Special Interview with Steven Heathcote AM

'At the beginning of my career I wouldn't have imaged dancing for 25 years. I guess if you're really passionate about what you're doing time just seems to pass very quickly. It's been an amazing ride'.

The Australian Ballet's Steven Heathcote, arguably Australia's most accomplished dancer, has announced that he will stop dancing leading roles at the conclusion of Melbourne's New Romantics season this June/July. Steven's extraordinary talent, expressive and powerful style, along with his gentle manner and intelligence, have made him an international ballet star and one
of the best loved dancers in the company.

2007 marks Steven's 25th anniversary with The Australian Ballet and is a fitting moment for Steven to make the next step in his remarkable career.

'I think completely retiring would be like cutting both my legs off. I think the bottom line for me is that I'm a performer, it's what I do. Being involved in performance takes many forms so for me it's about finding those areas where I can still contribute to the richness of whatever's going on on stage.
So that's what I'm looking at going forward'.

Deborah Searle had the opportunity to speak to Steven about his amazing career and what lies ahead for Australia's king of dance.

You are the longest serving Principal artist in The Australian Ballet's history. What has kept you with the company for 25 years?

I think it's a combination of a lot of things. The first thing is that I've had a lot of support, starting of course with my wife Kathy. She was with The Australian Ballet Company for 11 years. She's the other pillar in my life and our marriage and without her there is no way that I could have sustained a career this long.

I've also had amazing support from all our Artistic Directors. Obviously that's a support that goes two ways, I've seen part of my job here is to support the Artistic Director's vision and I think that as dancers that is what we need to undertake to do.

I've had a massive amount of support from family, friends and the public and that creates a support of buoyancy under you that makes you feel that what you're doing is worthwhile and valid and that you should continue doing it for as long as you can do it well.

What has been your inspiration all these years? How have you kept your focus?

Working with gifted people every day - that's pretty inspiring. The other thing is working with music everyday. Music has always been a huge part of my life and I know it always will be. One of the great joys for me is working with choreographers or repetiteurs whether it's new work or pre-existing work that is being reproduced for us. I love the human interaction of working with people and finding with them the nuances and the detail in the music that you're dancing to, because really the music is the driving force for the movement. That's really something that has kept me inspired along the way.

You are renowned for your partnering skills, with quotes such as you are a 'commanding dramatic artist and a sublime partner.' What is the secret of being a great dance partner? What makes a great pas de deux?

Secret - I don't think there's any secret. I think if you love what you're doing it comes through. I've always loved partnering, there's something very special about creating seamless movement between two people. It takes a certain type of communication between those two people and a kind of opening up which I think is really healthy, creative and actually very liberating. Because as a partnered dancing couple you are both aiming for the same thing, but the challenge is to find that common ground, that common physical and intellectual understanding of what you are doing.

You have danced with some of the world's best ballerinas.
Can you name any favorite partnerships?

If I named all my favourite partnerships I'd be here all day! Every ballerina I have danced with has brought something different to the kind of chemistry and that's what makes it so fascinating, the fact that you can do the same role with two different ballerinas and it will feel quite different, but no less valid. I would hesitate to single any particular one dancer out. There have been many beautiful women I've had the pleasure of partnering.

I am looking forward to it. It's quite close to my heart, it's got all those things that draw children in. It's got that promise of an alternate world, that mystery and magic and is based around Christmas which is a magic time for kids. I think that's why it's been a ballet that has endured in its many forms for such a long time. Every kind of incarnation of the ballet that I've seen has been valid because it talks about the same core things. I think that Graeme Murphy's treatment of it was also brilliant. It's wildly creative of Graeme and just an amazing concept. So I think that the version we are doing this year really is a return to a very traditional version, but I am sure that at some time Graeme's will re-emerge.

Are you enjoying working on and performing New Romantics and Body Torque as your final leading roles? Are you conscious of the fact that they are your final leading roles? Do you still find roles like this challenging after all these years?

Oh yeh. I'm not being allowed to be anything other than conscious of it at the moment because there is so much going on around it. But it's lovely. After The Rain which is a Christopher Wheeldon ballet that I am performing, with the last show on July 3rd in Melbourne, is a lovely ballet to finish on. It finishes with a beautiful pas de deux for a man and woman and it was originally choreographed on Jock Soto as a tribute for his retirement. So it's a nice fit for me to do it also. Obviously I have a huge amount of respect for Jock as well as a dancer. He was a real icon in New York City Ballet. Its just a really beautiful sensitive piece, done to the most gorgeous music by Arvo Part, and he's actually one of my favourite composers so quite privately that's a really nice thing for me, because he's someone who's music I have always appreciated.

I think every role is a challenge because they are so different. Each role has different technical demands, different physical and mental demands. I think it's that whole balancing act of working out how much energy you have to allocate to various parts in the choreography. Believe me, at the age of 42, energy allocation is a huge priority, you have to be selective about where you put the foot on the gas and where you lift it off. But I'm really enjoying this ballet and I'm really quite satisfied to be finishing my full dancing roles on this note, even though there's plenty more ahead, which is great.

What does the future hold for you? There is word that you plan to move onto a wider range of responsibilities with The Australian Ballet. David McAllister has said that you will continue to have an ongoing relationship with the company - in what form?

A more formulated plan will be in place later this year after David and I have discussed things a bit more. We'll have a better idea then of exactly what kind of shape the future will take. It's hard to give a concrete answer now. David's always been incredibly supportive and I'm really grateful for that. He's indicated that there are a number of areas across the company where they could use my input. So I suppose the thing for me looking forward is to balance that with opening myself up to other people and projects. The future holds a lot of opportunity which is great. I think there are a lot of areas across the board with Australian arts in general that I could contribute to, so it's just a question of really laying myself open to opportunity.

You co-produced The Australian Ballet touring documentary 'On The Wings of A Swan' - any thoughts of getting into documentaries or dance film in the future?

I have had thoughts about it. It was a process that I really enjoyed and I think that there is a real place for it in Australia in particular. I think we've got a way to catch up with the rest of the world in terms of dance on film. There has been recently some really great stuff put out particularly on the ABC. There's good ground swell.

I think one of the challenges for dance is capturing it on film, but maintaining the essence of its energy, as often you loose that on film. Lets face it, it was originally designed to be a live art form and be seen live, but there's a massive audience who could potentially become great appreciators of dance who don't have the opportunity to because they're just not able to get to performances.

So I thinks its really important that we find a way to work towards greater coverage of dance on TV and film. All you have to do is look at the popularity of shows like 'Dancing with the Stars'. They are hugely popular. There's a real public appetite for dance.

You have worked with many amazing choreographers over the years? Do you have any favourite choreographers? Are you interested in becoming a choreographer?

It's not been a burning ambition over the course of my career, but I think that's partly because I've been so heavily involved in creating work with choreographers as a collaborator, as a dancer, so I guess the opportunity for me to choreograph, to initiate that process, hasn't really emerged in the past, but I'd never say never. I may well find that as I move away from this heavy saturation of performing and being completely nackered all the time,that I might all of a sudden have this new spark and new energy to do that, hence, never say never.

As a craft, choreography and choreographers are people who I have enormous respect for. It's an incredibly difficult thing to do. If anyone thinks that you just wack a few steps together, they've got to think again, it's not that easy.

As my favourite choreographer I'd have to say Yuri Killian. You are just really conscious in the rehearsal room that you're in the presence of greatness.

'If you really love it, if it really is something that you want to do, then don't let anyone turn you away from that, just stick to your guns and keep moving forward. Because if you've got a passion for something as a kid, then you're really lucky.'

I also loved working with Glen Tetley. He was another gentle man, highly intelligent, articulate and descriptive about what it was he was trying to achieve. Another favourite would be Graeme Murphy, he and I have had a long and happy creative association and I'd quite happily work with Graeme every day. He's a great guy. He's someone I think who really uses the particular talents of his dancers and he has a real nack of spotting what it is that those dancers excel at and he can use that for the maximum effect.

You have been a guest artist with many major international companies. Can you recall a favourite overseas company that you have worked with? Did you ever toy with the idea of joining a company overseas?

A real highlight for me, perhaps because I spent so long there, was American Ballet Theatre. The first time I went there I spent three months. That was great because by the end of that period I actually felt like I was part of the company, part of the woodwork. And then a few years later I went back for a shorter period. And those times were really special, they were great. The first time I was there was just Kathy and I, with Kathy pregnant with our son Sam. And then the second trip back he was a toddler. So it was great. The first trip there was expecting a child and the second trip was with a very little toddler in toe. So it was a very special time for that reason, and also professionally. It was just such an amazing growth period for me as a performer and dancer.

ABT was probably a big temptation for a little while there. But with Sam being a toddler living in New York was pretty illuminating. I think it was then that I really realised that if you want to raise a family you want to do that in the best environment you possibly can, and it didn't take me long to realise that that was Australia.

Any secrets on how to keep your body in prime condition and continue dancing at such an intensity and at such a high level for so many years? Have you had any major injuries?

I don't know if there's a secret. It's different for every person because every body's physical makeup is different. And I think that's the first really important thing to recognise, that you can't prescribe one particular way of operating for a bunch of different people. But for me, finding a balance in my life, between my dancing and my personal life has been really important. When I leave the theatre or studio I'm not a dancer any more. It's not necessarily a conscious thing. I go into a different mode of existence. I think for me that's just been a balancing thing, when I'm rehearsing and performing I like to find that break.

The other thing is that physically you have to really look after your body. You have to listen to it; you have to get to know it intimately. You have got to know what messages it's sending to you and how hard you should be listening to those messages. We've all seen people work through pain, which as dancers you do on a daily basis, but its having the good judgment to know when that pain is really doing you harm and what's just a bit if soreness. There's a certain body/mind intelligence that has to be developed.

With injuries I've been very very lucky. I've had a whole lot of sprains, strains and bumps and bruises. But I've never had to lie on an operating table and be carved open. I've been very very lucky in that regard.

Also, there's something about having consistent work that keeps you up to a certain level. It's finding the balance within that. It's a lot harder to have sporadic work and to have to work your fitness in a yoyo type fashion, up and down and maintain a certain level.

Any words of wisdom or encouragement for young male dancers wanting to make a career in classical ballet?

Young fellas are probably fortunate in a certain way because they're now growing up in a time where it's a lot more ok for guys to dance. Lets face it. There's still a stigma that remains, but I think that's changed a lot especially since I started dancing.

But the first thing I'd say is that if you really love it, if it really is something that you want to do, then don't let anyone turn you away from that, just stick to your guns and keep moving forward. Because if you've got a passion for something as a kid, then you're really lucky because that's going to keep you going throughout all your teenage years and all your young adult years and its going to keep you well and truly out of trouble because you'll have something that the other kids don't have. You'll have a focus and a discipline and a passion and you'll make friends that you'll have for a lifetime. Have the guts and the strength to stick it out no matter what anyone else says.

Unspoken Dialogues 3
Justine Summers & Steven Heathcote Photo :Paul Chapman 2002

Oh yeah, it happens all the time to varying degrees of severity. I remember one instance in Melbourne when I was doing the Merry Widow with Miranda Coney and we were in the middle of the very last pas de deux. I got one of the buttons on the cuff of my jacket caught in her hair. My wrist was inextricably attached to her head and we had this whole sequence of lifts coming up. At first I thought it was just caught and I tried to gently remove it and then I realised that her hair had somehow wound itself around the button twice or even three times and we got to the point where we couldn't keep moving. We had to just stop and I had to slowly and very carefully untie it, so we missed a big chunk of choreography and had to catch up later on. But the audience thought it was a hoot. Luckily the Merry Widow is light hearted, so we got away with it.

You took up dancing after seeing The Nutcracker performed by the Western Australian Ballet. Are you excited to be finishing off your 25th year with a performance of the Nutcracker by The Australian Ballet?

I hadn't thought about that, but that's quite a nice book end isn't it! It will be lovely. This version of The Nutcracker by Sir Peter Wright is a really beautiful traditional version. It's the most sumptuous thing to look at and the costume and set designs are out of this world.I think its going to become a new favourite with our audiences across Australia.