Season’s Greetings 2011
…ave contributed what I have referred to elsewhere as ‘refreshingly honest’ comments, I wish a very happy holiday season. ‘Snowflakes’ in the Borovansky Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker, ca. 1957. Photo: Walter Stringer. Courtesy of the National Library of Australia A Christmas production of Nutcracker was always a much anticipated part of my childhood and recollections of Elaine Haxton’s designs for the old Borovansky production (reused in th…
Flight Pattern. The Royal Ballet Digital Season 2020
…stumble together. But at one stage we see a single dancer lying on the ground, alone, perhaps dead? And individuals start to become more apparent when we see, for example, a duet between two men. Artists of the Royal Ballet in Flight Pattern. © ROH 2017. Photo: Tristram Kenton Eventually the refugees reach a certain stage in their flight and remove their coats. They lie down as if to sleep, but it is fitful and interrupted. Their individuality th…
Kathryn Bennetts and the Royal Ballet of Flanders
…roductive to hope that Bennetts’ passion continues unabated in the present situation, and that the Royal Ballet of Flanders continues to flourish under her uncompromising approach. Michelle Potter, 19 March 2011…
Colonel de Basil: further news
…rticular, some interesting material relating to de Basil’s military background before his arrival in Paris in 1919, which seems to clarify the question of whether or not de Basil did have the military background claimed for him. Here is a link to the article. It is entitled The Return of the Legend: The Ballet Russe of Colonel de Basil. I am told it has been published in Russia and Mexico and is being translated for publication in Japan. See the t…
Swan Lake. National Theatre Ballet
…fastened beneath the bust and the wide neck was trimmed with coq feathers. Underneath, the bodice was mauve jersey, outlined with black velvet and pearls. The sleeves were mauve jersey, covered with black net; black velvet points with pearls, over the hands. The underskirt was mauve taffeta covered with black net. The black net skirt was criss-crossed with black ribbon with large tassels at the joins’. That description also conjures up a striking…
My bicycle loves you. Legs on the Wall
…ially one where movement is the central mode of expression, the movement becomes a secondary partner. Without an exceptional collaborative aesthetic at work, the visual imagery always dominates. And this is what happened in My bicycle loves you. It was only when the very skilful artists of Legs on the Wall were performing against a static backdrop (which was not often) did they command the attention they deserve. The eclectic movement style of Leg…
Island. James Batchelor
…ham’s score, which is confronting and yet listenable in its diversity of sounds. I especially enjoyed the performance of McCartney who had absorbed Batchelor’s movement style and added something of her own—a strength of purpose perhaps? Her dancing was certainly strong and well-defined. But what makes Island so interesting is that the audience is encouraged to walk around the space and see the dance/installation from different viewpoints. Again th…
NLA articles
…ustralia News, April 2002, pp. 15-18 ‘Life Blood: Don Asker and the Human Veins Dance Theatre.’ National Library of Australia News, March 2002, pp. 12-15 ‘Giving a voice to dance.’ National Library of Australia News, October 2001, pp. 14-16 ‘Getting together: the Bangarra Dance Theatre and the Australian Ballet.’National Library of Australia News, August 2001, pp. 3-6 ‘Boro’s Ballet: the making of an Australian ballet, 1939-1961.’ National Library…
Construct. Australian Dance Theatre. ADAPT Season 2020
…a what to expect. Well, it was funny, it was sad, it was revealing, it was complex, it was about life (and at one stage about death). Danced with great panache and skill by Marlo Benjamin, Jana Castillo, and Kimball Wong, it examined from so many points of view the notion of construction, as the name implies. The stage space was filled with various items used in building construction, a saw horse, items of timber, power tools, a ladder at one stag…
Merce Cunningham (1919-2009)
…ho has not only always been dancing, but who has always been pushing the boundaries of dancing, including the boundaries of how it is perceived, fashioned and presented. In 2007 I was in the exceptionally fortunate position of being co-curator of an exhibition, ‘INVENTION: Merce Cunningham and collaborators’, for the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. I was able to work with David Vaughan, revered archivist of the Cunningham company…