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This year The Australian Ballet School
has been pleased to welcome former Principal Artist, Lisa Pavane,
to its amazing line up of teaching staff.
One of Australia's most famous ballerinas,
Lisa was trained at The Australian Ballet School and accepted straight
into the Australian Ballet company in 1981. In 1983 she was promoted
to the rank of Soloist and then to Principal Artist in 1986. As
principal, Lisa danced Odette/Odile in Swan Lake,
La Sylphide, Don Quixote, Checkmate, The Taming of the Shrew,
Onegin, The Merry Widow, The Three Muskateers, La Bayadere, Giselle
and starred in The Australian Ballet's premiere season of Manon.
A ballerina in great demand, Lisa appeared as a guest artist with
Boston Ballet, the Kirov Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, at the
Sixth and Seventh World Ballet Festivals in Japan and in Budapest
with the Munich Staats Opera Ballet.
Lisa's career later took her to the English
National Ballet in 1994 where as a Senior Principal Ballerina she
danced all the company's repertoire. Lisa performed the dual role
of Odette/Odile, in Deane's Swan Lake at the Royal
Albert Hall before touring to Australia with the English National
Ballet in 1999 dancing Odette/Odile in the arena production,
performing in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide and finally
Scotland and England.
Returning to Australia in 2001, and moving
back to Melbourne this year, Lisa will now bring her expertise to
the eager students of The Australian Ballet School.
Director, Marilyn Rowe is thrilled to
have Lisa back at ABS stating; "How wonderful to welcome
Lisa back into the fold! During her career with The Australian Ballet,
we enjoyed a very close relationship, and in fact, I coached her
for her first performance in the role of Aurora in The Sleeping
Beauty. I had always held on to the hope that one day she would
return to Australia and The Australian Ballet School. I believe
that with her keen intelligence, attention to detail, analytical
skills, professional experience and personal integrity she has the
qualities necessary to make a wonderful teacher of vocational students"
How has The Australian Ballet School
changed in the years since your training, beginning in 1978?
When I went to the ABS at age 15, the
school and company were housed together in a simple building in
Flemington. It was single level with one main studio, 2 medium studios
and a small one we called Studio 4. Classes were held around the
times available when the company was in town, so very little studio
space was available. Today, at the premises in Southbank, the school
has 4 studios, but as the school has expanded to include more levels
of training since my time, there is still a need for further studios.
The vision of the school is to be able
to offer training from a much younger age, therefore increasing
the opportunity to produce great Australian dancers, equipped for
exciting successful dancing careers. This important time of vocational
training is the foundation for great dancers, who need expert guidance
to physically tune their bodies and shape their techniques, and
no time should be lost, if we are to produce great dancers of the
future.
Back then, the company members and school
students shared the green room, which had a little canteen in later
times, but originally just a coffee machine and comfy chairs only,
if my memory serves me correctly. Today there is a full canteen
serving nutritional and healthy foods, caring for the strenuous
and demanding needs placed upon these young athletes of today.
Similar to today, the school was on one
side and the company the other for the administration and dressing
rooms. For us as students, there was a room which served as a classroom
come library, where we had music, dance history and notation lessons.
Today the students at the ABS study Anatomy, Music, Dance Perspectives,
Psychology and academic subjects depending on their year level,
completing the VCE the year before graduation. I completed my schooling
by correspondence, for which some time was allotted each week where
we could learn our studies from our books. Today the students have
the opportunity to continue their academic studies in a classroom
environment, taught by qualified school lecturers. In my time there
was not a Psychologist or Health Team employed to look after our
bodies, minds and well being, so these areas have been a great advancement.
I feel this area is very important to the overall health, injury
prevention and preservation of our young dancers of today, equipping
them with the knowledge that will enable them to train to their
optimum. In fact, the ABS Health Team is internationally recognized
for world's best practice.
What stands out in my memory at the ABS
and still happens today, is that at any time when the students are
not in their own studies and when the company is in Melbourne, is
that, of the wonderful experience of walking the corridors, peering
in the windows of the studios watching the company members working
in class and rehearsal. That moment when a student witnesses something
exciting happening in the studio and aspires to be that great dancer
too or to dance in that ballet! When they look today, they see many
company dancers who have gone through The Australian Ballet School
and most undoubtedly hope that that will be them in a few years.
Having that inspiration accessible to the students is a wonderful
treat! I witnessed many great dancers through the peep hole window
in the entry door to Studio I in Flemington. Marilyn Rowe, Marilyn
Jones, Michaela Kirkaldie, Ann Jenner, Joanne Michel, Kelvin Coe,
Gary Norman, John Meehan and Dale Baker, many of who I had the pleasure
to either dance with, be coached by and dance alongside in my years
as a professional dancer in The Australian Ballet. Never at that
time would I have imagined - only dreamed!!
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Lisa
Pavane in The Australian Ballet's production of Coppélia.
Photograph Jim McFarlane. |
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What has brought you back to
The Australian Ballet School after all these years? What subjects
and levels are you teaching? How are you finding it?
My reason for returning to Melbourne,
is that my daughter was accepted into the Victorian College
of the Arts Secondary School in the Music program. She is
a Grade 8 Oboe player and is currently in Year 10. We auditioned
her last year, flying down from our home in Brisbane. During
my visit for her audition I visited The Australian Ballet
School to talk with Marilyn Rowe, who is of course the Director
of the School. Marilyn invited me to join the staff of The
Australian Ballet School, should Cassie be successful in her
audition. When we received the news, I phoned to say that
we would be moving to Melbourne in the New Year. We had a
property management business, which we needed to sell, so
it was a very hectic time.
I commenced this year at the beginning
of 1st term and I am teaching the Level 6 students for Pas
de Deux, Variations and a weekly Classical class and the Level
8 students once a week also for classical. I have been fortunate
to have had the time this year as a transitional and learning
year, in preparation for the Level 6 females full time next
year. I have been studying Anatomy and observing classes in
Body Conditioning, Alignment, Psychology and observing the
other Year Levels as well. Recently I have been appointed
to the responsibility of ensuring that the dancers are wearing
correctly fitted and suitable pointe shoes and ballet flats.
As well, I am undertaking the Vocational Graduate Certificate
in Elite Ballet Instruction, which is a newly accredited Teachers
Course offered by The Australian Ballet School to Professional
dancers who wish to teach at a vocational level.
How do you think your time at
The Australian Ballet School and as a Principal Dancer for
The Australian Ballet has shaped you as a teacher and mentor
for today's students?
My time at the School I remember
with great fondness. I was given great advice and in an important
time of my training. Following my graduation, I immediately
joined The Australian Ballet and was singled out very early
in my career and was nurtured by my mentors and peers. I had
the very great fortune of being mentored by Marilyn Rowe in
my early opportunities of dancing principal roles. I have
always felt this to be so important, as having that tradition
and experience passed down by successors is invaluable. I
look forward to having that opportunity too!
How has your immense international experience in companies
such as the English National Ballet, Kirov Ballet and Boston
Ballet broadened your horizons and ultimately what you can
offer as a dancer and a teacher? What led you to move on from
The Australian Ballet and join The English National Ballet
in 1994?
I was fortunate in my career to
dance with many companies as a guest artist and also spent
considerable years in both The Australian Ballet and English
National Ballet as a resident principal. The desire to spread
my wings in search of 'more' was the main reason to move overseas,
and also to evaluate my talents with the rest of the world.
Travelling the world allowed me to work with many different
people in different environments, cultures and comfort zones,
all of which gave me a wealth of information and experience
to call upon. It made me stronger and more determined to take
hold of every opportunity. I have worked under many great
teachers, coaches and repetiteurs who all have their own individual
ways of teaching. Like anything in life, something just clicks,
and it all makes sense. It is the same for a dancer. A certain
teacher may just have the right way of imparting a correction
that suits you, and all of a sudden that enchainment that
has been eluding you or that character that just hasn't felt
right suddenly works, and it is like a revelation. As a teacher
now, I like to watch other teachers as well, as there is so
much to learn from everyone! It is also not just about the
technical aspect of teaching but the manner of how it is delivered.
You have to capture the students, keep their attention, gain
trust and respect, and draw on the skills that you have at
your disposal to get the most out of the teaching of the student.
Over your many years as a Principal
dancer here and abroad, what were your most memorable performances,
roles and/or ballets, and why?
I have danced almost all the classical
repertoire and many contemporary ballets, so choosing a favourite
is very difficult. Three that stand out in my mind, are Giselle,
Onegin and Coppelia. I have danced Giselle
many times, at first being chosen to dance in Dame Peggy's
production whilst still in the corps de ballet. Whilst in
the Australian Ballet, I was chosen to be coached by the famous
Galina Ulanova for a period of four weeks. It was an amazing
time working with her. She was most famous for this role,
and a truly inspirational woman who had incredible spirit
and vitality, even in her 80's. She imparted invaluable information
to me that I have kept with me to this day. It was also the
last ballet my mother saw me dance in my home town before
her death, so it has many sentimental memories.
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Another for me is John Cranko's,
Onegin. This production is so beautiful, the music
sublime, and the drama of this role was exhilarating to perform.
I danced this role with Jonathan Kelly, who was a wonderful
partner, a beautiful person and amazing actor. The other that
I must mention is Coppelia. The role of Swanhilda
was so much fun and the naughty and stubborn ways of Swanhilda
suited the mischievous girl in me, the side no one really
sees in me. I loved it!
If there was just one ballet
that your students could learn and perform, what would it
be and why?
Swan Lake - this ballet
is so varied and offers the dancer an opportunity at everything.
The use of the upper back, head and arms as a swan is so strengthening
for the upper back muscles and incorporates the breadth of
movement which is so important. As the white swan, the dancer
has the opportunity to show controlled adage and articulated
pointe work. The pas de deux and variation require great control
and the rapport between the prince and the swan queen needs
to be sensitive and urgent. In the 3rd Act as the black swan,
the dancer has the opportunity to show a steely strength,
bravura, and a different personality is required. The dancer
has many pirouettes and balances including 32 fouette rond
de jambes, all of which require a strong technique and a sense
of showmanship and confidence, and finally, the opportunity
to show tragedy in the last act. This ballet has it all -
many different qualities of the acting, a versatility in the
technique as mentioned and a rapport in the pas de deuxs.
You have worked with many talented
and amazing choreographers. Do you have a favourite you would
like to mention?
I have worked with many contemporary
choreographers as well as repetiteurs of famous ballets. I
have had the very great pleasure to work with and be choreographed
on by Graeme Murphy who is a creative genius and intuitive
man. I have worked with Yiri Kylian on a number of different
ballets and always found him to be an inspirational man with
great passion and wisdom. I was fortunate to be in the studio
for the creation of Encounters with Christopher Dean (Torvil
and Dean) when he created his first ballet for English National
Ballet. Working with this creative man in a medium that he
was unfamiliar with, was exciting to be apart of. Using his
immense skills from the ice and his natural fluidity of movement,
he created a ballet extraordinarily delightful to dance.
As a student were there any
key technical elements, steps or styles that you struggled
with? How do you assist your students with these today?
As a student, I was quite strong
technically. I didn't really like Adage that much but loved
to turn and jump. I had difficultly hopping on 'pointe' due
to my high insteps, so that was an element that I had to improve.
One of my biggest hurdles was in my artistry. A chronic asthma
sufferer in my early childhood often had me hospitalized and
absent from school, so I was a really timid and sickly youngster.
Being introverted by nature made it difficult for me to open
up my soul in the studio! As important to work on the technique
in the studio, so you must do with the artistic side. You
can't wait for it to just happen on the stage. With maturity
and experience over the years I was able to overcome this
hurdle and actually enjoyed losing myself in the studio as
well as on stage. I try to impart this important information
to the students and work on all levels of their art form,
not just the technique.
What is your advice to young aspiring dancers, particularly
those wishing to study at The Australian Ballet School?
Discipline and desire! The time
spent at the school should not be wasted for one moment. It
is a pivotal time in the development of the young dancer's
training and there is so much to be learnt. This time is imperative
for laying the proper foundation to build strong, controlled
and physically tuned bodies. The students today are offered
a broad and well balanced curriculum, so there is much to
do in this time.
What lies ahead for Lisa Pavane?
Do you aim to one day open your own school or company?
Absolutely not! I feel extremely
happy with where I am today. It feels like home and it is
where I want to continue offering my experience and teaching.
To be able to give something back to where I came from is
a wonderful treat for me!
WIN TICKETS
TO SEE THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET SCHOOL PERFORM COPPÉLIA
THIS DECEMBER Click
Here
The Australian Ballet School
presents:
Coppélia
THE MAGICAL STORY OF DR COPPELIUS AND HIS ENCHANTING DOLL
7th & 8th December
Sidney Myer Music Bowl
Gates open 6pm - performance
starts 8.30pm
Bookings: Phone 1300 136
166
www.ticketmaster.com.au
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