Beneath Sky Snakes. Cameron McMillan—dance on screen
…o my comparative thoughts about dance and the structure of performing arts companies versus independent artists—about who ‘owns’, who directs, who funds, who governs, who controls, who survives, who thrives—about how heritage repertoire is guarded, how programming is selected, how the welfare of the artists in companies is maintained, and how free-lance artists develop their work, who of them survive, who thrives, who is the dramaturg?—in a word,…
Ballet and Fashion. National Gallery of Victoria
…tian Lacroix The exhibition is a very nicely curated show and well worth seeing. It is accompanied by a useful booklet, Ballet and fashion, by Roger Leong, which contains the information on the wall captions and extra information, especially about the designers. Some seating in the gallery displaying the footage would be a bonus. Ballet and fashion: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. 3 November 2012–19 May 2013 Michelle Potter, 17 January 20…
Dance diary. December 2018
…y Ayre and Freya Waterson. Photo: © Gregory Lorenzutti I look forward to seeing how the companies develop in 2019. Padma Menon In Canberra it is interesting news that Padma Menon has decided to take up teaching once more. She says: ‘After almost a decade, I am offering classical Indian dance classes again! The classes will focus on teaching choreography and the technique of Indian dance. However, I always like to highlight the emotional heart of I…
Frances Rings. A new direction
…s from the role, has been received with positive comments across the dance community. The exceptional commitment that has characterised Page’s term as director has, rightly, also been spoken of in positive terms, but the appointment of Rings is perhaps not unexpected. She has recently taken on the role of associate artistic director, and Page has constantly spoken of her outstanding qualities and her absolute commitment to advancing Indigenous iss…
LESS. Australian Dance Party
…y, although this colour scheme, like that of the concrete pillars, changed under the effects of the lighting design. Sound design was by Alex Voorhoeve and, in addition to the sounds of the saxophone, Liam Budge’s vocals, created through a hand-held microphone, were an interesting blend of grunts, moans, shouts, whispers and other assorted sounds that often seemed to reflect the dancers’ movements. It is a joy to see ADP back in performance mode….
Dance diary. December 2020
…Christopher Duggan Sunil Kothari (1933–2020). Indian dance critic I was saddened to hear of the death of Indian dance writer Sunil Kothari from complications of COVID-19. He visited Australia on a number of occasions and I recall a talk he gave in Canberra for the Canberra Critics’ Circle, several years ago now. He was a passionate advocate for dance and was a mentor to Padma Menon, who performed extensively in Canberra during the 1990s. Kristian…
Lest we forget. English National Ballet
…ere watching not a story but a series of hazy vignettes from the past. I found the choreography, created on seven couples, sometimes complex and acrobatic with the highlight the concluding pas de deux between Tamara Rojo and Esteban Berlanga as her ghostly partner, the man who did not return. Rojo’s body language before the pas de deux even began told it all—the sorrow, the loss, the longing. The three pas de deux that took place in the battlefiel…
New Zealand School of Dance Graduation 2015
…ghout. The mediaeval dance-like rhythms supported well the work’s theme of community undergoing change. Cnoditions [not a typo] of Entry, an enigmatic and somewhat troubling work choreographed by Thomas Bradley, (no program profile so perhaps he prefers the anonymity?) had a line of robed and hooded figures in very low light levels that suggested sinister or secret machinations of covert behaviour among the members of a small and closed group. Th…
Harry Haythorne (1926–2014)
…s as well as ballets by major international artists. Haythorne oversaw the company’s 30th anniversary in 1983; toured the company to China, the United States, Australia and Europe; and staged his own, full-length Swan Lake. For the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s 60th anniversary in 2013, encapsulating his attitude to his appointment in 1981, and also his approach to directorship in general, he wrote: I knew I had to learn much more about New Zealand a…
Hansel & Gretel. Royal New Zealand Ballet (2023)
…iderable international interest. Now there’s a gauntlet to the recently welcome new Artistic Director of the Company). Luke Cooper as the Transformed Witch in Hansel & Gretel. Royal New Zealand Ballet, 2023. Photo: © Stephen A’Court There are fetching scenes of Bird-children, Dew fairies and a Sandman who guide the siblings’ journey, and the gingerbread house of Act Two opens up to fill the stage with the aromas of candy floss, toffee apples and…