Former Australian Ballet dancer (and a graduate of the Australian Ballet School), Remi Wörtmeyer, has been appointed artistic director of BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio. The press from BalletMet has further information and some online examples of his dancing and choreography. Follow this link. Wörtmeyer’s career has been diverse to say the least. In addition to his dance-related activities, which include
27 June 2024. The Vault, Dairy Road Precinct, Canberra The Dataset took place in the Vault, an expansive, untheatrical space in the Dairy Road Precinct in Fyshwick, a largely industrial area in Canberra. The Vault has been used effectively before by Alison Plevey’s Australian Dance Party, in particular with From the Vault in 2019. But it needs an exceptional production
22 June 2024 (matinee). The Playhouse, Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Brisbane I didn’t see Greg Horsman’s version of Coppélia, a joint production between Queensland Ballet and West Australian Ballet, when it was first performed back in 2014. But, having admired his reimagining of La Bayadère (despite efforts by some to remove it, and other productions of Bayadère, from the world-wide
21 June 2024. The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre Below is a slightly enlarged version of my review of momenta, originally published online by Dance Australia on 24 June 2024. A link to the Dance Australia version is at this link. The word momenta is the plural form of momentum, a word that means ‘the product of the mass and velocity
10–20 April, 2024. Sadler’s Wells Theatre, Londonreviewed by Sonia York-Pryce It has been 10 years since the inaugural Elixir Festival, the brainchild of Chief Executive & Artistic Director of Sadler’s Wells, Alistair Spalding, and Artistic Programmer and Producer of the Elixir Festival, Jane Hackett. Created in 2014 as ‘a celebration of creative ageing’, the 4-day festival thrust the subjectivity of
13 June 2024. Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House Below is my slightly enlarged review of Horizon, originally published online by Dance Australia on 17 June 2024. A link to the Dance Australia version is at this link. Horizon is a collaborative venture focusing on selected dance customs and activities in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. It is Bangarra Dance Theatre’s first mainstage, international collaborative initiative, a momentous and
Given the publication of my book, Kristian Fredrikson. Designer by Melbourne Books in 2020, I am always interested in the winners of the biennial award of the Kristian Fredrikson Scholarship. My book would never have been published without the generous donations I received via the Australian Cultural Fund, and from royalties owing to Fredrikson during the year I was struggling
16 May 2024. The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre Below is a slightly enlarged version of my review of Subject to Change, which was published on 17 May in Canberra CityNews. Three separate works made up Subject to Change, the 2024 production by Quantum Leap, the pre-professional youth performance group at Canberra’s QL2 Dance. First up was Kaleidoscope choreographed by Gabrielle
15 May 2024 (matinee). Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House Études and Circle Electric—it is hard to imagine two more different ballets (or perhaps dance works is a better expression than ballets). But they were the two works that shared the Australian Ballet’s Sydney program in May. Danish-born Harald Lander choreographed Études in 1948 for the Royal Danish Ballet. It
Production by Russell Kerr, staged by Turid Revfeim—alternate casts in continuing Wellington seasonreviewed by Jennifer Shennan I have been privileged to see the three casts of the Wellington season of Swan Lake, in Russell Kerr’s pedigree production (and note there is also a fourth cast, though not performing in the capital). It’s impressive that a relatively small ballet company can