By Rain Francis.

In the Australian Ballet’s 50^th year Dance Informa is celebrating the company by highlighting the Ballet’s Principal Dancers each edition. This edition Dance Informa speaks with two of the company’s leading male dancers, Andrew Killian and Daniel Gaudiello.

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

Andrew Killian

Born and raised in the suburbs of Melbourne, Andrew Killian says he was never very good at sitting still. Fortunately, for a Principal artist with The Australian Ballet, sitting still is not high on the list of necessary skills.

What’s your first memory of dance, or the first time you knew you wanted to be a dancer?

My earliest memory of dancing is as a child jumping around to my father’s records in the living room at home. When I was in year 11 in high school I really decided I would try to make dance my career.

When did you join The Australian Ballet, and when did you become a Principal artist?

I joined The Australian Ballet in 2000 and did a few years in each of the ranks. I was promoted to Principal artist in March of 2011.

Andrew Killian, principal dancer The Australian Ballet. Photo by James Braund.

What was your first role as Principal? 

It was opening night of the Sydney season of the triple bill British Liaisons in 2011. I danced Christopher Wheeldon’s After The Rain and Sir Kenneth Macmillan’s Concerto – both are great ballets.

What has been a highlight of your career so far?

Apart from having danced in some the greatest cities in the world, I think the moment I’m most proud of was being promoted to Principal artist, with all my family watching. It was something I had wanted for many years. It was so great for my family to share that with me. They have seen the sacrifices that have made it possible.

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

I have never danced any Forsythe work, that would be a challenge, and I’m looking forward to La Sylphide next year. I think the Australian production of this ballet is so beautiful.

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

I do love to sit on the couch and do nothing when I can, but in my time off I also try to travel. Experiencing other cultures and their history is inspiring.

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

That’s a really hard question, because dance has always been my focus. I think I would still be in the theatre, maybe with the circus or something that involves crazy and talented people.

Who is your favourite choreographer?

Jiří Kylián is the master in my eyes, both as a dancer or an audience member.

What is the most challenging thing about your job?

Being away when there are birthdays and weddings of family and friends – you miss a few of these things when you travel so much.

What advice can you give to budding dancers?

If you love to dance then you are halfway there. You can’t do it without passion.

What do you love most about your job?

I get to travel Australia and the world doing what I love, with beautiful people who have become my second family.

Daniel Gaudiello

In 2003, Brisbane-born Daniel Gaudiello was seconded from The Australian Ballet School to do John Cranko’s Romeo & Juliet. A year later he was accepted into the company. Then, in 2010, he was promoted to Principal artist.  

What’s your first memory of dance, or the first time you knew you wanted to be a dancer?

I remember I went to The Australian Ballet’s production of Madame Butterfly and Divergence. I thought ballet was a bit boring until I saw Divergence and that was the first time I thought about how fun it would be to do ballet! I still love that ballet and it still gives me that feeling.

What was your first role as Principal?

The Silver Rose – and it was the very first three act Principal role I’d ever performed too.

Daniel Gaudiello, Principal dancer The Australian Ballet. Photo by James Braund

What has been a highlight of your career so far?

A career highlight for me was winning the Telstra Ballet Dancer Award in 2007 and an Australian Dance Award for Coppelia, because both times I had my parents in the audience to share my joy and success. They are usually in Brisbane and miss the big nights I have.

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

The role of Petrouchka was a special time in my career, when I really let my guard down and let the audience see a side of me that I usually have to hide. It was a release for me and an emotional journey I loved putting myself through.

Which roles are high on your wish list?

Albrecht from Giselle, Onegin from Onegin, any spot in Bella Figura would be a gift, and Romeo again and again!

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

For every up there is a down.

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

Camping on the beach, partying with family and friends or hanging out with my wife [Principal artist Lana Jones] and dogs.

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

An actor or marine biologist.

Do you have a favourite TV show?

It has to be the series True Blood. I’m just a little bit nuts about it – ask my wife! It would make a great ballet, ha ha!

Who is your favourite choreographer?

Jiří Kylián, he’s a genius, and Marius Petipa – simply magical choreography. Ballet owes its life to him.

What is the most challenging thing about your job?

The politics and breaking down the stereotypes that have been created, to make way for new interpretations of roles.

Do you have a quote that means a lot to you?

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we’re here we may as well dance.

What advice can you give to budding dancers?

Always remember who you are and don’t be afraid to create your own path, otherwise you’ll be following others.

What do you love most about your job?

I love that I will never call it a job, more like a hobby on steroids! If it’s a job for you, you are in the wrong place.

Top photo: Andrew Killian as ‘Onegin’ and Madeleine Eastoe as ‘Tatiana’ in The Australian Ballet’s Onegin  Act 1. Photo ©Branco Gaica

By Rebecca Martin.

Rasta Thomas is returning to Australia with his production Rock The Ballet, to show audiences that ballet is still as relevant as ever.  Fusing classic ballet technique with hip hop, martial arts, tap, gymnastics, contemporary, and musical theatre, the sexy and versatile dancers are set to impress new and old ballet audiences alike with a soundtrack consisting of U2, Michael Jackson, Prince, Queen, and Lenny Kravitz.  Thomas’s unique brand of pop ballet was founded in 2007 with Bad Boys of Dance, which became Rock the Ballet the following year. Comprising of six buff boys and one alluring girl, the production will no doubt be as entertaining for ballet lovers as it is for novice theatre goers.

A multi award winning director and principal dancer, Rasta Thomas has a CV which most dancers can only dream about.  The first ever American to become a member of the renowned Kirov Ballet, Thomas has also performed with Dance Theatre of Harlem, American Ballet Theater, Le Jeune Ballet de France, Hartford Ballet, and Japan’s K-Ballet. Additionally, he has also starred in Twyla Tharp’s hit musical Movin’ Out, and danced some of classical ballet’s greatest roles.  Oh, and Thomas has performed at The Academy Awards, danced at The White House, and made a film with Patrick Swayze. Then of course there was the phone call from Michael Jackson asking to meet with him….

Rasta Thomas with wife Adrienne Canterna in 'Rock The Ballet'

It was Thomas’ desire to create his own work and imbue new roles with his own flair that pulled him away from the traditional ballet companies to form Rock The Ballet.  When Dance Informa spoke to him from Maryland in the US, Thomas said he was “bored to an extent” with ballet, but acknowledged that it has taught him a lot.  However, the passion and energy he sought from ballet was missing: “I felt like I was doing the same steps I had been doing since I started ballet class at eight years old almost 20 years later.  The audience demographic was slightly older and more reserved, and (ballet) seemed to be for the elite and lofty.  The stereotype of ballet being boring and old was there, and I would tell my friends to come and see me in a ballet, and they would be like ‘nah, I’m OK…’ I tried to figure out how I could get my peers and friends to come and see ballet and why they weren’t open to that.  You know, I worked really hard and the ballets were beautiful but it just wasn’t translating.”  Thomas endeavoured to remedy the stereotype and to add another flavour to ballet in order to get younger generations into the audience and have them excited about ballet. Without encouraging new audiences, he fears that when the current generation of ballet lovers has gone, there will be no one left to fill the theatres.

Rock The Ballet keeps ballet lovers satisfied with its use of traditional technique but is also able to excite those that have never seen a ballet or even a dance performance before. “Sometimes going to the ballet is like going to the museum”, explains Thomas.  “You’re not going to call someone from the museum and say ‘oh my, you’ve got to come see this painting!’, but we try to capture that fun-ness and excitement that comes with seeing something that you’ve never seen before.  There is so much seriousness in dance, with pieces that interpret war and other subjects through movement that only the choreographer really understands.  It is often too deep so it goes over everyone’s heads and I think the contemporary scene has been plagued by that abstractness.  I just wanted to make something that gets audiences excited and is accessible.  I think that is a noble goal in itself.”

When I asked Thomas what he looks for when hiring dancers for Rock The Ballet, he said, “the demands of the audience are the highest they’ve ever been – they’ve seen Swan Lakes, they’ve seen the greatest contemporary choreographers like Kylian, Nacho Duato or whoever – the choreographers now have to push the envelope even further and challenge the dancers even more.  So, versatility is the key, in addition to someone who is just born to dance.  A lot of dancers look at dance as a job because they need to put food on the table, but I’m more interested in the types of dancers who, once the show is over, want to go out to dance, go back to their homes to think about dance.  They just dream, live, and eat dance.  And it helps if they are sexy”, he adds with a laugh.

Rock The Ballet

And meeting Michael Jackson?  “It was a dream.  I can’t remember a year when I was training that I wasn’t listening to his music.  He was embedded deep in my being for years so when I found out he actually called to say he wanted to meet me… He was very candid and open and very inspired by me being a dancer.  He just wanted to get into the studio and share the creative process.  He considered himself a dancer first and a singer second.  He was so humble and genuine, especially when I said that I was a fan of his songs. It was surreal.  I can’t say enough good things about him.”

As for what audiences can expect when Rock The Ballet hits our shores, Thomas says the shows “will make you feel good”…

Check out Dance Informa’s review of Rock The Ballet on its US tour – www.danceinforma.com/USA_magazine/2010/04/27/rasta-thomas%e2%80%99-rock-the-ballet-%e2%80%93-bay-boys-of-dance/

For tour information and tickets visit www.rocktheballet.com.au

Rock The Ballet will be performed in Melbourne, Wellington, Auckland, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

Published by Dance Informa dance magazine -covering dance in Australia, dance training, dance auditions, dance teacher resources, dancewear and fashion and more.

Advice for Male Dancers from Desmond Richardson.
Artistic Director/Co.Founder of
Complexions Contemporary Ballet.

Desmond Richardson, one of the world’s most acclaimed male dancers, gives his tips for the boys in town….

What advice would you give to young men who desire to make dance their career?
I would advise those young men who dream of being in the world of dance to go for it with all out abandon. If it is your passion, then nothing will stand in your way. It will help to study the pure form of ballet so that in whatever style you choose, you will have a clean refined line. It will help you understand your body, precision, detail and your musicality – a must for all dancers.

Many males don’t have particularly beautiful feet for dancing. How can male dancers improve the look of their feet? It is true that many of us guys don’t start out with the best feet for dance, but with hard work that can all change. When working to strengthen your feet, you must stretch them daily and work with an elastic theraband to strengthen the delicate tendons surrounding the feet. Multiple tendus brushing through the metatarsals also increases the needed flexion imperative to having an elegant foot. Lastly, presentation of the feet from your inner thigh, allowing the heels to rotate forward, always helps.

What advice would you give to male dancers who want to improve their partnering skills and lifts?
Male dancers that want to improve their partnering skills first must get over the fear that they have someone’s body weight in their possession. Starting out, I too was afraid and quite frankly a tad weak physically and mentally to the challenge of partnering. I assumed that I had to use brute strength to achieve the desired lifts, when in fact after studying ballet partnering and contact improvisation my whole world in dance was changed for the better. Everyone will tell you it takes two to tango. It’s a 50/50 relationship that requires both parties to remain open to the possibilities and the inevitable.

Should male dancers lift weights to improve their strength and muscle tone?
Male dancers should definitely do what they feel they need to do to have the muscle tone they want to achieve. It was told to me by one of the greats, Mr. Alvin Ailey, that dance is a visual visceral art form, it’s the creation of moving sculpture. Many patrons of dance choose what they want to view in any particular performance, so why not present your instrument in all its glory?

When auditioning dancers for your company, what do you look for in a male dancer?
What Dwight Rhoden and I look for in male dancers auditioning for our company is strong, clean, clear technique, an unparalleled individuality, something to say when they approach the stage and ultimate passion for the art form . It’s a must when they walk in the door. I have to say today male dancers are making it difficult for us to choose as there are many wonderfully gifted ones who turn up to audition.

Which famous male dancers, past or present, inspire you?
The Male dancers that have inspired me are so many to mention from Hip Hop to Broadway and film. But I will state that had it not been for me catching a documentary of Rudolf Nureyev on the public broadcasting channel when I was 11 years old, coming in from playing football with my brothers, I would not be the dancer I am today.

So go for it and see what else you can bring to the wonderful world of Dance! 

Best, Desmond Richardson.

Complexions Contemporary Ballet have just finished a season in Perth and Canberra, but will be touring to Auckland, Sydney and Hawaii in October before starting a New York season at the Joyce Theater in November. For more information visit http://complexionsdance.org/performances-and-tickets/tours-tickets/

Desmond Richardson has now joined the esteemed teaching faculty of The Pulse On Tour! For tour dates and information check out http://www.thepulseontour.com/

To read about Desmond Richardson’s career and achievements click here
http://www.thepulseontour.com/desmondrichardson.html