Gloria—a triple bill. Co3 Contemporary Dance Australia & New Zealand Dance Company

13 March 2026. St. James Theatre, Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts
reviewed by Jennifer Shennan

The program opens with Lament, by Moss Te Ururangi Patterson, performed by New Zealand Dance Company. Shayne Carter’s music has fragments of the traditional chant, E Pã Tõ Hau, commemorating an historic battle between Maori and British forces. during mid-19th century Land Wars. The dance movement alludes to Maori haka, not as narrative but in a relentless pace throughout, conveying the fear involved in that notorious encounter—less a slow lament, more a shared panic and remembered grief.

A Moving Portrait is by Raewyn Hill, celebrated New Zealand dancer now artistic director of Co3 dance company in Perth. The dance achieves a perfect symbiosis with the music of Arvo Pärt—mesmerising, mysterious, dream-like, slow-motion movement, unceasing in the passing of time, unfolding, retreating, descending, recoiling, ascending, ageing, supporting, accepting, sharing—sympathetic, empathetic. The meditative work weaves a deliciously spooky spell inviting the audience to feel as though they are part of the cast. It’s sculpture on the move, finally finding the deep strings of double bass as if coming home, or moving on.

A moment from Raewyn Hill’s *A Moving Portrait*. Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts, 2026. Photo: © John McDermott

Gloria was choreographed in 1990 by Douglas Wright. He died in 2018 but will always be remembered as New Zealand’s leading and visionary dance-maker. From his extensive repertoire of full-length and one-act works, Gloria is rated the masterpiece. How fitting then that the country’s finest musicians—the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Voices New Zealand, are performing Vivaldi’s sacred and soaring music. The conductor is Joseph Nolan.

The opening, in silence, sees a set of dancers lit in a warm rose light, holding hands in a perfect circle upstage centre, in a prayer-like invocation. Their soft flowing tunics only lightly cover the body’s lines. They move calmly forward into two clean straight lifelines, slowly kneel then lie face down, arms widespread. Suddenly Vivaldi bursts them awake, dancers rise and run, they dash across the stage, they leap for life, they embrace, climb up, over and down the bodies of fellow performers, make chains of flying leaps, astonishing skipping ropes of dancers tossed and caught. Images of Matisse, Picasso, Bruegel and da Vinci are fleetingly evoked. Glory and ecstasy, heady and heavenly, sacred and now playful, cheeky, boisterous, then so deeply beautifully erotic. Life in which spirit and body are one. Heaven must be close.

Two scenes from Douglas Wright’s *Gloria*. Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts, 2026. Photos: © John McDermott

Douglas’ program note:

In moving the body IS, the mind IS—our whole being participates to make something that wasn’t there before, and this is something larger than us. This “something” is what we’re dancing with, for and in, holding our death in our bodies like a sleeping child—careful as we move not to wake it.

Deirdre Mummery, Douglas’ friend, died young. This is no elegy for her death but an exhilarating affirmation and celebration of her life. If you can defy gravity you can beat death. To Domine Deus, Rex Caelestis, exquisitely sung by Pepe Becker soprano, with Donald Armstrong on legato violin, Francesca Fenton dances a loving solo that brings Deirdre momentarily back to life. Miracles happen if you let them.

Top honours to Raewyn Hill for embracing this Festival commission, bringing her own exceptionally interesting company and inviting NZDC to join them. Likewise to Megan Adams and Ann Dewey in restaging the radiant Gloria. and for involving many dancers from the original and other early casts in the life-affirming revival of this sublime choreography.

While in Wellington Raewyn presented the Russell Kerr Lecture in Ballet & Related Arts, tracing her illustrious career in New Zealand, Australia, Paris, Moscow, New York, Japan, and back to Australia. Archives of Humanity, her hugely moving full-length work for Co3 that managed to survive, even thrive, through the Covid crisis, was viewed in video, and brought many of those watching close to tears. An articulate philosopher of dance can do that.

So, a great weekend for New Zealand dance, both new and legacy works, and vision from the Festival directors in making this Gloria season such a triumphant success.

Jennifer Shennan, 16 March 2026

Featured image: A scene from Douglas Wright’s Gloria with (left to right) ‘Isope ‘Akau’ola, Ella-Rose Trew, Francesca Fenton and Anya Down. Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts, 2026. Photo: © John McDermott

Impulse. Australian Dance Party

My review of Impulse was published online by Canberra CityNews on 15 March 2026. The review below is a slightly enlarged version of the CityNews post. Here is a link to the CityNews review.

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Australian Dance Party, Canberra’s professional dance company, is never one to perform in what we might call a conventional performance space. I don’t recall, for example, ever seeing the company dance in a proscenium-style theatre. The company’s most recent presentation, Impulse, sits centre-stage in that performance model. It is a free show incorporating the creation and improvisation of music, dance and visual arts, with its opening show taking place outdoors in the Woden Town Square on a beautiful, cloudless Canberra autumn day.

The dancers (there were six of them) performed on what looked like a Tarkett flooring of grass (synthetic I assume), and were surrounded by a mixed audience of dance fans and photographers and artists recording the performance in their own unique manner. Two musicians sat on a raised platform, each on a separate side of the performing space, working with a variety of electronic resources to produce a soundscape.

An opening moment from *Impulse*. Australian Dance Party, 2026. Photo: © Michelle Potter

The show began with a single dancer creating a fluid but grounded series of movements, often with her back towards what appeared to be the front of the performing area. Slowly five other dancers joined her at various times, sometimes dancing separately, sometimes as a group. At times they seemed to be copying each other’s steps, working in unison or cascading out from each other. Sometimes one dancer would take a rest. Sometimes two or three dancers would separate themselves from the others and create a quite different set of movements. There were times too when the dancers performed using stretches of tape to join bodies or to stretch bodies into varied shapes.

All performers, both dancers and musicians, were a pleasure to watch, especially as the show progressed and as a certain nervousness dissolved at what was the first performance of an unusual work. But for me it was Jahna Lugnan who really stood out. Her freedom of movement and absolute involvement in the performance was exceptional. And she scarcely stopped to rest.

Costumes were a mix of styles but there was a certain unity with three main colours being represented—orange, pink and black. It was Lugnan who wore the most interesting looking costume—beautifully cut orange shorts and a very attractively designed top in pink and orange. None of this is surprising given that Lugnan’s career to date has included modelling at an international level.

The soundscape was dramatic and had a definite contemporary feel. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of sound production happened when two dancers joined one of the musicians and used a microphone attached in some manner to the musician’s equipment. Each dancer took a turn in speaking into the microphone. It was not clear what they actually said but somehow whatever they muttered or whispered was translated into a loud non-human sound.

Dancers making music with a microphone. *Impulse*, Australian Dance Party, 2026. Photo: © Michelle Potter

Impulse, which celebrates Australian Dance Party’s tenth year of existence, was quite fascinating in many ways. It lasted for almost an hour, but the time just sped along.

A final show will take place on March 21 at the Gungahlin Town Square as part of the Gungahlin Festival. A pop-up exhibition is also being arranged in the future to feature the work created by the photographers and visual artists, which emerged as their reaction to Impulse.

A visual artist painting her thoughts about *Impulse*. Australian Dance Party, 2026. Photo: © Michelle Potter

Michelle Potter, 15 March 2026

Featured image: Dancers from Australian Dance Party in a moment from Impulse. Photo: © Michelle Potter

Corybantic Games. The Royal Ballet (2018)

via the ROH streaming platform

I have to admit that I was bewildered by the name of Christopher Wheeldon’s 2018 work Corybantic Games. What did Corybantic actually mean and did it relate (as some reports or reviews suggest) to England’s hosting of the Olympic Games in 2012? Well, some research and a discussion with a colleague with a strong background in Ancient Greek language and history gave me a bit of understanding about the Corybants. As Wikipedia tells us they were ‘mythical, armed, and crested dancers who worshipped the Phrygian goddess Cybele (and often Rhea) with wild, frenzied dancing, drumming, and clashing armor’. My colleague mentioned that there was also a strong sexual element to their activities.

But a YouTube interview with Wheeldon, recorded by the Paris Opera Ballet, casts a Wheeldon-esque light on the name. Wheeldon used Leonard Bernstein’s composition, Serenade, for his Corybantic Games and apparently heard the word used in a symposium in which he heard Bernstein referred to as conducting Serenade with ‘Corybantic ecstasy’. For Wheeldon, the word therefore conjured up the concept of physicality but also the first Olympic Games in Greece. Thinking in that way made gave me a quite different way of looking at the ballet.

With its five sections, Corybantic Games follows the five movement structure of Serenade. Choreographically the sections are quite different with some danced by the full cast of 21 dancers but with others using different groupings. The Royal Ballet dancers performed Wheeldon’s detailed choreography with exceptional skill and emotional input, and there were many moments when I greatly admired the sense of fluidity Wheeldon created with his movement. But I thoroughly disliked the twists and turns of the hands and the frequency with which a foot was flexed upwards. These sharp and twisted movements were grating on the eyes and took away the smooth line of the body that was so clear from the major part of the choreography.

Then there were the costumes designed by Erdem Moralioglu, especially those for the female dancers. In the opening scenes the women wore long, delicately pleated skirts in white translucent fabric with a ring of blue/black around the bottom of the skirt. It had the look of a traditional Grecian garment.

Lauren Cuthbertson and Yasmine Naghdi in a moment from *Corybantic Games*. The Royal Ballet, 2018. Photographer not identified

But unfortunately the skirt was removed shortly afterwards and we were forced to look at a white bra and underpants that to my eyes could have come from a department store of the 1950s. These items took away the grace and dignity of the work, even though the 1950s look probably refers to the decade in which Bernstein’s Serenade was composed.

Luckily the set design by Jean-Marc Puissant was elegant in its architectural simplicity and in the admirable way in which it changed slightly throughout the work. In addition the lighting by Peter Mumford added a further elegance.

I’m not sure why Wheeldon used the word ‘Corybantic’ (apart from the reason above relating to the manner in which Bernstein conducted). From my research into the meaning of the word, its use by Wheeldon seemed nothing more than a somewhat pretentious name for a non-narrative ballet. To my mind there was nothing wild and frenzied about it, but there was some beautiful dancing.

Michelle Potter, 15 March 2026

Featured image: Yasmine Naghdi and Beatriz Stix-Brunell in a moment from Corybantic Games. The Royal Ballet, 2018. Photographer not identified

Dance diary. February 2026

Greg Horsman

West Australian Ballet (WAB) announced earlier this month that Greg Horsman, having left Queensland Ballet (QB) late last year, had joined WAB as rehearsal director. Horsman brings to WAB decades of world-wide experience in performing, teaching, leadership roles, and choreographing.

Horsman’s time with QB, which began when Li Cunxin was appointed director, saw the staging of several of his ballets, the most exciting to my mind being a reimagined version of La Bayadère. Bayadère is a ballet that has suffered somewhat in recent years, being thought of as unsuitable for presentation in this day and age because of its perceived treatment of various ethnic groups. But Horsman’s ballet scarcely fell into that category in my opinion. Read my review at this link.

But there were also others of his works that shone in the QB repertoire including a version, again reimagined, of Coppélia, which in fact was a co-production with WAB. He also held QB together until a new artistic director was found after Leanne Benjamin unexpectedly left her role as artistic director in August 2024.

Horsman gave a lot and his departure is significant loss for QB. But it is a definite gain for WAB! Here is a link to the WAB information.

Australian Dance Party

Canberra’s Australian Dance Party (ADP), led by Alison Plevey and Sara Black, is celebrating its 10th year of existence. The celebrations include IMPULSE, a free improvised dance, music and visual art performance set in two of the city’s major town centres, Woden and Gungahlin. Audiences are invited to become part of the activities., which will take place on 14 March in Woden and 21 March in Gungahlin.

For more information see the ADP website at this link.

Borobudur Dance Troupe

Canberra’s multicultural festival is an annual event taking place in the city and surrounds each February. It always has a strong dance component in its very varied activities and this year I noticed performances by a group called the Borobudur Dance Troupe. I had never seen performances by this group before, despite the fact that it was founded in 2017. But with fond memories of visiting the Borobudur temple in Java (some years ago now), I thought I should take a look. I saw only one of the items the troupe was presenting but didn’t catch the name of the dance.

Borobudur Dance Troupe at the Canberra Multicultural Festival 2026. Photo: Michelle Potter

My initial reaction was that it didn’t look to me like the traditional style of Javanese dance that I have seen before. There was a lot of quite broad smiling (not obvious in the image above but very obvious when watching) and I had always felt that Javanese dance was quite differently focused. Perhaps age is catching up with me and what I have experienced before is outdated? My companion suggested I should look at it as folk-oriented rather than as a classical item. Anyway, it was interesting to see the performance. The costumes were very intricate, and the dancers used the red cloth that was part of the costume quite beautifully.

I look forward to seeing the company again somewhere. We are lucky in Canberra that we have opportunities to experience such presentations.

Force majeure

The Sydney-based company Force majeure (a major force in contemporary dance development in Australia) has just appointed Nick Power as its new artistic director and CEO. Force majeure was founded in 2002 by Kate Champion. Following Champion, Danielle Micich led the company from 2015 to 2025. More about Power, and about Force majeure, is available on the company’s website at this link.

Creative Antarctica

An exhibition, Creative Antarctica: Australian Artists and Writers in the Far South has recently opened at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). It runs until 2 May 2026 and includes a film made by James Batchelor with sound by Morgan Hickinbotham. The film was created by Batchelor during his participation in an expedition to the Heard and McDonald Islands in January 2016 on board the RV Investigator. Read about the exhibition and its location here.

Michelle Potter, 28 February 2026

Featured image: Portrait of Greg Horsman, 2026. Photo: © Photo: Frances Andrijich. West Australian Ballet website.

Macbeth. Royal New Zealand Ballet

25 February 2026. St James Theatre, Wellington

Alice Topp’s version of Macbeth begins, as does the Shakespearean play itself, with three characters interacting with each other. They are witches in Shakespeare’s play, but called influencers in Topp’s ballet and, while Shakespeare’s witches are ‘serious’ individuals, the influencers are hilarious and somewhat crazy persons with phones that they frequently use. They are also (apparently) people with social media accounts.

The three influencers, (l-r) Shaun James Kelly, KIrby Selchow and Ruby Ryburn. *Macbeth*, Royal New Zealand Ballet 2026. Photo: © Stephen A’Court

This difference at the very beginning marks where Topp’s production sits in relation to her approach to the Shakesperean Macbeth story. She puts before us, dramatically at all times, the concepts that Shakespeare develops—power, ambition, determination, the disintegration of those concepts as time passes, and more— but she puts those concepts in a different era.

Choreographically Topp has created a work that moves in a fast and furious manner, which has audience members on the edge of their seats for two hours. It’s not a relaxing night at the theatre! But it certainly holds one’s attention for those two hours (and even after the two hours are over). Her characters mostly share the names of the Shakesperean characters and have relationships that are similar to their Shakesperean counterparts. But Topp’s characters are different human beings. They belong to a contemporary era and certainly display an opulence that makes their ambitions credible. But, nevertheless, we see, as in the play, that Macbeth’s desire to rule is strong, and with input from Lady Macbeth we see his way of bringing to a deathly end those who stand in the way of his achieving his desired goal.

Macbeth is filled, as we have come to expect from Topp, with exceptional pas de deux work, especially between the main characters. The lifts she creates continue to surprise in the way the dancers make use of the space around the two bodies, and I was taken by the way the men held the women (something I hadn’t really fully noticed before). It’s not just around the waist!

In addition to male/female duets there were several occasions when two male characters danced together. These moments were equally as spectacular. There were also group sections when the various characters danced together. These sections were also quite fast and mostly highly animated.

One of the strongest moments for me, however, was the death of Lady Macbeth whom we see sleepwalking, talking to herself and trying to remove blood stains from her hands (‘out, damned spot’ according to Shakespeare). We watch as she drinks a concocted liquid and dies in her bathtub, the very place we had first seen her in in Act I.

Ana Gallardo Lobaina as Lady Macbeth in her death scene. Royal New Zealand Ballet, 2026. Photo: © Stephen A’Court

Equally as powerful was the death of Macbeth who was killed by those he had opposed. His death happened as he was pushing himself up a slope (now that’s metaphorical!). But his journey was cut short by those standing on a structure above him, who were furiously banging spear-like items on the ground they occupied. Macbeth slid backwards to the floor leaving a trail of blood behind him. Branden Reiners as Macbeth had an enormous role to play and did so in a spectacular and completely engrossing manner. Just amazing.

The death of Macbeth. Royal New Zealand Ballet, 2026. Photo: © Stephen A’Court

It is also interesting (to me at least) that Topp manages to make her works expand one’s thoughts beyond the obvious. There were at least two scenes in Topp’s Macbeth where the cast gathered to dine and celebrate a particular occasion. They sat around a long table with the majority sitting along the upstage edge of the table. On both occasions I couldn’t help but think of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting The Last Supper. The situation onstage made me think that Macbeth’s end was near, which of course it was.

In addition to Topp’s narrative development and choreographic input, this Macbeth is a masterful collaboration. Jon Buswell’s lighting and set design fit beautifully with the contemporary (modernistic?) approach of Topp. His simple set of a series of moveable screens is stunning to look at closely. The screens, which form both various backdrops and wings or side screens, are made up of multiple small squares of silvery material with each square covered in finely etched designs.

Dancers of Royal New Zealand Ballet in a scene from *Macbeth*, 2026. Photo: © Stephen A’Court

But Buswell has also made use of the upper space of the stage with a platform that extends down from the flies at various times to make an ‘upstairs’ area that is Lady Macbeth’s bedroom/bathroom. His input also includes the lighting of each scene and the frequent use of billowing white smoke that darkens in Act II as the concepts being explored also darken. Those smoky creations make an appearance in the upper areas of the performing space and sometimes include the occasional word or sentence from Shakespeare’s play.

Costumes by Aleisa Jelbart are also a great addition to the work. They reflect a contemporary era and the opulent characteristics of those who are creating the story. The costumes have a simplicity along with a markedly expensive look about them and are varied in the choice of materials used in their making (including leather as well as cotton/nylon/linen materials). A commissioned score from Christopher Gordon is loud and overwhelming at times but reflects the similarly overwhelming nature of the activities of the characters.

This Macbeth is highly theatrical and completely engrossing. A must see show that is a co-production with West Australian Ballet. The dancers of Royal New Zealand Ballet gave an absolutely outstandng performance on opening night and are to be congratulated on bringing the production to an amazing level of dancing and acting.

MIchelle Potter, 27 February 2026

Featured image: Branden Reiners as Macbeth with dancers of Royal New Zealand Ballet. Macbeth, 2026. Photo: © Stephen A’Court

Postscript: There is much more to say about this production, and I look forward to seeing it again, perhaps in Perth when it opens there in September. In this post I have deliberately concentrated on production values rather than the storyline itself. Other reviews I’m sure will analyse the storyline in more detail. For those who go to the show, there is a good description of the story as it unfolds in the Topp production in the very informative printed program.

I was a guest of Royal New Zealand Ballet at this show.

A Prestigious Award for Bangarra Dance Theatre

What a pleasure it is to post the news that Bangarra Dance Theatre has been awarded the prestigious Gold Lion for Lifetime Achievement in Dance by the Venice Biennale 2026. The award has been given previously to choreographers and dancers with Bangarra being the first company to receive it. It is also a first for Australian dance in any Golden Lion dance category.

The media release explains (in part) the nature of the award:

The Golden Lion acknowledges a lifetime body of work and artists who have transformed, evolved and brought new urgency to the language of dance, infusing it with the vital force of their cultures.

The award ceremony will take place during the 20th International Festival of Contemporary Dance in Venice 17 July – 1 August when Bangarra will give the European premiere of Terrain, a work created by Frances Rings in 2012, and a work that has been restaged on various occasions. Terrain was originally billed as ‘a hymn to country’ and set out to evoke the changing landscape of Lake Eyre (Kati Thanda) in South Australia, along with the relationship of Indigenous Australians to their land. A perfect piece for the occasion.

In my review of Terrain in 2012 I wrote:

Terrain is a wonderfully integrated work in which people, politics and country are delicately balanced. The spirit of a constantly changing Lake Eyre courses through the entire piece and the work secures Bangarra’s position as a treasure on the Australian dance landscape.

Chantelle Lee Lockhart, Lillian Banks and Courtney Radford in Bangarra Dance Theatre’s *Terrain*. Photo: © Daniel Boud

Here is a link to the full review of Terrain from 2012, the year of its initial performance. Read more about the award here.

MIchelle Potter, 20 February 2026

Featured image: Stephen Page (artistic director of Bangarra 1991-2022) and Frances Rings (current artistic director following on from Stephen Page). Photo: © Daniel Boud

Dance diary. January 2026

Sydney Dance Company: new artists for 2026

As Australia ponders, across a number of areas and from a number of points of view, the multicultural nature of the country, it was quite fascinating to read of the dancers who have joined Sydney Dance Company (SDC) for the 2026 season. The new appointments, which media information says will contribute to the dynamic physicality of the company, are Caití Ellen Carpenter, Jai Fauchon, Mahalia Adamson, Finn Armstrong, and Ali Dib. Adamson, Armstrong and Dib made their debuts with SDC in late 2025 and will continue with the company into 2026.

These five dancers have quite different backgrounds, which include not just differences in cultural background, but also differences in training and work experiences to date. Caití Ellen Carpenter is a UK-born dancer and actor who trained at Rambert School, joining Rambert’s main company in 2021. She has worked as a freelancer across the UK and Europe since 2023.

Sydney-born Jai Fauchon joined the Australian Ballet School in 2020 and has performed in two national tours with the company. In 2025, he was selected as a Jette Parker Young Artist with Queensland Ballet.

Finn Armstrong is a dancer from the Gold Coast. In 2022, he graduated from the Netherlands’ Codarts Rotterdam and, in 2024, joined Danish Dance Theatre as an apprentice. He debuted with SDC in 2025, in its Continuum and New Breed programs with fellow incoming SDC dancer Ali Dib.

Born in Sydney and of Lebanese heritage, Ali Dib trained at the Dorothy Cowie School of Dance, Brent Street Studios and Alegria Studios. He was the recipient of the Brisbane International Dance Prix and won the Contemporary Dance Open in 2025.

Mahalia Adamson joined SDC’s Pre-Professional Year in 2024 and performed in the Sydney season of Resonance, alongside works by Rafael Bonachela, Zee Zunnur, Emma Harrison and more

The varied backgrounds of these new appointees suggest we can look forward to a dynamic input into SDC’s 2026 performances.

Georgia O’Keeffe

Some years ago now I spent a beautiful, snowy Christmas in New Mexico. We were staying not far from the area where American visual artist Georgia O’Keeffe, whose art I have admired for many years, had two homes, one on Ghost Ranch territory, the other in Abiquiu. It was a pleasure to visit ‘Georgia O’Keeffe territory’ over the time we were in the area.

Ghost Ranch landscape. Photo: © Michelle Potter

So, it was more than interesting to read a statement O’Keeffe had made about her approach to art, which appeared in a recent Reader’s Catalog email from The New York Review of Books. O’Keeffe said at some stage, ‘I found that I could say things with colour and shapes that I couldn’t say in any other way—things that I had no words for.’ If we replace ‘colour and shapes’ with movement or some similar word, the statement seems perfect as a way of speaking about dance. Surely?

Queensland Ballet

Queensland Ballet has appointed Lisa-Maree Cullum as rehearsal director of the company. Hear what Cullum has to say about her position in the YouTube link below.

But what has happened to Greg Horsman and Matthew Lawrence? They contributed so much to the growth and development of Queensland Ballet over the past several years but seem to have disappeared from the scene. Both Horsman and Lawrence have been interviewed for the National Library of Australia’s oral history program. The Horsman interview (recorded in 2016) is available online at this link. The Lawrence interview (recorded in 2024) is also available online but requires written permission for public use so at this stage, and until I find out how to contact Lawrence, I cannot provide a link on this site.

Coming up … Canberra’s Multicultural Festival

The National Multicultural Festival is held annually in Canberra in February. It always has a strong dance focus, including this year a Bharatanatyam performance, a Dragon Dance, a Bellydance Showcase, a performance by the Borobodur Dance Troupe, a performance by the Lao Oz Dance Group, dancing from the Serendipity Dance Crew, the Benjo Academy, Contemporary Bihu, the Australian Tamil Cultural Society of the ACT, Mexbourne Dance, and folk dances from Chile. And more …

The Festival is largely an outdoor event so here’s hoping the weather doesn’t reach 40 or so degrees Celsius. Read more on the website, especially the Festival Program pages.

Dancers from the Borobudur Dance Troupe with National Multicultural Festival director Petra Rutledge, 2025. Photo: © James Coleman.

Michelle Potter, 31 January 2026

Featured image: Sydney Dance Company, 2026 with company director Rafael Bonachela centre front. Photo: © Daniel Boud

Moira Claux: Bodenwieser dancer on tour

Just recently I was alerted to a presentation, Deborah Beck: Revealing the lives of three Sydney artists’ models, in which Beck, currently a lecturer, archivist and collections manager at the National Art School in Sydney, discussed three women who had worked as artists’ models at various stages in their careers. One was Moira Claux, who danced for a number of years with Gertrud Bodenwieser’s Sydney-based dance company, including in the 1950s when the Bodenwieser dancers travelled around Australia and internationally.

The tours, both regional and international, were often quite long and usually involved extensive travel between towns. A tour to New Zealand in 1950 for example took in Auckland, Blenheim, Christchurch, Dannevirke, Dunedin, Gisborne, Hamilton, Hastings, Hawera, Invercargill, Lower Hutt, Masterton, Napier, Nelson, New Plymouth, Oamaru, Palmerston North, Rotorua, Timaru, Wanganui, and Wellington (listed alphabetically as in the Papers of Gertrud Bodenwieser, MS 9263, in the National Library of Australia).

A trip to India in which Claux was involved lasted several months beginning in May 1952 and concluding in September of that year. Claux kept a diary of her experiences and also created an album of photographs from the tour. The company consisted of just six dancers—Claux along with Eileen Kramer (then spelled Cramer), Jean Raymond (called Jeanne, sometimes Jeane, Raymond on programs), Margaret Fraser, Nina Bascolo (often referred by her colleagues as Tanya or Tania) and Basil Pattison. Bodenwieser herself accompanied the group.

The dancers travelled to India on board the P & O liner SS Maloja. Claux boarded the ship on 2 May and (according to Claux’s diary) the Maloja departed Melbourne on 7 May at 5 pm.

Margaret Fraser, Moira Claux and Nina Bascolo on board the SS Maloja prior to its departure from Melbourne. Papers of the Claux Family, MS 10157, Box 8, Folder 30. National Library of Australia

During the trip on board the Maloja the dancers were involved in rehearsals, sunbaking, eating and sewing. (Eileen Kramer notes in her book Walkabout Dancer that the dancers were committed to making clothes for themselves that they felt they could wear in India, but Claux also records that they were sewing costumes as well, if a little later once they had arrived in India). The ship arrived in Colombo on 23 May and of that city Claux recorded in her diary that she found it to be one of ‘narrow streets, bullock carts, bicycles, beggars, guides, and honking horns’.

After a few days in Colombo the dancers arrived in Bombay on 26 May where they spent time in the Taj Hotel before moving on to Calcutta. They arrived in Calcutta on 29 May. Opening night for the tour occurred there on 2 June (according to Claux’s diary) and took place in the Grand Hotel with Danse Soudanaise performed by Claux, a pas de deux from Raymond and Pattison (Rosamunde according to Claux’s diary, Arlequin and Colombine on a program for 3 June), Gipsy Dance from Bascolo, Claux, Cramer and Fraser and The French Can-can danced by the company. Four different programs were performed in Calcutta.

After two months in Calcutta the company arrived in New Delhi by train on 30 July and settled into the Maiden’s Hotel. The company worked across two hotels in Delhi, the Imperial and Maiden’s. The hotels were five miles part although this didn’t seem to be a big problem. In a letter to her parents written from Delhi on 4 August Claux writes, ‘…the good floors, lighting and extra good bands make up for so much running around.’ Given that there was a shortage of theatres in India at the time, the gala night in New Delhi was held in the ballroom of the Imperial Hotel on 1 August with the next performance at Maiden’s on 2 August.The program included Danse Soudanaise, Gipsy Dance and Can-can.

While in Delhi the company made a trip to Agra and from there visited the Taj Mahal. ‘It really is such a breathtaking wonder of craftsmanship—that I felt like crying,’ Claux remarked. Her photography album records some of the architecture that she found so compelling as well as the street scenes that aroused her interest.

Pages from Moira Claux’s photo album documenting her trip to India in 1952. Papers of the Claux Family, National Library of Australia, MS 10157, Box 8, Folder 34.

At some stage Bodenwieser was accorded a personal audience with Pandit J. Nehru, then prime minister of India. Bodenwieswer had written in advance to Nehru hoping for a meeting. She was delighted when she received a positive response and regarded it as her highlight of the India trip. She wrote of Nehru, ‘In meeting Pandit Nehru one had the immediate impression of dignity, kindness and wisdom of a man combining the qualities of a philosopher with those of a great statesman.’ (Quote from ‘Personal impressions’ by Gertrud Bodenwieser. Personal collection of Barbara Cuckson).

Nehru and Bodenwieser are seen together in the image below.

Bodenwieser meets Nehru. Photo courtesy of Barbara Cuckson

Much of Claux’s diary records the social activities in which the dancers were involved in the cities they visited in India. There was much late night talking, eating and drinking for example, and frequent bouts of socialising with gentlemen of European backgrounds, including staff from European embassies. ‘Things just keep jogging along,’ was Claux’s comment as she wrote about the length of time that had passed in India. The company returned to Bombay from Delhi on 13 September and then arrived in Colombo for the journey back to Australia on 14 September. They arrived in Fremantle on 24 September and Melbourne on 29 September.

Some newspaper reports from Australia, published before the company left for India, suggest that the tour would last for six months. An extensive repertoire was discussed in these reports, more extensive than what actually occurred. Cities other than those that Claux mentions also appear in newspaper reports, Madras in particular. Why the tour happened the way it did (at least as can be gleaned from Claux’s writing) is not entirely clear. Hopefully more information will come to light in due course from which we can fill in details and, if necessary, make corrections.

MIchelle Potter, 15 January 2026

For a brief article on Gertrud Bodenwieser and her company, which I wrote for National Library of Australia News in 1999 is this link.

Deborah Beck’s comments on Moira Claux are included as part of YouTube presentation below.

Dance diary. December 2025

Looking ahead…

While the list of dance productions to be staged in 2026 offers dance-goers a wide range of productions to anticipate, there are two new works that I am especially looking forward to seeing. The first is Alice Topp’s production of Macbeth. It will premiere in February in New Zealand with Royal New Zealand Ballet before going on to Perth in September where it will be part of West Australian Ballet’s 2026 season.

Macbeth? Many years ago now I studied Macbeth in my final year of school. We read and analysed it for a whole year! Then to my absolute surprise a few years ago, which was decades after I had finished school, while on a sightseeing trip in Scotland, we were told by the guide we were heading to Dunsinane. The name immediately took me back to that final year of school and the phrase ‘from Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill’, which features in Macbeth. But that aside, Macbeth, given its high drama and deeply emotional content, is perhaps the last Shakespearean play I would have thought I would see as a ballet. Topp says her production is :

An epic story fuelled by political ambition, passion, desire for power and the burden of guilt, Macbeth’s themes are potent and enduring.

I am definitely looking forward!

The second new work I am anticipating with particular pleasure and interest is Liz Lea’s Diamond. I mentioned Diamond in my Dance diary. October 2025 and it has since been officially launched. It will be premiered in Queanbeyan in August. One media comment explains:

With moments of raw honesty and riotous play, Diamond celebrates the brilliance that emerges through time – the courage, fragility, and power that define you as you evolve. Inspired by the enduring strength and many facets of a diamond, the work reflects on how we are shaped by experience, pressure, and the will to keep shining. A sparkling homage to the resilience and beauty of ageing women – bold, unapologetic, and full of life.

Lea has worked extensively with community dance companies over the past several years, with great success. But it will be heartening to see her create a new work that will show us more of her creative self. In the production of Diamond, she will be working with a number of diamond consultants and the writer and dramaturg Brian Lucas. See this list for those working with Lea on Diamond.

Hans van Manen (1932-2025)

I recently received news that Dutch dancer and choreographer Hans van Manen had died in Amsterdam in mid December, aged 93. Van Manen had an extraordinarily extensive career as a dancer and choreographer. As a choreographer he created more than 150 works, of which sadly I have seen very few (mostly overseas}. But his influence on Australian dance artists has been extensive.

The Hans Van Manen Foundation has an informative website. It contains a wealth of material about the man and his work including a list of his choreography’

Press for December 2025

– ‘Young choreographers step into the spotlight.’ Review of Emerging Choreographers Project. Quantum Leap Australia. CBR City News, 14 December 2025. Online at this link.

UPDATE 15 January 2026: Comments are closed on this post given that it has been receiving, in a very short space of time, an inordinate number of spam messages.

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Thank you to all who have visited this website over 2025, especially those who have taken the time to comment on specific posts. I wish you a happy and safe new year and look forward to welcoming you back to the site in 2026.

Michelle Potter, 31 December 2025

Featured image: Royal New Zealand Ballet artists Ana Gallardo Lobaina and Branden Reiners in a publicity image for Macbeth. Photo: © Ross Brown

Five favourites from 2025

It is never an easy job to choose a few favourites from among the productions one was fortunate to have seen in any one year, but what follows is my attempt to do just that. I have arranged my five favourites chronologically according to the month in which I saw each production.

As a result of a generous birthday gift that lasted over the whole (almost) of 2025, I also saw throughout the year a number of Royal Ballet productions via that company’s streaming platform. A presentation of Enigma Variations, filmed in 2019, was exceptionally engrossing. But I have restricted my five favourites to productions from Australian companies.

All In from Dance Makers Collective

All In was the first production I had had the opportunity to see from Dance Makers Collective, an organisation based in Western Sydney working with and between dance theatre, contemporary dance and social dance, and with the aim of building dance communities. The All In production featured Indigenous-focused dance, Western-style contemporary dance, Spanish-Flamenco and an Indian-focused section. It culminated in a finale in which the audience rose from their seats and joined the dancers on the floor. Young and old, experienced and not so experienced, all were present moving together.

So, apart from the thrill of watching a beautifully performed, diverse selection of dance styles, All In showed us is that dance is for everyone and that it exists beyond what might be called a mainstage show.

Here is a link to my review from January 2025.

Essor from Yolanda Lowatta

Canberra’s National Portrait Gallery has often shown dance as an adjunct to exhibitions on show in the gallery. Essor (the translation from an Indigenous language is ‘Thank you’) was created in response to Some Lads, a series of portraits by renowned Australian photographer, Tracey Moffatt. It was a solo work created and danced by Indigenous performer Yolanda Lowatta who was then working with Australian Dance Party. Lowatta’s dancing was exceptionally fluid and also highly intricate. It also was stylistically diverse and represented, to my mind, the different movement styles of the artists in the photographs, who were Indigenous artists whose work Lowatta admired.

Essor was danced to a soundscape by Indigenous multi-artist Bindimu. It contained sounds of water; the playing of Indigenous instruments; sounds from nature, including bird calls; human voices; and a range of other audio items. Just as Lowatta’s choreography referenced different dance styles, Bindimu’s soundscape took us, potentially, from venue to venue where dance might have been seen.

Yolanda Lowatta in *Essor*. Gordon Darling Hall, National Portrait Gallery, 2025. Photo: © Creswick Collective

I was greatly moved by this work: by the choreography, by the technical aspects of Lowatta’s performance, and by the magical soundscape.

Here is a link to my review from March 2025.

Cranko. The film

The film Cranko was shown in Canberra as part of the 2025 German Film Festival. Directed and written by Joachim Lang, it followed the career of South African-born dancer and choreographer John Cranko who directed Stuttgart Ballet from 1961 until 1973. It was a completely engrossing ‘biopic’ showing the personality and activities of man whose life was devoted to dance. There was also some spectacular dancing from current members of Stuttgart Ballet, especially from Elisa Badenes.

I really enjoyed the way this film held one’s attention from beginning to end. The strength of its impact encouraged me to look further into the circumstances of Cranko’s death, which occurred on board a plane returning to Stuttgart after company engagements in the United States.

Here is a link to my review from May 2025.

4seasons. Queensland Ballet

Natalie Weir’s 4seasons was shown as part of a Queensland Ballet triple bill called Lister/Weir/Horsman. In typical Weir fashion the pas de deux in the work were just magnificent. But the whole was brilliantly conceived and filled with surprises, especially in Weir’s use of the space of the stage.

A moment from *4 seasons*. Photo: © David Kelly

Scroll down this link to find my review of 4seasons from June 2025.

Unungkati Yantatja: one with the other. Sydney Dance Company

It was a real thrill to see a new work from Stephen Page in which he demonstrated again his interest in working collaboratively. Unungkati Yantatja: one with the other formed part of a triple bill, Continuum, from Sydney Dance Company. Page’s work focused on ‘the universality of breath’ and featured live music, performed onstage with input from William Barton, great stage design from Jacob Nash, and magnificent costumes from Jennifer Irwin. A notable input from former Bangarra dancer Ryan Pearson was an added highlight.

Scroll down this link to find my review of Unungkati Yantatja: one with the other from October 2025.

Michelle Potter, 28 December 2025

Featured Image: A moment from the finale to All In with instructions to the dancers from the audience to ‘Go Anywhere’. Dance Makers Collective, 2025. Photo: © Anya McKee

I was a guest of Dance Makers Collective, Queensland Ballet, and Sydney Dance Company at the performances mentioned above.