experience?
SC: I will definitely bring back some new exercises thanks to Ms. Kirkaldie! I also learned a lot just from watching other dancers who aren’t the ones I would see every day at my own school so I would say I will take back things I found inspiring from within my Level 7 class here at ABS such as their quality of upper body work. I will also take back with me the knowledge that the best way to get to know a city is without a map! I really enjoyed walking around downtown Melbourne and finding all the small in-between streets.
RB: I have learned a lot about ballet technique, as well as my own abilities. I have a better sense of what specifically I need to work on, and how to accomplish these goals. Hearing the same corrections, but explained differently has been very enlightening. We have also learned many helpful strengthening exercises through the Special Coaching programme. I have made some great friends, who I can hopefully keep in touch with for a long time.

What have you been doing in Melbourne during your spare time?
SC: I’ve explored the city’s shops and cafes (I love Degraves Street) as well as gone to the movies. I was also able to go to Ballarat to see The Dancer’s Company Perform!
RB: I have been walking around the city a lot because I love the architecture and the really neat shops and restaurants. I have been to Philip Island, to see the penguins which was really exciting. The family I have stayed with has a house on the ocean, so we went there one weekend and I got to go to the beach, and see whales, cockatoos and kangaroos, as well as have a traditional Australian barbecue!

The recent refurbishment of The Australian Ballet School has facilitated a considerable upgrading of our audio-visual equipment. Technology in this area develops very rapidly, so it is fortunate that the School has been able to purchase state of the art equipment that should see us well into the future.

Our studios, classrooms, the Student Common Room and my office have all been fitted out with plasma televisions – a welcome replacement of the old TVs that have operated tirelessly for well over 20 years!

The installation of acoustic drapes in the School studios on the fifth floor has effectively reduced the highly reverberant echo that has long been a source of frustration for users. One positive outcome of this upgrade is that the pianos no longer need to be taken out of the studios to be tuned!

Classroom 1 and the Teacher Training Room have each been fitted out with the 78inch Promethean Activboard, which is essentially an interactive whiteboard with multimedia applications. One of its features is the ability to convert into printed text, and then display via a data projector, material handwritten on the whiteboard.

Finally, in a case of ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’, our studios are being fitted out with iPod docking stations. The ubiquitous iPod is the most popular mp3 player used by our students. The docking stations will allow them convenient studio access to their own audio library via the iPod – particularly useful for students rehearsing dance repertoire or their own choreographic creations. Additionally, the School’s Artistic Staff is being issued with iPods as an audio-visual teaching aid. They are proving to be a very convenient and portable means of storing large amounts of audio-visual material.

Paul Brickhill
Head of Music & Audio Visual Co-ordinator
 

Level 8 students Jessica Fyfe and Dimitri Kleioris take a break from rehearsals to chat to us about their experiences on tour this year with The Dancers Company. The Dancers Company is The Australian Ballet’s regional touring group, comprising guest artists of The Australian Ballet and graduating students from The Australian Ballet School. Each year since 1980 The Dancers Company has brought the highest quality dance productions to audiences and regions outside major capital cities. This year the tour visits towns in Victoria, Queensland and the Northern Territory during July and August, bringing a performance of Poems, Songs of Light, and Act II of Nutcracker – The Gift of a Dream to local audiences.

How are you both finding life on the road?
JF: It’s really exciting! Travelling and performing your art to many different audiences around Australia really gives you the inspiration to put a bit of yourself into every show.
DK: I love it. We travel to places that we would probably never go if it weren’t for The Dancers Company tour. It’s always nice to come home, but being exposed to the cultural differences between towns is really interesting.

What roles are you dancing?
JF: In Poems I am dancing the role of Peggy Puricust, I dance the 3rd pas de deux in Songs of Light and I am Clara in Nutcracker – The Gift of a Dream.
DK: I am Myfanway’s sweet heart John, in Poems, and am so lucky to be in Timothy Harbour’s piece Songs of Light. Plus I am Drossylmyer in Leigh Rowles’ Nutcracker – The Gift of a Dream.

Where have you visited so far, and how have audiences responded?
JF: We started with Ballarat, then to Frankston, Sale and the last but not least of the Victorian leg, Geelong. In Ballarat, as it was the first, there was a definite buzz in the air where as Frankston had an entire company function, so it was great to meet everyone officially. In Sale we had an education program which the children really enjoyed, and in Geelong a lot of familiar faces in the audience which is always nice.
DK: Ballarat, Frankston, Sale and Geelong. From the feedback we’ve received, all the patrons have enjoyed it, but they all responded really differently. For example the audience went crazy during the show in Frankston , clapping all the way through the Nutcracker finale, where as in Sale, they were much quieter during the curtain calls. So there are many differences between each town.

What does a typical day on tour involve?
JF: Every morning we take daily class at the theatre followed by rehearsal ie. corrections of the performance from the night before – in ballet there is always something to improve upon. We then have a break, in which I usually go for a walk around the new place we are visiting, have dinner, take a nap, then prepare for the pre-performance barre for our 7.30/8pm show. Sometimes if it is opening night there is a function post show, followed by a good rest before getting up the next morning to start again.
DK: I wake up at about 9 (probably a bit later than the girls) for class on stage at 11, followed by notes till about three to get all the corrections and to do placing due to the different size stages. We have lunch/dinner from 3 till 5.30 then have a warm-up barre at 6.15. The show is at 7.30 till 10, then I always have a bite to eat before a good night’s sleep.

How does this differ from a typical day at The Australian Ballet School?
JF: In a day at the School the physical hours are almost completely opposite, for instance our key time on tour is between 6-10pm. On tour you have to be flexible but at the same time know what your body needs and what you like to do to give the best of yourself for every performance. It’s a balance between enjoying every place you go, the people you’re with, and the experience you have, as well as keeping focussed on performing and looking after yourself.
DK: Tour is completely different from School, much more like being in a company. There are no specific classes, it’s just a normal mixed classical class in the morning and notes, with the most important part being the performance. I love the life-style because that’s what we have trained to do.

When did you both first become interested in dance?
JF: I was 9 when I learnt that I really loved to dance, and 11 when I discovered the magic of the pointe shoes.
DK: When I was a toddler, I used to literally dance and do cartwheels everywhere, so at the age of 8 mum put me in the local dance school. I started ballet when I was 14 and by 16 was hooked.

What do you like most about The Dancers Company tour?
JF: Experiencing the life of a professional dancer. This is what I have aspired to the whole time I have been training at the School. But most of all I love that it has taught me everything and more about dancing on the road, how we as the dancers can teach what we have learnt to our audiences through simply doing what we love. How can anyone call that a job?!
DK: I love performing. Being on stage is such a great feeling and one that you can’t get anywhere else.

And what is the most challenging part about being on tour?
JF: Going to sleep at the end of an exciting performance is definitely the hardest part of being on tour. All you feel like doing is talking about what has happened, laughing, dancing and being filled with adrenalin to do it all again....but tomorrow is another day.
DK: Bus trips. I find it more draining than doing a full day of dancing, but it gets us to the places where we get to dance, so I deal with it!

For further details and booking information for The Dancers Company please click here.

Image: Songs of Light Rehearsal. Photography Jessica Bialek, courtesy The Australian Ballet.

Graduate Exhibition tickets now on sale
A spectacular showcase of classical and contemporary works, performed with artistry and vigour by graduating students of The Australian Ballet School. This year’s Graduate Exhibition will include the exquisite Act II of Swan Lake, as well as several favourites from the classical and contemporary repertoire. As the School celebrates its 45th Anniversary year, Graduate Exhibition is a celebration of a continuing commitment to creating the future of dance.

Sunday 13 September 7.30pm
the Arts Centre, State Theatre
Tickets – Adults $35 / Concession $25
Bookings: Phone 1300 182 183, go online to www.theartscentre.com.au , or book in person at the Arts Centre Box Office.

Summer School 2010 places selling fast
Now in its 11th year, The Australian Ballet School’s annual Summer School offers a variety of programmes for national and international students at The Australian Ballet Centre in Melbourne each January. Classes are conducted by senior staff of the School and guest teachers from The Australian Ballet and the dance community. Specialised programmes have been developed to cater for the needs of students aged from 6 to 18 years. Each programme commences with an introductory afternoon of orientation, a preparation class, and a conditioning/stretching class, followed by five consecutive days of comprehensive training in classical ballet and other dance styles. Students receive a Certificate of Participation and a Summer School souvenir.
For further information and bookings please click here.

Be one of the first 15 people to email communications@australianballetschool.com.au for your chance to win one of the new BALLERINA DVDs below! Winners will be notified via return email.

BALLERINA

Fascinating, enthralling, shrouded in mystery.

This film follows the destinies of five female dancers of the Kirov Ballet in Saint Petersburg. Their lives weave together to tell the story of the Russian Ballerina of our time, from her beginnings as a child in dance school to the peak of her glory on the world stages.

In this intimate gaze at the lives, the courage, the disappointments and triumphs of these women, this film unveils the vitality and uniqueness of the Russian Ballerina today. We come to understand her lasting allure as we begin the 21st century. Ballerina, as old as Russian history, as new as today.

For more details about the DVD click here.

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