Norton Owen is Director of Preservation at Jacob’s Pillow, an exceptional centre for dance that includes a school and a performance space in Becket, Massachusetts, in the beautiful mountainous region of the Berkshires. Norton has been awarded the 2025 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award. It is in celebration of his 50th year of being on the staff of Jacob’s Pillow and
This post follows on from my brief discussion of certain parts of the the Papers of Coralie Hinkley, now in the collection of the National Library of Australia as MS 10753, After seeing in the collection photos of dance students under Hinkley’s direction at Fort St Girls’ High School, I enquired about the availability of a film Choros (I dance)
21 March 2025. Lyric Theatre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Brisbane Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet is a long ballet—almost three hours (if we include the two intervals between acts). But it is such a strong work by MacMillan, and so magnificently performed by Queensland Ballet in this 2025 presentation, that those three hours just flew by. The relationship between Romeo
As I write this an Australian federal budget is shortly to be delivered, just ahead of the 2025 federal election. Leading up to these two events, the Ausdance network has been working hard to bring dance to the attention of various areas of the Australian federal government. Two documents have recently been submitted: Ausdance Federal Budget Submission: The Ausdance network is
14 March 2025. St James Theatre, Wellington What is ballet? In what was a joint program of four works, two from Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB) and two from Scottish Ballet, I imagined there would be some curiosity from audience members (or some people anyway) about the nature of ballet. I certainly was curious. Both companies have the word ‘ballet’
6 March 2025. Te Auaha, Wellington Fringe Festival Director, choreographer, performer: Lucy MarinkovichComposer, pianist: Lucien JohnsonCo-choreographer, performer: Michael ParmenterLighting: Martyn Roberts reviewed by Jennifer Shennan The Night has a Thousand Eyes is an hour-long work described as a ‘nocturnal dreamscape of movement and mystery’. The first image is of a vast suspended square tent of white muslin, evoking the cloth
My review of Essor a solo performance from Yolanda Lowatta was published online on 02 March 2025 by CBR CityNews. Read it at this link.. Below is a slightly enlarged version of the review. ******************************************* 01 March 2025. Gordon Darling Hall, National Portrait Gallery, Canberra There is much to admire about Essor, a 20-minute solo performance choreographed and danced at the National Portrait Gallery
Ever on the move in the development of dance, Sydney Dance Company just recently announced a new initiative—a teacher training program ‘dedicated to the art and practice of dance education’. Led by Linda Gamblin, Head of Training at Sydney Dance Company, the course will begin in July 2025. This is an exciting initiative from Sydney Dance Company. Teaching is an
The extraordinary Coralie Hinkley, passionately involved in so many dance-related activities, died in September 2021. An obituary is at this link. After her death her collection of papers, photographs, writings and so many other items were donated to the National Library of Australia by her daughter. The collection, Papers of Coralie Hinkley, has since been processed, and a finding aid
Via the ROH streaming platform Frederick Ashton choreographed his ballet, Enigma Variations, to the similarly named score by Edward Elgar: Royal Ballet publicity describes the ballet as an ‘ode to the composer Edward Elgar’. The ballet depicts several of Elgar’s friends and family who are seen at Elgar’s home as he ponders the outcome of a request to conductor Hans