- News from LIz Lea
Liz Lea has just announced news of an upcoming production, Diamond, on which she is currently working. Diamond is the next in a trilogy of works she is developing and follows on from the first work in that trilogy—RED. RED was an exceptional production first seen in 2018 (read the review at this link). After its Australian presentation, it toured in various countries for five years.
Diamond will premiere on 6 August 2026 at the Q Theatre in Queanbeyan as part of ‘Q The Locals’, an initiative with a focus on local productions. There are still nine or so months to go but worth the wait I’m sure.
- Larry Ruffell (1941-2025)
Very belatedly I discovered that dancer, writer and arts administrator, Larry Ruffell, had died early in 2025. The news was relayed to me by a colleague who unexpectedly came into contact with Larry’s wife, Priscilla, at a show they were both attending in Canberra. New Zealand born, Larry had a career as a dancer in the United Kingdom before moving to Australia where he pursued a career as a writer and arts administrator. He had a noteworthy career in Canberra and wrote and reviewed extensively for The Canberra Times back in the days, several years ago now, when that newspaper included material about dance and most other arts activities. Larry also had a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Australian National University with majors in philosophy and psychology.
My connections with Larry include publishing an article he wrote for Brolga, the now defunct journal I founded in 1994 and edited until 2006. It appeared in Brolga 17, December 2002, and was titled ‘Perceiving dance: bowing to the ineffable’. The article examined the impact of differing perceptions relating to music and to dance. He was also administrator of the Canberra Opera Society (also now defunct) when I choreographed sections of that society’s production of Gluck’s Orpheus and Eurydice in 1977.
A brief biography, dating back around two decades from the website of Ausdance National, is at this link. A longer article, an obituary, was published in New Zealand by The Post and can be read at this link. The New Zealand obituary contains some photos of Larry, including one referencing the days of his British dance career. It is noteworthy too that in the obituary he is referred to as Laurie Ruffell. He was never called Laurie in Australia, although that name seems to be common elsewhere.
- Ausdance ACT’s Youth Dance Festival 2025
Unforrunately I missed (again) the Youth Dance Festival this year, a program called Life on Mars, although I continue to admire the process that lies behind the Fesitval. As Ausdance ACT notes: ‘The Youth Dance Festival creative process involves professional dance mentors visiting participating schools to provide support and guidance to students in the development of their own work.’ The range of schools involved from across the region is remarkable. Next year I hope I will manage to attend.
- Press for October 2025
– ‘Batchelor focuses on the legacy of lost dancer.’ Review of Resonance. James Batchelor + Collaborators. CBR City News, 11 October 2025. Online at this link.
– ‘Celebrating Dalman’s decades of dance creation.’ Review of ECDysis. Mirramu Dance Company and guests from Taiwan. CBR City News, 26 October 2025. Online at this link.
Michelle Potter, 31 October 2025
Featured image: Liz Lea in a promotional image for Diamond. Photo: © O&J Wikner, 2025.
