My review of Fortuity from Mirramu Dance Company with guest artists from Taiwan is now available on DanceTabs at this link. Elizabeth Dalman and her guests also appeared on several occasions during May in various public places and institutions around Canberra. I was able to see two such performances, one in the National Gallery of Australia and one in the Canberra
My review of Rotunda, a very special piece of dance theatre from Shona McCullagh and her New Zealand Dance Company, has now been posted on DanceTabs at this link. Take another look, too, at Jennifer Shennan’s comments on Rotunda at this link. Michelle Potter, 20 May 2015 Featured image: Scene from Rotunda. The New Zealand Dance Company. Photo: © John McDermott, 2013
16 May 2015 (matinee), Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House After feeling less than satisfied with my earlier viewing of the Australian Ballet’s triple bill of Ashton works—Monotones II, Symphonic Variations and The Dream—it was such a pleasure to have a second look and come away feeling much more fulfilled. Monotones II was danced by the same cast that I
1 May 2015 (matinee), Lennox Theatre Riverside, Parramatta Tukre’ means ‘pieces’ in Hindi and Raghav Handa’s solo show was a series of moments from his life—memories, thoughts, recollections. These intimate pieces from his life as an Australian of Indian heritage were spread across about 50 minutes of dance, conversation and projections. Handa is a beautiful mover and his qualities as a
What a pleasure it was to learn that Ako Kondo had been promoted to principal with the Australian Ballet, although I am not surprised. She was my pick in the category ‘Most Outstanding Dancer’ in the 2014 Critics’ Survey for Dance Australia. ‘Her technical skills are breathtaking,’ I wrote and I recall seeing her as Kitri in the the Dancers Company production of
29 April 2015, Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House There were peaks and troughs in the Australian Ballet’s second program for 2015, a triple bill of works by Frederick Ashton. There were also a few surprises. The undoubted highlight was The Dream, which was also used as the overarching title for the program. We have been told over and over that
The Paris Opera Ballet once again demonstrated its incredible technical and artistic strengths in Celebrate Dance, a film introduced by the company’s retiring director Brigitte Lefèvre and recently released in Australian cinemas. Opening the program was the Paris Opera Ballet’s traditional parade of dancers from the company and its school—the défilé—seen for the first time on film. This spectacular presentation begins in a
In many a park in New Zealand … the same in Australia I’m sure … sits an octagonal band rotunda … shades of Vauxhall Gardens and the public pleasures of outdoor music played by local brass bands or other ensembles. These days children play in a rotunda, not much good for hide’n’seek since the sides are open, but its roof
4 April 2015 (matinee), Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House Seeing an artist make his or her debut in a principal role is always an exciting prospect, especially when it is in one of the important classics of the ballet repertoire. It was a double thrill for the audience at the Sydney Opera House on 4 April when two Australian Ballet dancers,
Although the Paris Opera Ballet’s website is still listing Australian Ballet School graduate Hannah O’Neill as a coryphée on its organisational chart, O’Neill is now a sujet with the company. Several French websites are carrying this news including Danser canal historique. O’Neill’s promotion took place as a result of a competitive examination, held at the end of 2014, for promotion within the