By Rain Francis.

In the Australian Ballet’s 50^th year Dance Informa is celebrating the company by highlighting three of the Ballet’s Principal Dancers each edition. This edition Dance Informa speaks with Madeleine Eastoe, Adam Bull and Lana Jones.

Click to catch up on last edition’s interviews with Lucinda Dunn, Yosvani Ramos and Leanne Stojmenov or September’s feature of Rachel Rawlins, Kevin Jackson and Amber Scott.

Madeleine Eastoe

Perth-born Madeleine is one of Australia’s favourite ballerinas. A graduate of The Australian Ballet School, she joined the company in 1997 and was promoted to Principal in 2005. Her first role as principal, and still one of her favourites to dance, is the title role in Giselle.

What’s your first memory of dance?

Forgetting steps on stage, aged six.

What has been a highlight of your career so far?

Returning to dance after having my daughter Ella.

Which character in a ballet do you most associate with, and why?

Giselle because I’m part mad and crazy!

Which roles are high on your wish list?

Manon and Giselle again.

What is something that most people don’t know about the life of a dancer?

Sometimes, rarely, we blank on stage!

When you are not dancing, what would you prefer to be doing?

Hanging out with my family, practising yoga and riding my bike.

If you weren’t a dancer, what would you be?

I’m not sure. I’ll be making that decision in the not too distant future.

Do you have a favourite movie? Or a favourite band?

Movie: Room with a View and High Society

Singer: Jeff Buckley

Who is your favourite choreographer?

It’s too hard to single one out.

What is the most challenging thing about your job?

Being away from family and the constant maintenance of my body.

Do you have a quote or affirmation that helps you through, or that means a lot to you?

When I first performed Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake with Josh Consandine we were the last cast to go on and because it was such an epic production, rather than practice a specific sequence of steps we had the Nike phrase ‘just do it’, to motivate us.

What advice can you give to budding dancers?

Continue to redevelop yourself and find new ways to challenge yourself as much as possible.

What do you love most about your job?

The performing, characters, time on stage, the creative partnerships and the friends.

Adam Bull

Born and raised in Melbourne, Adam remembers being encouraged to dance by his Grade 1 primary school teacher. Years later, he trained at The Australian Ballet School before joining the company in 2002. Six years later, Adam was promoted to Principal.

What was your first role as principal?

My first principal role was as Colas in La Fille Mal Gardee when I was still in the Corps de Ballet, but my first role as a Principal artist was dancing Grand Pas Classique the night after I was promoted to Principal.

What has been a highlight of your career so far?

Dancing Siegfried in Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake in New York, Paris, London and Tokyo.

Which character in a ballet do you most associate with, and why?

In every role you try to flesh out the character with your own stories and actions, making every role a reflection of some part of yourself.

Which roles are high on your wish list?

I have slowly ticked off all the roles I’ve ever dreamed of dancing: Onegin, Albrecht in Giselle, Des Grieux in Manon. Every role I’ve enjoyed for different reasons.

What is something that most people don’t know about the life of a dancer?

In one day we may be working on up to five different ballets.

When you are not dancing, what would you prefer to be doing?

Snorkeling at Shelley Beach, Manly.

If you weren’t a dancer, what would you be?

A presenter on a show like Getaway!

Do you have a favourite book? Movie? TV series?

Book: The Life of Pi and A Fine Balance

Movie: Life is Beautiful, The Piano and Muriel’s Wedding

TV series: Breaking Bad

Who is your favourite choreographer?

Sir Kenneth MacMillian, Wayne McGregor and Graeme Murphy

What is the most challenging thing about your job?

Maintaining your body in peak condition 365 days a year.

Do you have a quote or affirmation that helps you through, or that means a lot to you?

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain

What advice can you give to budding dancers?

The quote above has served me well.

What do you love most about your job?

The environment in which I work every day. I’m surrounded by the most talented, inspiring, funny, generous people.

Lana Jones

Born in Canberra, Lana became a Principal artist in 2010, performing the Rose Fairy in Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker. The highlight of her career so far is her most recent role, Odette/Odile in Stephen Baynes’ Swan Lake.

What’s your first memory of dance?

My first memory of dance is more to do with the ballet uniform. I loved the white leotard and lycra white cross over, and of course the little white chiffon skirt. At age five, I felt so the part!

Describe your journey with The Australian Ballet.

I joined The Australian Ballet in 2002 and was gratefully always kept busy and worked really hard at being the best I could be in everything that I danced. It was so exciting when I started getting feature roles and understudying the roles I had always dreamt of dancing, and then eventually performing them. I feel enriched in all the diverse roles I have danced and they have all shaped the dancer I am today.

Which character in a ballet do you most associate with?

I think it would have to be Juliet (in Romeo & Juliet) because she is passionate and willing to take chances.

Which roles are high on your wish list?

Manon and Giselle.

What is something that most people don’t know about the life of a dancer?

That you can’t just take a sick day as it will affect at least ten or more people.

When you are not dancing, what would you prefer to be doing?

I love being physical, so being outdoors, maybe at the beach, with my husband and my two dogs.

If you weren’t a dancer, what would you be?

Hopefully a photographer or a nurse.

Who is your favourite choreographer?

I adore the classics like John Cranko and Sir Kenneth MacMillian, but Jiří Kylián is also sublime.

What is the most challenging thing about your job?

When you are having a really bad show and you have to keep going out on stage when all you want to do is run away.

Do you have a quote or affirmation that helps you through, or that means a lot to you?

Have the confidence to be yourself.

What advice can you give to budding dancers?

Ballet does not come without complete dedication, but if you’re willing and motivated then it definitely has its rewards.

What do you love most about your job?

Transporting audiences to a world where they can escape on a journey with you. I love escaping and telling a story as a character. I also love the physicality of ballet. It’s amazing what our bodies can do!

Top photo: Lana Jones, Rudy Hawkes, Adam Bull and Amber Scott in Gemini, The Australian Ballet. Photo by Jeff Busby.

In the Australian Ballet’s 50^th year Dance Informa is celebrating the company by highlighting three of the Ballet’s Principal Dancers each edition. Learn a little more about Australia’s 12 leading ballet dancers.

By Rain Francis.

Rachel Rawlins

When in her second year at the Australian Ballet School, Rachel Rawlins was invited to be an extra with the company. At the end of that year, she was offered a contract. She was promoted to soloist four years later and then danced with The Royal Ballet in 1999 for two years. On her return, Rachel started to perform more principal roles and was promoted to Principal artist in 2004.

What is your first memory of dance?

I was taken to an Australian Ballet production of Swan Lake in Canberra when I was about five. I think it was this performance that inspired my love and passion to pursue the profession.

What has been a highlight of your career so far?

It is a highlight to have joined The Australian Ballet and become a Principal artist. Another career highlight is to have been a First Soloist with The Royal Ballet. International touring is always exciting, and I have danced in Asia, Europe, England and the United States. Being a part of the 12^th World Ballet Festival in Tokyo and watching so many international dancers performing together is a special memory. The ballets I have recently really enjoyed dancing have been Madame Butterfly, The Merry Widow and Onegin.

What is something that most people don’t know about the life of a dancer?

How many ups and downs there can be. Most people wouldn’t realise how long we spend talking about how to improve movements and technique.  Communication is an essential part of putting a ballet together and making partnering secure and smooth.

When you are not dancing, what do you like doing?

I like watching movies, going for walks, bike rides, the beach, spending time with my family and friends. I have two little nephews who are always entertaining.

Do you have a favourite movie?

I love movies. Three which have made an impact on me are In The Name Of The Father, Jesus of Montreal and Gone With The Wind.  At the moment I’m watching Silk and The Tudors.

Who is your favourite choreographer?

I think choreography is the most difficult art and I admire the courage of anyone who attempts it. I’ve just finished Onegin, so John Cranko, because of the three very different beautiful pas de deux for Tatiana.  Last year it was Stanton Welch’s choreography and Robert Curran’s partnering for making me fly in the heart-stopping pas de deux for Madame Butterfly. The Australian Ballet’s dancers are fortunate to have the opportunity to dance so many different works created by Australian and international choreographers.

What is the most challenging thing about your job?

Not to lose sight of the love for the art form while you are facing your daily difficulties and demons.

Do you have a quote or affirmation that helps you through, or that means a lot to you?

A few years ago I had very sore calves and a really bad flu during a season of Sleeping Beauty. Now whenever I feel a bit sensitive or low I always think, “Well you got through that, so you can get through this”.

What do you love most about your job?

Performing. You can share the experience and give pleasure to other people, while doing something you love to amazing music.

Kevin Jackson

Perth-born Kevin Jackson joined the Australian Ballet in 2003 at age 18. His first big break was performing Balanchine’s Apollo in 2007. He was promoted to Principal artist in 2010, following a performance of The Nutcracker pas de deux with Rachel Rawlins.

When did you know you wanted to be a dancer?

When I was taken to my cousin’s dance school concert in 1989. I sat in the audience and as the lights in the auditorium went down and the overture began a rush of excitement waved through my body. I was completely captivated. I remember sitting there thinking to myself, I want to be up on that stage.

What was your first role as Principal artist?

Zeus in Tim Harbour’s Halcyon, in 2010.

What has been a highlight of your career so far?

Performing Prince Ziegfried in Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake alongside Madeleine Eastoe and Lucinda Dunn, at opening night of our recent tour to New York City. It was a dream come true to be performing at New York’s famed Lincoln Center.

Which roles are high on your wish list?

Nacho Duato’s Remanso, Albrecht in Giselle and Crown Prince Rudolf in Kenneth MacMillan’s Mayerling. There are a lot more too!

What is something that most people don’t know about the life of a dancer?

The hours we spend outside of the studio; body conditioning, physiotherapy, full body ice baths. Also eating correctly for optimal energy during shows and the persistent thoughts of repertoire all day, every day, even in your dreams.

When you are not dancing, what do you like doing?

Watching movies with my beautiful partner and renovating our apartment.

If you weren’t a dancer, what would you be?

Most likely an actor, teacher or swimmer.

Do you have a favourite movie or TV series?

Movies – Strictly Ballroom and the new Batman trilogy. My favourite TV series are Family Guy and Modern Family.

Who is your favourite choreographer?

Graeme Murphy has been an incredible mentor and one of the driving forces behind my career so far. I owe a lot to him and Janet Vernon.

What is the most challenging thing about your job?

I dance an incredible number of shows per year. It is a challenge to stay balanced and calm when I’m learning four or five different roles at the same time. Staying mentally and physically fit when traveling for months at a time is extremely challenging too, but also one of the perks!

Do you have a quote or affirmation that helps you through, or that means a lot to you?

Step by step, act by act, show by show and attitude, attitude, attitude.

What advice can you give to budding dancers?

Dance from your heart and people will follow.

What do you love most about your job?

Taking audiences away from their life for a show and transporting them to places like fictional lands, back in time or to an abstract environment. On a more selfish level, inhabiting those places as a dancer is also pretty phenomenal.

Amber Scott

After growing up on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Amber trained at the Australian Ballet School before joining the company in 2001. In 2003 she went on exchange to The Royal Danish Ballet. She was a guest artist on The Dancers Company (the regional touring arm of The Australian Ballet) tours of 2003 and 2004. In 2011 she became a Principal artist.

What was your first role as Principal?

I was promoted after performing the 2^nd Movement from Kenneth MacMillan’s Concerto at the Sydney season of the triple bill British Liaisons in 2011. Concerto was the opening piece in the triple bill so I had the interval to regain composure and then performed Christopher Wheeldon’s After The Rain. So technically, After The Rain was my first performance as a principal artist.

What has been a highlight of your career so far?

There have been so many special moments along the way. I am truly grateful and find it quite hard to choose one in particular. A few highlights are: performing Leigh Rowles’ Ascension alongside my brother in 2003, my first principal role, dancing Odette in Swan Lake when I was 21, performing Manon in 2008 and dancing the role of Tatiana in Onegin this year. Add to that dancing Graeme Murphy’s Odette in Swan Lake in Shanghai, Paris, Tokyo and New York, performing in the Stuttgart Ballet’s 50^th anniversary last year and being promoted to principal artist last year.

Which character in a ballet do you most associate with, and why?

I’m not sure if it’s because I have just played her but Tatiana (in Onegin) felt quite natural for me.  I also feel Odette in Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake will always be an enduring association.

Which roles are high on your wish list?

Odette in the traditional version of Swan Lake, Giselle, Marguerite Gautier in Lady of the Camellias, Nikiya in La Bayadere and Kitri in Don Quixote.

What is something that most people don’t know about the life of a dancer?

We are on tour a lot of the year and can perform as many as 12 different productions a year. It’s also not as glamorous as some people think. After a show it’s usually an ice bucket, back into sneakers and onto public transport!

When you are not dancing, what do you like doing?

I love being outside in fresh air!

If you weren’t a dancer, what would you be?

A paediatrician.

Do you have a favourite book? Movie? TV series? Band?

Book: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Movie: Stealing Beauty

TV Series: Downton Abbey

Band: The National

Who is your favourite choreographer?

Kenneth MacMillan

What advice can you give to budding dancers?

Be patient with your body and tenacious in your spirit. Work hard but intelligently. Be brave and curious as there is much to be learnt on the road to becoming a professional and that road can get bumpy. Like all worthwhile journeys it’s the unexpected challenges that knit together to form a memorable trip.

Next Edition we will hear from talented dancers Leanne Stojmenov, Yosvani Ramos and Lucinda Dunn.

 

Top photo:  Kevin Jackson and Madeleine Eastoe of The Australian Ballet. Photo by Georges Antoni

By Rain Francis.

This month, Australia’s preeminent dance companies will unite for a very special occasion. As part of The Australian Ballet’s 50^th anniversary celebrations, Arts Centre Melbourne will host Let’s Dance, for 11 performances only. This is a unique opportunity for dance lovers to see the very best of the best, from every corner of the country.

“In our 50th year I wanted a program that recognised that dance is a thriving part of our cultural landscape. From stages to school halls, thousands of people are dancing across Australia every day,” says Artistic Director of The Australian Ballet, David McAllister. “It was also a chance to bring the Australian dance family together to celebrate and to share the wonderful companies of our nation with lucky Melbourne audiences.”

The headliner of this un-missable gala season is the premiere of Tim Harbour’s Sweedeedee. Also presenting new works are Raewyn Hill and Natalie Weir, Artistic Directors of Dancenorth and Expressions Dance Company, respectively. Performing works never before seen on a Melbourne stage are Australian Dance Theatre, Queensland Ballet, West Australian Ballet and Sydney Dance Company. To top the evening off, Tasdance will present a short dance film.

To find out more about what is in store, I spoke to each of the companies involved in Let’s Dance.

Company: The Australian Ballet
Title: Sweedeedee
Choreographer: Tim Harbour

Australian Ballet devotees are in for a rare treat with Tim Harbour’s brand new ballet. Sweedeedee sees a return to the stage of beloved former principal artists, Justine Summers and Steven Heathcote. Himself a former Senior Artist with the company, Harbour has shared the stage with the pair, but this is the first time he has choreographed on them.

“Justine and Steven formed a partnership that was particularly cherished by audiences”, Harbour explains. “They both have a deep resonance on stage that I want to tap into. While neither is at the height of their virtuosic powers any more, they are both still beautifully vivid movers.”

The notion of the “Australian dance family” described by McAllister became the starting point for Sweedeedee. Playing the children of Summers and Heathcote will be two students from The Australian Ballet School – one of whom is Heathcote’s actual daughter, Mia.

Harbour has aimed to create something that is fun for cast and audience alike, as well as being a vehicle for this particular, unconventional cast. “I knew I wanted to create something that two dancers in their forties and two mid-teen children could deliver,” he says. “Steven, Justine and myself are all parents now and that has informed the piece too.”

Sweedeedee will be performed primarily to a collection of folk songs, including numbers by Woodie Guthrie and Leonard Cohen, played by a live band. With sets and lighting by Benjamin Cisterne, costumes by Alexis George and projections by Lily Coates and Gavin Youngs, this promises to be a sensory delight fit for a 50^th.

Company: Dancenorth
Title: Fugue
Choreographer: Raewyn Hill

Inspired by Spanish bullfighting, performed to Ravel’s legendary Bolero and costumed by Sass & Bide, Fugue is sure to be quite a spectacle. Raewyn Hill describes it as “a relentless, trance like experience”, with seven dancers moving as one and pushed to their absolute physical extremes.

Hill researched extensively for this new work, and notes that “the bullfight is often referred to as a metaphor for a fight between mankind and death.” She has aligned this concept with the story of the ‘Dancing Plague’. This mysterious event allegedly occurred in Strasbourg in 1518, when people spontaneously began to dance and continued for days, some even to their death.

“The dancers have really embraced the challenge, and they give phenomenal performances,” says Hill. Be ready to be mesmerised by this exciting premiere!

Company: Expressions Dance Company
Title: Don’t
Choreographer: Natalie Weir

Natalie Weir’s brand new work Don’t is developed from a piece called Scripsi Scriptum, which explores the art of communication and the written word. “I thought the duet was very powerful”, says Weir, “and wanted to work further with the idea of a singular word and its emotional resonance.”

As with all of Weir’s work, which tends to explore “human emotion and connection”, the ideas presented in Don’t are ones to which we can all relate. As the choreographer notes, “sometimes we wish we could take back the things we say to each other. We forget the power that a word can have, its impact on others, and how easy it is to interpret or indeed, misinterpret.  The concept behind Don’t is very simple, but beautiful and quite sad at times.”

Company: Australian Dance Theatre
Title: Be Your Self (excerpt)
Choreographer: Garry Stewart

Be Your Self is a work that has been informed broadly and from vastly different viewpoints. Amongst their eclectic training and development schedule, ADT often engages in meditation practice. Initial sessions were led by a Buddhist monk, who discussed with the company the nature of ‘self’ according to Buddhist principles. Garry Stewart also consulted with a professor of physiology about the ways in which emotions are connected to the body and “how the hormonal system interacts with the brain neurologically and chemically when we experience certain emotions.”

The resulting work is an “exploration of the human body as the starting point for defining the concept of self.” ADT performed a snippet of Be Your Self at the Australian Dance Awards in 2009, and Melbourne audiences were, of course, blown away. Though we’re yet to be treated to it in its entirety, I bet we’re all looking forward to getting another glimpse of this incredible creation.

Company: Queensland Ballet
Title: Cloudland (excerpts)
Choreographer: François Klaus

A sell-out at the 2004 Brisbane Festival and loved by European audiences, Cloudland takes us back in time to the iconic Brisbane ballroom that was popular from the 1940s to the 1980s. “When I was creating the ballet we were overwhelmed by responses to our calls for information”, says François Klaus. “People sent in delightful anecdotes, photographs and even CDs relating to their experiences at Cloudland. This story was very important to Brisbane life for a lot of people.”

Melbourne audiences will be treated to two lyrical pas de deux: Almost Like Being in Love and No Moon at All. “It’s a lovely production with beautiful sets, costumes, and music”, says Klaus. “The themes of love and nostalgia have universal appeal – the story is local in one sense to Brisbane, but people anywhere can relate.”

Company: West Australian Ballet
Title: Ombra Leggiera
Choreographer: Ivan Cavallari

Inspired by the lyrics from the aria Ombra Leggiera in Meyerbeer’s Dinorah, the dance evokes a dialogue with a shadow. It was originally a solo created for Daryl Brandwood, who would interact with movements projected onto a screen. “It was to have been staged in this format at the Quarry Amphitheatre”, says Ivan Cavallari, “however once we were there, it became obvious that the complex projections would be technically unachievable. Thus it became, overnight, a pas de deux!”

Ombra Leggiera is just one instalment in a trilogy of works set to arias sung by the illustrious Maria Callas. “For the moment I have choreographed the first two arias”, says Cavallari, “but I’m still undecided about the third.” So watch this space!

Company: Sydney Dance Company
Title: 2 One Another (excerpt)
Choreographer: Rafael Bonachela

Prior to a Melbourne season of 2 One Another in November this year, Sydney Dance Company brings a segment of its most recent work to Let’s Dance.

2 One Another celebrates “relationships, interactions and the sheer beauty of the human form”. Developed in collaboration with the young Australian poet Samuel Webster, it was enthusiastically received by Sydney audiences in March.

The Daily Telegraph’s Vanessa Keys calls it “an awakening, a major turning point for Bonachela”. Jill Sykes of the Sydney Morning Herald agrees, naming it the choreographer’s “best since he became Artistic Director.”

Company: Tasdance
Title: Momentary
Choreographer: Anna Smith

“Momentary is truly a short moment in time, a glimpse from what has been and an instant of what might be”, says Anna Smith. The short film is a development of Quiescence, one of Smith’s earlier works, which was born of the Conceiving Connections Research project in 2000.

An investigation of the poem Gum Trees Stripping by Judith Wright, Momentary identifies eucalyptus bark as a reflection of human experience. “[The bark is] a skin that reveals a history that often outlives our own”, says Smith. “People have wrinkles, scars and marks on their skin because they have experienced the elements of life.”

Bringing to life the rich, colourful imagery of Wright, Smith hopes that the film reminds viewers to see the beauty and wisdom in growing old, and to “appreciate and take notice of what surrounds us.”

Let’s Dance runs from June 7 to June 16 at Arts Centre Melbourne, State Theatre.
Book through www.australianballet.com.au or call 1300 369 741

Top photo: Principal dancers Rachael Walsh and Keian Langdon of Queensland Ballet perform the Cloudland pas de deux. Photo by Ken Sparrow.

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