Cover and above: Madeleine Eastoe and Kevin Jackson Photography Georges Antoni

Principal Sponsor

DANA STEPHENSEN, CORYPHÉE

Mum’s lounge room

Cavendish Road High School

Davidia Lind Dance Centre

The Australian Ballet

The Arts Centre, Melbourne

TELSTRA IS PROUD TO SUPPORT DANCERS AT EVERY STAGE

It’s a long journey from those first hesitant steps to a performance on the world

stage. Telstra proudly supports Australian dancers through community grants,

the People’s Choice Award, and as principal partner of The Australian Ballet.

TCON1179_D

Broadcast Sponsor Supporting SponsorSupporting Sponsor

2011 season

Melbourne 13 – 24 september the Arts Centre, State Theatrewith Orchestra Victoria

sYDneY 2 – 21 DecemberOpera Theatre, Sydney Opera Housewith Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra

Madeleine Eastoe Photography Georges Antoni

If you ask any dancer, they’ll say that Romeo and Juliet is a ballet they aspire to dance. To have the opportunity to have this classic tale created for you by one of the world’s great narrative choreographers would be a dream come true. That is just what’s been happening for the last few months! It has been so exciting to watch this new production take shape across the company, in the rehearsal rooms, the set workshop, the painting studio and the costume department.

A new Graeme Murphy/Janet Vernon ballet is always much anticipated and if you add into it Shakespeare’s best-known story, costumes by Akira Isogawa, a set by Gerard Manion and lighting by Damien Cooper, it becomes a must-see season highlight and a fantastic way to finish our 49th year. Each of these artists has an extraordinary vision for this new production. Bringing a unique new interpretation to this universal story has been a mammoth task and one achieved through hours of collaboration, enquiry and research. I thank each of them for their passion and talent in bringing this new work to life.

Romeo & Juliet is a perfect way to honour Dame Margaret Scott, whose life work has been to nurture great talent. Her passion for creativity made her one of the driving forces in setting up The Australian Ballet. As founding director of The Australian Ballet School, she developed successive generations of dancers and choreographers who have gone on to shape Australia’s dance community, and built an organisation that continues this work. She saw the potential of a young 14-year-old boy from Tasmania, and planted the seed for the amazing career that has led Graeme Murphy to artistic triumphs around the world.

This production will be such a valuable addition to the repertoire and will give us a new way to engage with this timeless story. It is also a wonderful vehicle for the artistry of our talented dancers. Equally it has been an amazing showcase for the artisans who make the sets, props and costumes, as well as the technical staff who bring them to the stage. I would like to pay tribute to Diana Ramsey, whose gift has so generously supported the creation of Akira Isogawa’s costumes for this production through the James and Diana Ramsey Foundation. Her leadership in supporting artistic endeavour is an inspiration to us all.

My thanks go also to our Principal Sponsor Telstra, whose long-term support makes it possible for an innovative new production to go from a dream to reality. It is great to once again work with our Broadcast Partner STVDIO, whose investment in bringing dance to the widest possible audience we applaud. We also salute our Pointe Shoe Partner Sambag, whose Romeo & Juliet collection was inspired by our ballet, and Supporting Sponsor Napoleon Perdis, whose Love Unleashed range was released to celebrate this brand-new production.

Finally, I would like to thank you, our wonderfully passionate audience. Thank you to so many of you who have supported the company as subscribers and donors over many years. To those who may be with us for the first time I hope that it will the beginning of many evenings at the ballet. To all I wish you every happiness for the coming festive season and look forward to sharing the many exciting 50th-anniversary performances and celebrations with you in 2012.

David McAllister AM

note from the artistic director

The creation of an original full-length ballet is an exciting endeavour that involves the entire company. This year, The Australian Ballet and our audiences have been eagerly anticipating Graeme Murphy’s interpretation of Romeo & Juliet. Ballet fans who have enjoyed Nutcracker – The Story of Clara, Swan Lake, The Silver Rose and Firebird – Graeme’s landmark works for the company – will particularly look forward to this latest addition.

This sense of continuity and context is especially meaningful to our subscribers, who approach each season with layers of memories and knowledge that enrich their appreciation. The subscriber experience gives you an enhanced sense of closeness with the company. You’ll watch different dancers bring their unique interpretations to each work, and follow them as they develop from budding talents to full-blown stars. You’ll get a fuller sense of The Australian Ballet’s artistic range by seeing a variety of works that reflect our commitment to presenting the best of classical ballet and the most innovative contemporary works, while embracing emerging creative voices that will advance the art form.

In addition to the intangible benefits of a long-term engagement with the company, there are a wide range of privileges that are enjoyed by subscribers, and the announcement of our 2012 50th anniversary season is a perfect time to review the many advantages of renewing or starting a subscription to The Australian Ballet. As one of our subscribers,

you’ll be watching our performances from the best seats in the house; you’ll save money and gain flexibility. Aside from benefits like discounts and priority notification of pre-sales and special events, you’ll learn more about the art form you love through our free informative talks, our fortnightly e-newsletter Behind Ballet and the twice-yearly subscriber-only magazine Ballet News. The impact on the company is very real: subscribers make up a significant part of our annual income and we consider them a vital part of the ballet family.

Some subscribers have chosen to deepen their commitment to the company by becoming donors. Their gifts support annual programs and contribute to a more secure future for the organisation, and they have the pleasure of seeing the results of their generosity at work on the stage, on tour and in our talented dancers. We greatly appreciate the loyalty and passion of our subscribers and donors; it is you who enable us, in the words of Dame Peggy van Praagh, to bring “something of great beauty into other people’s lives”.

Valerie Wilder Executive Director

notes from behind the scenes

Kevin Jackson and Madeleine Eastoe Photography Georges Antoni

Concept and choreography Graeme Murphy Creative associate Janet Vernon Music Sergei Prokofiev Costume design Akira Isogawa Set design Gerard Manion Lighting design Damien Cooper Projection design Jason Lam

The costume creation for this production was made possible by a generous gift from the James and Diana ramsey Foundation with a matching gift from the Ian Potter Foundation

Wallpaper design CHATTERTON F5710-01 used by kind permission of Osborne and Little

These performances of Romeo and Juliet by Sergei Prokofiev are given by permission of Hal Leonard Australia Pty Ltd, exclusive agents for Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd of London

sYnoPsIs

Between the Montagues and Capulets there is a bitter and ancient feud. Romeo, a son of the Montagues, goes uninvited to a Capulet ball and is instantly smitten with Juliet, the daughter of the house. Later that night, Romeo visits Juliet’s balcony, and they rapturously declare their love.

A sympathetic Holy Man marries the pair in secrecy, and they arrange to meet in Juliet’s bedroom that night. But before their marriage is consummated, Tybalt, Juliet’s hot-tempered cousin, meets Romeo in the market place and tries to provoke him into a fight. When he refuses, Tybalt brawls with Romeo’s dear friend Mercutio and kills him. Enraged, Romeo kills Tybalt and is sentenced to exile.

Before he leaves, the lovers spend their wedding night together. They part the next morning in despair. Juliet’s parents announce their plan to marry her to the nobleman Paris, so she resorts to a drug that will send her into a death-like trance.

Romeo, in exile, hears of Juliet’s death and, missing the messenger sent to assure him she is alive, rushes to her tomb, where he finds and kills the mourning Paris. Overcome with grief for his lost love he drinks poison and dies by Juliet’s side – just as she wakes from her drugged sleep. Finding Romeo’s body, she stabs herself with his dagger and the two lovers lie together in death.

choreograPher’s noTe

This timeless tale is in fact a tale for ALL times. LOVE transforms and transcends, opening a door to reveal a different world, where time bends and stretches and landscapes appear both familiar and foreign. Into this world our lovers stray, to pit their passion against bigotry, conflict and hatred. DEATH also transforms and transcends – flesh melts and becomes earth in life’s continuum.

William Shakespeare’s prose is legend, his words immortal. My words, written in flesh and sweat, are ephemeral. Though I strive for some gestural equivalent, my language can only be read through the lens of the dancers’ artistry. Happily the commitment and talent of this company is my greatest ally.

I am indebted to David McAllister for giving me the opportunity to tackle this glorious tale, and I am in awe of The Australian Ballet’s set design, costume and technical departments, who have supported my long-time collaborators Akira Isogawa, Gerard Manion, Damien Cooper and Jason Lam in realising their extraordinary visions. I also thank the music department, led by Nicolette Fraillon, whose research and advice has been invaluable. My personal Juliet, Janet Vernon, has been as lovingly determined as Ms Capulet Jnr to put right my wrongs and find solutions to the many twists and turns of this ballet’s journey.

I trust my Romeo & Juliet brings some truths and perhaps tears to you, the audience, and, I hope, some small measure of pride to my teacher, mentor and friend Dame Margaret Scott, to whom it is lovingly dedicated.

Graeme Murphy 2011

romeo & juliet

Madeleine Eastoe and Kevin Jackson Photography Georges Antoni

Make-up by Gracie Distefano for Napoelon Perdis

Graeme murphy: star-maker

you completely into his world. I never second-guessed anything he asked of me, I believed in his vision and wanted to make it work. It was one of the most inspiring and creative times of my career.”

What exactly is Murphy’s type of dancer, and how do he and Vernon tap into a dancer’s potential where another choreographer might miss it? “The big demand for me isn’t just the physicality and technicality; it’s that ability to communicate which is so important,” Murphy says. “That’s where Madeleine becomes a very beautiful foil for any choreographer. You might look at her and think she’s not statuesque but what she does with movement and storytelling is extraordinary. I really do need people who can tell the story with the body, really understanding the language of movement as a device to convey emotion.”

Like Goldsmith, Lana Jones was surprised not only at being picked as the dancer on whom Murphy would create the Firebird in 2009, but also at the effect that role would have on her career. “I got huge recognition for that and I wasn’t really expecting it; I didn’t realise how pivotal it would be for my career at the time, that I would win awards,” Jones says. Another thing she didn’t know was that Murphy and Vernon had been watching her for a long time. “We’ve loved Lana long and far, and she’s never disappointed us,” he says. “There was a misconception she had beautiful technique but was quite cold, but if you give her something that is very human and passionate she responds fabulously.” As with Goldsmith, Jones’s ascent post-Murphy was swift; she was promoted to principal artist the year after her performance in the multi-award winning role.

Other dancers talk about ‘the Murphy effect’ on their careers, the honour of having him hand-pick them for a role and the extent to which they relish exploring his tough but rewarding choreography. Eastoe is lucky enough to have danced most of the lead roles in Murphy’s ballets, and cites dancing Odette as a senior artist in the London premiere of Swan Lake in 2005 as a career highlight. She was promoted to principal artist the following year. “His ballets have been around at pretty pivotal parts of my life,” she says. “Performing Nutcracker early on [while still a soloist] was something I was able to step up to do; people then get to see you in a different light, not just on the technical side. You can’t help but think Graeme has had a hand in making it easier for me.”

Then-Corps de Ballet dancer Chengwu Guo was unfamiliar with Murphy until they worked

Jane Albert talks to dancers of The Australian Ballet past and present (and the man himself ) about Murphy’s unerring eye for talent.

They call it many things: the X-factor, the Midas touch, the Murphy effect. The labels refer to Graeme Murphy’s uncanny ability to pluck relatively unknown names from the company ranks and give them roles that transform their careers.

During the past 20 years The Australian Ballet has invited Murphy to apply his considerable choreographic weight and remarkable gift for narrative to various classic ballets and operas: The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, The Silver Rose (a ballet version of the opera Der Rosenkavalier) and Firebird. Each production has delivered a bold new interpretation, drawing in audiences unfamiliar with the original and captivating old hands with a fresh approach to a story they thought they knew.

But a Murphy premiere isn’t just about the promise of a rewarding night in the theatre.

With each new production audiences look forward to the unveiling of new talent. Simone Goldsmith, Madeleine Eastoe and Amber Scott were all exquisite in Swan Lake; Lana Jones, Kevin Jackson, and Chengwu Guo thrilled audiences with their performances in Firebird; Ty King-Wall and Juliet Burnett gave star turns in The Silver Rose. Although they are well known today, most of them were first given that chance to shine after being hand-picked by Murphy and his creative associate, muse and life partner Janet Vernon, who then created on them such captivating movement that audiences couldn’t help but fall in love with them.

Nowhere was this more evident than the night in Melbourne in 2002 when the curtain rose on the world premiere of Murphy’s Swan Lake. The role of Odette had been choreographed on

Goldsmith, a quiet, self-contained dancer who was technically assured but yet to reach her potential. Audiences, critics – even the dance community – were gobsmacked, as night after night Goldsmith brought out a depth of emotion and an astonishing level of dancing never before seen in her nine years with the company. Her performances cemented her promotion to principal artist and brought her a clean sweep of the country’s top dance awards.

No-one was more surprised at what Murphy coaxed out of her than Goldsmith. “I remember the day David McAllister told me Graeme had chosen me for Swan Lake, and honestly, I was shocked. I didn’t think I was his type of dancer at all. I hadn’t had too much to do with Janet and Graeme until that time,” she says. “[But] Graeme is a wonderful storyteller, it is one of his many gifts, he draws

Simone Goldsmith and Steven Heathcote in Swan Lake Photography Jeff Busby

Lana Jones and Kevin Jackson in Firebird Photography Alex Makeyev

Chengwu Guo in Firebird Photography Alex Makeyev

Graeme Murphy Photography James Braund

Kevin Jackson, Graeme Murphy and Lana Jones in rehearsals for Firebird Photography Jess Bialek

together on Li Cunxin’s autobiographical film Mao’s Last Dancer, in which Guo played the teenaged Cunxin. “The more you threw at that boy the more he gave back,” Murphy says of Guo, whose film role gave him a great boost, resulting in Murphy casting him as Kostchei in Firebird. “Firebird was exciting, and scary, The Australian Ballet is such a big company and I was brand new and all of a sudden this opportunity came up for me,” Guo says. “Graeme choreographed the whole role on me. That was my first principal role, I can never forget about it. He’s one of those choreographers who digs the potential out of the dancers. That’s very special.”

As well as casting “the secret little ones that go unnoticed”, as Murphy describes them, he also likes to challenge established dancers,

drawing out even deeper performances and characterisations. “There are people who you’ve seen do every role known to man and then suddenly you give them a different treatment and they behave in a completely different way and astonish you. And that’s very rewarding,” says Murphy.

Kevin Jackson has performed lead roles in all Murphy’s ballets and was the dancer Murphy chose for Prince Ivan in Firebird. Much of the groundwork for Romeo & Juliet was choreographed on Jackson and Eastoe. “For some reason from day one Graeme always had his eye on me, which I could feel during my corps work in Swan Lake,” Jackson says. “Then when Firebird came along and he picked me I felt he believed in me so I could let go, and all the insecurities of being at the front of

the studio [disappeared] and I just gave him what he wanted.”

Unlike many dancers, Murphy is firmly of the belief that success isn’t just about being picked to perform on opening night. He and Vernon take great care in selecting and working with subsequent casts, giving yet more dancers their chance to shine. It is remarkable how many dancers have cemented their reputation from dancing the same role. “Amber Scott was consummate as Odette,” Murphy says. “She took the work on a journey. She wasn’t being any other cast, she was being her.”

The dancers credit Murphy with giving them the confidence to individualise roles, pointing out he empowers them to interpret things themselves. “Graeme has a really good understanding of the human condition: love, betrayal, youth,

the passing of time, and he knows how to use movement to express this,” Scott says. “He really lets the individual tailor it to how they want to interpret it. He gives a lot of advice but gives you the confidence to become another character.”

Juliet Burnett, who danced the lead role of Sophie in the 2010 Australian production of The Silver Rose, concurs. “Graeme and Janet encouraged me to approach it with my own intellectual and physical abilities and encouraged an individual interpretation. It really brought out the best in all the casts,” she says.

A less obvious advantage for the junior dancers performing in Murphy’s ballets is the chance to learn from their more experienced counterparts. Murphy cast soloist Ty King-Wall as Octavian in The Silver Rose, partnering the highly respected principal artist Lucinda Dunn.

“At the time it was a little bit scary – when you’re dancing with a principal you feel that extra sense of responsibility, you have to come up to their level,” says King-Wall. “It was an exciting experience for me. I loved working with Luci, she wasn’t intimidating at all. I learned a lot from her experience in terms of artistry and characterisation. Being a young guy I was more interested in my jumps and turns than being a character and telling a story. [That maturity] was a combination of Luci Dunn and Graeme and Janet’s ballet.” He was promoted to senior artist this year.

So who was the star-maker who singled out Graeme Murphy? Arguably it was Margaret Scott, Murphy’s principal and first teacher at The Australian Ballet School, who picked him out for notice when he was just 14. Forty years after her retirement Murphy invited her

to return to the stage in the role of Clara the Elder when his Nutcracker premiered in 1992. Romeo & Juliet is dedicated to her. Speaking as one who was instrumental in encouraging Murphy to choreograph, she says he is an evocative storyteller with an excellent eye for characterisation. “Graeme’s talent is indefinable [but] his gift is in narrative. It’s an exceptional gift and very rare. He is also full of fun.”

Lana Jones encapsulates all the dancers’ sentiments when she says that the very act of being hand-picked by Murphy ensures you will give him 110 per cent. “Graeme takes risks with people and that makes you want to do the best for him. He really believes in his dancers, and when someone believes in you, anything is possible.”

Jane Albert is a freelance writer and the author of House of Hits

Andrew Killian, Kevin Jackson and Graeme Murphy in rehearsals for Romeo & Juliet. Photography Lynette Wills

Madeleine Eastoe and Steven Heathcote in Swan Lake Photography David Kelly

Graeme Murphy Photography James Braund

Kevin Jackson, Lana Jones and Graeme Murphy in rehearsals for Firebird Photography Jess Bialek

Amber Scott and Rudy Hawkes in rehearsals for Romeo & Juliet Photography Lynette Wills

Juliet Burnett and Brett Simon in rehearsals for Romeo & Juliet Photography Lynette Wills

Ty King-Wall and Lucinda Dunn in The Silver Rose Photography David Kelly

Janet Vernon and Graeme Murphy Photography James Braund

Amber Scott in Swan Lake Photography Jim McFarlane

Ty King-Wall and Juliet Burnett in The Silver Rose Photography David Kelly

the makinG of a masterwork

Romeo & Juliet:

18 July 2011 – the Romeo & Juliet photoshoot at The Australian Ballet’s costume and set store in Kensington, where the temperature hovers around 10 degrees. Newly cast leads Kevin Jackson and Madeleine Eastoe give Isogawa’s costumes their first proper dance-through, accessorising with heavy coats between takes. Though the costumes look delicate, they’re also robust: many will be machine washed and tumble-dried after every show.

Lynette Wills is a photographer and former principal artist of The Australian Ballet

Kevin Jackson is fitted for Romeo’s ball-room costume, a perfect distillation of Isogawa’s style. The vest, a stalwart of ballet costuming, is re-engineered in butter-soft pleated leather, and branded with a pistol on the breast. Though Romantic in shape, the shirt is unusual in texture; it’s been pleated with a Japanese techinique called shibori, which produces creamy, meringue-like puffs.

Romeo & Juliet is Murphy’s eleventh work for The Australian Ballet, and with each new ballet the connection deepens. “This is a collective effort,” he says. “I can’t do this alone.” Rehearsals are hands-on, with Murphy often stepping into the roles himself to demonstrate how a move might be executed.

Murphy choreographs a climactic fight scene on Kevin Jackson (Romeo) and Andrew Killian (Tybalt). Behind them, subsequent casts mirror their movements. A total of five Romeos and five Juliets will dance through the first two seasons.

12 July 2011 – Principal Artist Adam Bull and Graeme Murphy on the first morning of rehearsals. “We don’t have the luxury of falling back on Shakespeare’s amazing words,” Murphy tells the packed studio. “We have to start fresh.” Traversing time and place, this Romeo & Juliet features myriad set changes and hundreds of costumes.

Lilies – beautiful and deadly – are a recurring motif in the ballet. Set designer and painter Gerard Manion created these hyper-real flowers in CAD. The designs were then printed onto cloth and retraced in sweeping strokes of neon paint. Romeo & Juliet’s built sets are given further texture with front and rear projections.

Fabrics used in the ‘Market’ scene costumes. Twenty full-time wardrobe staff worked for three months on the costumes (around 9600 hours), with a single costume taking as many as 80 hours to complete. Over 5000 metres of fabrics, 2000 sequins and 1000 Swarovski crystals were used, and 40 saris were broken down for their beading.

Since the first stitch was sown and the first step created, Lynette Wills has been documenting the vast effort behind Romeo & Juliet. These are some of her photographs.

Photography Kate Scott

Photography Kate Scott

Photography Kate Scott

playbill ads 17

graeMe MurPhY aMchoreograPherGraeme Murphy was born in Melbourne and studied at The Australian Ballet School. He has danced with The Australian Ballet, Sadler’s Wells Ballet (London) and Ballets Félix Blaska (France). In 1971, he received an Australia Council Grant to study overseas. He returned to Australia in 1975 as a freelance choreographer. The following year, he was appointed artistic director of Sydney Dance Company (then known as The Dance Company NSW), a position he held until 2007. During his 31-year tenure, he created more than 50 works, including 30 full-length productions.

Graeme is the recipient of the Order of Australia (1982) for his Services to Dance and three honorary doctorates – Hon. D Litt Tas (1990), Hon. D Phil Qld (1992) and Hon. D Litt UNSW (1999). He was honoured at the Inaugural Sydney Opera House Honours (1993) and named a National Living Treasure (1999) by the National Trust of Australia. He has received a Helpmann Award (2001) for Best Choreography, Body of Work – a Retrospective; the prestigious James Cassius Award (2002), and a Centenary Medal (2003). He was named Cultural Leader of the Year by the Australian Business Arts Foundation, received the Dame Elisabeth Murdoch Award (2004) and was listed among Australia’s 50 Most Glamorous Exports at a special celebration hosted by the Australian Government and Austrade (2005). He received the Award for Contribution to Cultural Exchange from the Ministry of Culture, the People’s Republic of China (2008) and the Fred & Adele Astaire Award for Excellence in Choreography in Film for Mao’s Last Dancer (New York, 2011).

Graeme’s directing and choreographic credits include Metamorphosis, Turandot, Salome, The Trojans, Aida (Opera Australia); Ainadamar (The Adelaide Festival of Arts); Beyond Twelve, Nutcracker – The Story of Clara, Swan Lake, Firebird and The Silver Rose (The Australian Ballet); Tivoli (a Sydney Dance Company and The Australian Ballet co-production); VAST (The Australian Bicentennial Authority); Hua Mulan (a Sydney Dance Company and Shanghai Song and Dance Ensemble co-production); Die Silberne Rose (Bayerisches Staatsballett, Munich); Water (Shanghai Ballet); Forty Miles – A River of Dreams (Tasdance); Embodied (Mikhail Baryshnikov) and The Torvill and Dean World Tour Company. He also choreographed Death in Venice (Canadian Opera Company); Samson et Dalila (The Metropolitan Opera, New York); the movie Mao’s Last Dancer and the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Love Never Dies.

JaneT Vernon aMcreaTIVe assocIaTeAdelaide-born Janet Vernon studied at The Australian Ballet School and has danced with The Australian Ballet, Ballets Félix Blaska (France) and Sydney Dance Company. In 1976 she was appointed, along with Graeme Murphy, to the artistic helm of Sydney Dance Company, where they remained for 31 years. Graeme created roles for Janet including Shéhérazade, Daphnis and Chloé (Lykanion), Some Rooms (The Bathroom), After Venice, Nearly Beloved, King Roger (Queen Roxanna), Berlin, The Protecting Veil, Salome (Herodias) and The Trojans (Andromeque) – a collaboration with Opera Australia.

Creative Associate credits include Swan Lake, Nutcracker – The Story of Clara, Firebird and The Silver Rose (The Australian Ballet); Tivoli (A Sydney Dance company and The Australian Ballet co-production); Hua Mulan (a Sydney Dance Company and Shanghai Song & Dance Ensemble co-production); Die Silberne Rose (Bayerisches Staatsballet, Munich); Water (Shanghai Ballet); Forty Miles – A River of Dreams (Tasdance); Ainadamar (The Adelaide Festival of Arts); Aida (Opera Australia); the movie Mao’s Last Dancer and the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Love Never Dies.

Awards include: an AM for Services to Dance (1989); Sydney Opera House Honours (1993); Green Room Award for Concept and Realisation, Swan Lake (2003); Centenary Medal for services to society and dance; Lifetime Achievement, Australian Dance Awards (2006); Green Room Award, Outstanding Contribution to Dance (2006) and the Fred & Adele Astaire Award for Excellence in Choreography in Film for Mao’s Last Dancer (New York, 2011). Dance Australia named her ‘One of Australia’s Five Best Female Dancers Ever’.

Photography James Braund

playbill ads 18

In the 1960s, two choreographic giants created versions of Romeo and Juliet that still light up the ballet firmament. Rose Mulready traces their trajectories.

teachinG the torches to burn briGht

Lisa Bolte and Steven Heathcote in Romeo and Juliet, 1997 Photography Branco Gaica

David McAllister says it in his foreword to this program: Ask any aspiring dancer what role they most covet, and ‘Romeo’ and ‘Juliet’ come up again and again. Romeo and Juliet is the only 20th-century ballet that is regularly grouped with such luminous benchmarks of the canon as Swan Lake and Giselle. And despite numerous productions (by choreographers including Ashton, Béjart and Nureyev), it is the visions of John Cranko and Sir Kenneth MacMillan that still dominate imaginations and repertoires throughout the West.

Although the original production of Romeo and Juliet in Russia was famously dogged by problems – political stale-mating, artistic tantrums, endless changes, striking dancers – by the time the ballet came to London in 1956 it was sufficiently coherent to make a sensation. The Bolshoi Ballet performed the version premiered at the Kirov in 1940, with choreography by Leonid Lavrovsky. Soviet legend Galina Ulanova, despite taking strike action over Prokofiev’s “undanceable” music during Romeo and Juliet’s creation, was incandescent as Juliet. The production struck the rabid balletomanes of Covent Garden (some of whom had queued for three days and four nights for tickets) with the force of a revelation. In her autobiography Margot Fonteyn pinpoints the nature of the epiphany:

The very weight of the production, criticized by some as old-fashioned, was what impressed me. No doubt it was just such realism that Diaghilev had discarded when he presented his innovations early in the century, taking Europe

by storm. Now it burst upon me as new and completely valid, in the same way that the young today are thrilled by the fashions of the thirties that so appal me.

The “realism” of the production – heavy sets that captured the pompous weight of aristocratic Verona, dramatic acting, the strong drive of the narrative – was in direct opposition to the prevailing trends of 1950s Western ballet: primarily Balanchine’s stripped-back abstractions of technique, but also Ashton’s light touch and preoccupation with subtly nuanced society pieces. Here was something dancers could really get their dramatic teeth into.

For Cranko, a choreographer who effortlessly fused dance and drama, Romeo and Juliet was an obvious choice. He first tackled the play in abbreviated form, in a production staged outdoors for La Scala in 1958 and starring a young Carla Fracci as Juliet. Later, after making the move to Stuttgart Ballet, he expanded and reworked the ballet; this version premiered in 1962.

Cranko’s later Romeo and Juliet was made on his muses, Marcia Haydée and Richard Cragun. Both dancers were strong dramatic artists, and Cranko’s interpretation is distinguished by its theatrical coherence. It is also an intensely musical work, appearing to grow out of the lush texture of the Prokofiev score; its sweeping lifts, haughty stalkings and impassioned runs seem to make the music visible.

This Romeo and Juliet is the version most familiar to the dancers and audiences of The

Australian Ballet, which has never performed the MacMillan production. (Graeme Murphy, when he briefed the company on his Romeo & Juliet, dubbed Cranko’s ballet “the elephant in the room”.) For Lisa Bolte, a former principal artist of The Australian Ballet and an acclaimed interpreter of Cranko (she was chosen by Maina Gielgud to play Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew after only three months with the company), the key to the ballet’s popularity with dancers is its dramatic journey and Cranko’s flair for storytelling. Coached by famed actor-dancers like Gielgud, Paul DeMasson and Ai-Gul Gaisina, Bolte teased out the underlying feelings of scenes, “trying to find a truth”, building an interpretation that spanned years. “You tend to do less as you get older, when you’re acting. The really beautiful parts can be when you’re just being ‘silent’ – you can read a whole lot of language just with silence. The role has been interpreted so well by Cranko that you can find moments of silence in the ballet that tell everything, and you don’t have to do as much.”

When the guardians of the Cranko tradition came to The Australian Ballet to stage his Romeo and Juliet, the dramatic logic underlying the choreography was their focus. Both Reid Anderson and the late Anne Woolliams (a former artistic director of The Australian Ballet) had worked closely with Cranko, and both were insistent on the importance of motivation. Bolte, who has played a lily maid, a clown and a noblewoman in the production as well as Juliet, remembers their focus on even

the most minor roles: “If you were a peasant, they would ask you ‘What are you buying in the market? Who do you like? Who aren’t you talking to?’ If you were a noble, they’d ask ‘What family are you from? Why were you invited to the ball? Who’s sleeping with who?’”

Fiona Tonkin, also a former principal artist with The Australian Ballet and now its principal coach, is considered one of Australia’s great Juliets. “Cranko used the music beautifully. The whole production is so clear in telling the story. The fight scenes are simple, but spectacular. It’s a beautiful piece of theatre.” Tonkin points out the depth of detail given to every strand of the story. The closeness between Lady Capulet and her nephew Tybalt, for instance, is hinted at in “little cameo scenes in the ballroom” – later, when she discovers his body and throws herself in a quasi-sexual frenzy of grief on his bier, those earlier scenes deepen the tragedy. The critic John Percival wondered at Cranko’s skill: “How much depth lay hidden in the production from the start, waiting to be dug out by the performers.”

MacMillan, who was mentored and influenced by Cranko early in his choreographic career, saw the Stuttgart version and was inspired. He made a balcony pas de deux on Lynn Seymour and Christopher Gable for Canadian television in April 1964, and found an immediate affinity with the subject: he finished the pas in three rehearsals. On the strength of this, the Royal Opera House commissioned a full-length version, and MacMillan set to work the same year.

Like Cranko, MacMillan was a muse-driven choreographer. “I am inspired all the time by dancers’ bodies, by whoever works with me; I have to find the right thing for their bodies.” He considered Seymour, in particular, his creative ideal. All three plunged into an intense engagement with the text, smoking endless cigarettes and staying up all night to argue over psychology and motivation.

MacMillan made the three central pas de deux – balcony, bedroom, tomb – before the rest of the ballet. They are the lynchpins of the work, and arguably its greatest genius. The semi-necrophiliac tomb pas is intentionally shorn of classical prettiness: MacMillan told Seymour, “Don’t be afraid to look ugly. You’re just a lump of dead meat,” and Gable based his movement on a gorilla in the London Zoo who refused to give up her dead baby, dandling it and bashing it into chairs. When Seymour’s Juliet dies, it is with her legs open in a clumsy sprawl: a triumph of fervent realism over balletic grace. “We were not ethereal lovers miming impassioned vows,” says Seymour in her autobiography, “but two sexually alive teenagers whose passions were unbuttoned.” The critic Richard Burke, after seeing Seymour’s performance, said that he could imagine her asking in rehearsal, “Could I chew gum in the balcony scene?”

The heady experience of making the ballet ended bitterly for the three collaborators. Leaned on by the impresario who was organising The Royal Ballet’s tour to New York, the Covent Garden management demanded that MacMillan

replace Seymour and Gable in the London premiere with Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev, a hot-ticket partnership that guaranteed their investment. (Fonteyn, by several accounts, was horrified and argued desperately against the substitution, acquiescing only when the ballet itself seemed under threat. Seymour felt no bitterness toward her or Nureyev, whom she regarded as a soul mate.)

The original Romeo and Juliet, relegated to a lower cast, were compelled to teach ‘their’ choreography to four other couples. For Seymour, who had ruined a marriage and danced her guts out to play Juliet, it was a blow that almost unseated her reason. Gable left ballet for good not long after, and became an actor. Nevertheless, their performances were acclaimed by critics who, despite charismatic performances by Rudi and Margot and the inevitable audience hysteria that followed, recognised the original couple as the truer expressions of MacMillan’s vision.

In an echo of Percival’s words about Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet, Seymour says, “Even though choreography is always there, you sometimes discover what is really in it much later on. I did so with the last act of Romeo, when I found recently that there is something abandoned in Juliet’s desperation.” Like Shakespeare’s text, both Cranko and MacMillan’s versions of Romeo and Juliet have deep layers that allow audiences and dancers to return to them over lifetimes, each time mining fresh insight from the plight of Fortune’s fools.

Geon van der Wyst and Lisa Bolte in Romeo and Juliet, 1997 Photography Branco Gaica

Fiona Tonkin and Steven Heathcote in Romeo and Juliet, 1997 Photography Branco Gaica

Marilyn Rowe and Kelvin Coe in Romeo and Juliet, 1975 Photography David Parker

Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn in Romeo and Juliet

Photography unknown

Kelvin Coe and Lucette Aldous Romeo and Juliet 1974

Photography David Parker

Anna Hedigan looks at youthful rebellion in three iconic film versions of Romeo and Juliet.

kids these days

Whether personified by Baz Luhrmann’s late-90s Latino peacocks, the 1950s clean-jean juvenile delinquents of West Side Story or Zeffirelli’s hippie flower children, Romeo and Juliet is all about the youthquake. It’s the zeitgeist pinned like a butterfly. Its concern is with the eternal alienation of young people from the adult world, a snapshot of how, at that time, it felt to be young. Mercutio’s dying curse “A plague on both your houses!” is a rejection of the quarrel that his elders insist he prolong. He might just as well shout “Fight the Man!”

As generational preoccupations change over time, so Romeo and Juliet yields, in the hands of the director, to their expression. Lurhmann describes Shakespeare as a “relentless entertainer”. He aimed to restore the play’s sudden shifts in mood from slapstick to pathos, from dirty jokes to elevated classicism, claiming that Victorian-era treatments of Shakespeare smoothed them away to a respectful, declamatory stiffness. In other words, Lurhmann tried to sell his film to the

popcorn seats (the groundlings) and to academe (the aristocrats) simultaneously, as Shakespeare himself needed to.

“When he played the Elizabethan stage, he was basically dealing with an audience of 3,000 drunken punters who were selling pigs and geese in the stalls ... And his style was to have stand-up comedy one moment, a song and then the highest tragedy right next to it,” Lurhmann says.

Lurhmann’s modernisation (Shakespeare 2.0, if you like) was panned in the film press (though oceans of ink have been spent on it in universities) with complaints about its ‘MTV’ editing and reliance on camp, as well as its mumbled verse. However, a cracking alternasoundtrack and the canny casting of gorgeous American actors speaking as naturally as possible made the film a blockbuster with the audience most important to Lurhmann: the young. It was the first Romeo and Juliet since Zeffirelli’s that could properly be called a ‘date film’.

Romeo can’t be a ‘playa’ with a girl who makes him the “god of my idolatry” and who speaks of marriage so surely, even though he knows more of the world than she. In West Side Story, Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins’ musical treatment of the play, released as a film in 1961, Tony asks Maria at the dance if she is toying with him and she replies “I have not yet learned how to joke that way.”

Shakespeare’s language might be missing from West Side Story, but it deals more convincingly than Lurhmann’s film with the immediate bond between the lovers. The strength of Maria/Juliet’s love undoes the angry warning of Anita in “A Boy Like That”, convincing Anita to deliver a message to Tony/Romeo, the man who has just killed her own fiancé. It’s an exceptionally realised scenario that makes this believable – the music, lyrics and the performance of Rita Moreno as Anita make the audience accept the truth, the rightness of the love between Tony and Maria. Theirs is a love that dissolves the insurmountable.

West Side Story has become critically unfashionable. Its broad pantomime of Puerto Rican experience, all-Anglo ‘brownface’ casting, hyper-real sets and the clean muscularity of Robbins’ choreography were said to neuter the danger of the street. The leads are the prettiest members of the cast, but the weakest. It seems a little unfair to discount its merits on these grounds, though.

As a work of the mid-50s, the film stings like a zip-gun. The language of the stage musical was watered down for the screen, but is coded so cleverly in Sondheim’s lyrics that the taboos are shattered without our notice; we’re too busy singing along to Bernstein’s irresistible melodies and gawping at the sheer physical exuberance of the dance. Prostitution, alcoholism, venereal disease, premarital sex, open racism, police corruption and a near-rape? Things fly under the censor’s radar so wonderfully in a musical.

The absence of Shakespeare’s words solved many of the problems of modernisation that Lurhmann struggled to resolve. The lovers do not need a priest to take their vows; they use the audience as witnesses. The business of the potion is dispensed with in favor of Tony’s murder by one of the Sharks avenging the death of Bernardo, the Puerto Rican Tybalt.

In West Side Story adults have become generationally irrelevant, reflecting the evolution of a 50s youth culture independent of adult influence. The few adults who appear are untrustworthy or ineffectual. None of the gang members ever go home; they cleave to each other as family, alienated from parents who don’t understand what the streets are like or who are too far gone to care. When candy store owner Doc rails at the Jets, “You make this world lousy,” he gets the reply, “We didn’t make it, Doc.” Order is not restored at the end by a reconciliation of the patriarchs, as it is in Shakespeare’s play, but by a funeral cortege for Tony made up of members from both gangs.

It is Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet (1968) against which all film versions are judged. His is the most ‘vernacular’ film, set in 15th-century Verona. But faithfulness to Shakespeare’s imagined version of Italy does not blunt Zeffirelli’s criticism of those in power. As might be expected from a film released at the height of 60s counterculture, Zeffirelli has plenty to say about Verona’s patriarchs. There is an exquisite tension between the chocolate-box medieval beauty of the settings and the ugly possibilities of the mob that is missing from the bleaker mise en scène in the films of Wise/Robbins and Lurhmann. Only Zeffirelli’s lovers are in harmony with Verona’s appearance. The rest of their town is out of joint. Dead bodies are scooped up and paraded before the prince, covered in blood and dust. Duelling is a scrappy, ugly business that begins with half-jesting displays of plumage and ends bare-knuckled in the dirt.

Zeffirelli’s film is loved for its visual sumptuousness, the beautiful score by Nino Rota, and most of all for its teenage casting – it bounces with pretty flesh, tight bottoms posing in hose and heaving bosoms. This makes the elders of the piece appear even more ancient; the match between Juliet and Paris is repellant and unsuitable. As Shakespeare took pains to reinforce in the play, the sickness of Zeffirelli’s Verona is not just vendetta, but also the callousness with which the major families will force marriages, manipulate their children as pawns for political and financial advantage, and teach them to hate mindlessly. “The story is of two urchins crushed by a stupid, banal quarrel with origins even the adults don’t know,” was Zeffirelli’s description at the time.

His emphasis is on the simple desires of the lovers and how they are thwarted by the mess adults make of things. Juliet’s confidante, her beloved nurse, turns away from supporting her charge’s secret marriage and recommends bigamy, urging her to land the larger catch of Count Paris. The change that comes over baby-bride Juliet in that scene is coming-of-age in a nutshell. She has the look of an abandoned child, then bewilderment, then, finally, determination. She freezes out the Nurse and from that moment grimly keeps her secrets to herself.

Friar Lawrence’s meddling ends with him fleeing from the crime scene of the tomb and leaving Juliet to her fate, unwilling to have his involvement exposed. In the end, the priest sacrifices Juliet to maintain his position in the cultural ascendancy, just as all the elders do. Shakespeare’s meaning, in a play from his own juvenilia, couldn’t be clearer: Don’t trust anyone over thirty.

Anna Hedigan is a writer, editor and reviewer based in rural Victoria

This is not to suggest that Lurhmann’s interpretation is some emo slouch-fest taking unwarrantable liberties. His staging of the brawling between factions, which can be fangless and hammy in modern dress, is resolved brilliantly as a ritualised gun culture with references to Sergio Leone and the physical grace of the bullfight. Lurhmann shifts the confrontation from the town square, missing from most urban experience, to the petrol station, a real locus of tension in the modern world. It’s a vulnerable space, separated from the protection of the vehicle and its machismo.

Lurhmann has the sense to slow the frenetic pace of his edits in the scenes between his lovers, but he is less sure with passion than he is with violence. It is as though he is slightly embarrassed to attempt to transpose to the modern world the Renaissance belief that the truest love strikes quickest. No girl today would fall for that line.

Lurhmann never believably resolves the problem of sex, specifically why Romeo and Juliet don’t have it without the sanction of marriage. He wants to fuse the brash corruption of gangsta allegiances with actual religious devotion, but his embrace of camp – guns and flak jackets emblazoned with the Virgin Mary, tattooed crucifixes, a street punk wearing grillz emblazoned with ‘SIN’ – undermines any sense of piety and instead reads as superstition and aestheticised Mexican kitsch.

He tones down the sexual subtext embodied by Juliet’s earthiness in the balcony scene and doesn’t know what to do with the consummation of passion – he has Romeo and Juliet goofing around under white sheets, giggling. It’s a shame, because the power of Juliet’s innocence, the directness of her love, “more true/Than those that have more cunning to be strange” as Shakespeare writes, is essential in making sense of the story. Its guilelessness fuses the lovers and indicates her constancy.

creatives

Damien has designed more than 100 theatre productions, including The Seagull, Gethsemane, Stuff Happens and Toy Symphony at Belvoir, and The Lost Echo, The Women of Troy, The Cherry Orchard, Tot Mom and Riflemind at Sydney Theatre Company.

Damien’s career highlights include Exit the King on Broadway, starring Geoffrey Rush and Susan Sarandon; Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake, which has been presented by The Australian Ballet in London, Paris and Tokyo; Keating! The Musical, Australia’s most successful subsidised theatre show ever; and Australian Dance Theatre’s Birdbrain, which has played over 60 venues around the world.

Damien’s opera designs include A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Houston Grand Opera, Canadian Opera Company and Lyric Opera Chicago; Chorus! At HGO; and Cosi Fan Tutte and Peter Grimes at Opera Australia.

Damien works with many leading dance companies in Australia and this work has toured extensively around the globe. His recent work includes Chunky Move’s Mortal Engine; Bangarra Dance Theatre’s Of Earth And Sky; Stalker Theatre Company’s Shanghai Lady Killer; Australian Dance Theatre’s Be Your Self and The Australian Ballet’s The Silver Rose.

Damien has been awarded three Sydney Theatre Awards for Best Lighting Design and a Green Room Award for Best Body Of Work In 2007. Work in 2011 includes Summer Of The Seventeenth Doll at Belvoir and Bloodland at STC.

Jason has his fingers in many pies. A respected dancer, he has performed widely as an independent artist and with companies such as Sydney Dance Company, Opera Australia and tasdance. While still performing, he began collaborating with choreographers and directors, creating projections for Sydney Dance Company, Sydney Theatre Company, Jason Pitt and Dance North, among others. He first worked with Graeme Murphy and Janet Vernon when he both danced in and recreated the projections for Some Rooms. He has since danced in Murphy’s The Garden of Paradise for the Ten Days on the Island Festival and collaborated on The Silver Rose with Bayerisches Staatsballet and The Australian Ballet. He is thrilled to be a part of Romeo & Juliet, probably his favourite ballet of all time.

Jason and long-time collaborator Adam Synnott joined forces in 2008 as Kaboom Studios. Together they plan to take over the world, but in the short term have settled with creating ever more ambitious media projects. They created the interactive projections for Leigh Warren and Dancers’ Impulse and Sue Healey’s As you Take Time, and recently for the acclaimed Side to One with Lisa Griffiths and Craig Bary.

Besides his work in film and new media, Jason is completing a degree in medicine and undertaking various research projects; he occasionally moonlights as a photographer.

Born in Kyoto, Japan, Akira Isogawa moved to Australia in 1986 where he studied fashion design at the Sydney Institute of Technology, drawing inspiration from contemporary Japanese design.

He is now one of Australia’s most celebrated designers. His work has been warmly received by fashion critics, drawing favourable reviews from leading figures such as Anna Piaggi and media including The New York Times and US Vogue.

Since 1998, Akira has shown his collections in Paris, where he presents Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter collections to international buyers each year.

In 1999, Akira was named Designer of the Year and Womenswear Designer of the Year at the Australian Fashion Industry Awards. In 2005 he was honoured by Australia Post and named an Australian Legend – his image appearing on a commemorative postage stamp.

Also in 2005 he was awarded Prix De Marie Claire Best Australian Designer. In 2006 Akira received the Award for Fashion Excellence at the National Retail Association Fashion Design Awards.

Akira’s work has been fondly embraced by the Australian arts sector. In 2004/05 Akira Isogawa: Printemps Été opened at the National Gallery of Victoria. In 2003 Sydney Festival staged an exhibition of his garment construction techniques at Object Gallery, creating the most successful show in the gallery’s history. Akira has also been invited to exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art and has twice been included in the Powerhouse Museum’s Fashion of the Year retrospective.

He has designed costumes for four Sydney Dance Company productions – Salome, Air & Other Invisible Forces, Ellipse and GRAND, and for the players in the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Gerard Manion was born in Southport, Queensland. He has been a stable artist with Maunsell Wickes Gallery in Paddington since 1998 and his work is strongly represented in collections around the world. In recent years Gerard has enjoyed a diverse career, balancing his impressive work for the dance and theatre stages with the ongoing demands of his principal creativity as an artist creating formal artworks and collectible pieces.

It was the creation of the set for Graeme Murphy’s Air and Other Invisible Forces in 1999 that marked a turning point in both Gerard’s style and his career. Embarking on new design projects in subsequent years, Gerard has further refined his design style, reducing the visual effects to his signature line work. In 2002, his set design for Graeme Murphy’s Ellipse for Sydney Dance Company gained rave reviews and a Green Room Award.

In 2005, he was invited to design Graeme Murphy’s GRAND, reuniting with collaborators Murphy (choreography) and Akira Isogawa (costumes) for their third project together.

Sydney Dance Company has since taken Air and other invisible forces, GRAND and Ellipse on extensive tours in Australia and to Europe and the United States, where Gerard’s work has received high praise.

In 2007, Gerard completed his fourth set design for Sydney Dance Company: the revitalised staging of Graeme Murphy’s Berlin for seasons in Sydney and Brisbane.

In 2008 Gerard was commissioned to design the sets for Azsure Barton’s first Australian production, Sid’s Waltzing Masquerade.

DaMIen cooPer lIghTIng DesIgn

akIra Isogawa cosTuMe DesIgn

gerarD ManIon seT DesIgn

Jason laM ProJecTIon DesIgn

Damien started training at the Marilyn Jones and Garth Welch School of Ballet at the age of 15, and was accepted into The Australian Ballet School at 16. In 1992 he joined The Australian Ballet, and was promoted to soloist in 1996, then to senior artist and finally to principal in 1998. Damien has performed works by many famous choreographers, including William Forsythe, Nacho Duato, Stanton Welch, Graeme Murphy, Twyla Tharp, James Kudelka, Gideon Obarzanek and Paul Lightfoot, and has danced in hundreds of ballets. After a stretch with Nederlands Dans Theater I from 2000 to 2002, Damien returned to The Australian Ballet. In 2009 Damien retired as principal dancer to become resident guest artist.

DaMIen welch guesT arTIsT

Madeleine Eastoe and Kevin Jackson Photography Georges Antoni

Never was a tale of greater woe than Prokofiev’s music to Romeo galina ulanova

The intrigue surrounding Sergei Prokofiev’s attempts to mount a ballet version of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is the stuff of legend. Prokofiev’s difficulties began when, in 1934 and before a note was even written, the newly politicised Kirov Ballet of Leningrad (St Petersburg) terminated his commission for a new ballet. The Kirov’s decision followed the fall from political grace of its director, the avant-garde choreographer Sergei Radlov, with whom Prokofiev was collaborating. The Ballet was undoubtedly also uneasy at the prospect of staging a work whose tragic ending was out of step with the ruthlessly enforced optimism of Stalinism’s socialist regime.

Cast adrift by the Kirov, Prokofiev and Radlov signed a contract with the Bolshoi Theatre in 1935 and set about the challenge of translating the complex dramatic layers of Shakespeare’s original text into music and dance. Employing a technique not dissimilar to the Wagnerian leitmotif, Prokofiev used themes and motifs to represent the emotional and dramatic development of specific characters and events. He composed the piano score quickly during the summer and autumn of 1935 at the Bolshoi’s rural retreat, and was making rapid progress with the orchestration when he returned to Moscow to play the score to the Bolshoi’s staff. To his dismay its directors promptly declared it ‘undanceable’. History tells us that the verdict probably had more to do with politics than the music itself.

Prokofiev was in a bind with regard to Shakespeare’s tragic ending. As Dmitri Shostakovich had discovered to his cost when his mordant opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (1934) was savaged by Stalin and removed from the stage, Soviet authorities had no time for sad endings. Sensing the way the political winds were blowing, Prokofiev and Radlov substituted Shakespeare’s original ending with a happy one: Romeo arrives in the nick of time to find Juliet alive, and the two live happily ever after. Living happily ever after not only accorded with Stalin’s order that everyone should do so or face the consequences; it also dovetailed with Prokofiev’s Christian Scientist belief in life everlasting. However, Stalin’s cultural commissar Andre Zhdanov also maintained that, in effect, old was good, new was bad. So by 1938 Romeo and Juliet were restored to their rightful places of, well, dying happily ever after.

Prokofiev in 1941 maintained that the “barbarism” of his first ending was driven by the belief that “living people can dance, the dying cannot”. There were also musical considerations, as Prokofiev explained:

What really caused me to change my mind about the whole thing was a remark someone made to me about the ballet: “Strictly speaking, your music does not express any real joy at the end”. That was quite true. After several conferences with the choreographers, it was found that a tragic ending could be expressed in the dance and in due time the music for that ending was written.

Although Prokofiev failed to identify the choreographers with whom he wrought the changes, they were likely to have included the Czech Ivo Psota, with whom he collaborated on an abridged version that finally received its world première in Brno, Czechoslovakia, in 1938. The public success of the Brno performance, together with a wartime relaxation in Soviet cultural policy, prompted the Kirov and Bolshoi ballets to overcome their reluctance. The Soviet première of Romeo and Juliet, choreographed by Leonid Lavrovsky in association with Radlov, was given by the Kirov in 1940. The Bolshoi followed suit in 1946.

The Kirov production was and remains controversial. The constant revisions that the work had undergone resulted in what the critic Arlène Croce described as a “choreographic nightmare”. Lavrovsky was forced to add an epilogue, insert solo dances, delete divertissements, and on and on. But it was the music that suffered most. Galina Ulanova, the great Soviet ballerina who danced Juliet, recalled the initial friction between the composer and choreographer:

Lavrovsky and Prokofiev had had some heated arguments about the music. Lavrovsky had told the composer that there was not enough music in the ballet for a full-length production and that he would have to add to it. To which Prokofiev had stubbornly replied, “I have written exactly as much music as is necessary and I am not going to add a single note. The ballet is complete as it is. You may take it or leave it.”

Ulanova, who with the other dancers had threatened strike action on the eve of the première, went on to describe an early rehearsal in which the composer’s reputed prickliness was apparent:

Suddenly we were startled by a shout from Lavrovsky: “Why don’t you begin?” “We can’t hear the music,” we replied. Prokofiev, who was present, lost his temper: “I know what you want!” he shouted. “You want drums not music!” We did not take offence. We invited him to come on to the stage and sit beside us. He did so, and throughout the entire scene he sat, listening carefully to the orchestra without saying a word. But on leaving, he said, still looking very annoyed, “Very well, I shall rewrite the music here and add something.”

In the end, such was the extent of the revisions that legend has it Prokofiev had difficulty recognising his own score, which had been re-orchestrated to a syrupy consistency quite at odds with his usual economy. Soviet cultural commissars believed that the ‘masses’ were uplifted by lashings of strings and brass.

Despite all the changes, Prokofiev’s music carries considerable literary power in its own right. Romeo and Juliet is not simply a story told to music – it is a story told in music. Subtle themes assume dramatic functions; the andante tenero that accompanies the first meeting of the doomed couple is recalled when Juliet dreams of Romeo. Romeo’s arrival is heralded by a passionate cello theme, and the two melodies combine during the pas de deux. What had earlier begun as a light-hearted scherzando depicting Juliet as an innocent and excitable young girl undergoes a series of transformations until making its last, impassioned, appearance in the strings at the end. Prokofiev also uses rhythm to great dramatic effect. The physicality of the fight between Tybalt and Mercutio is mirrored in syncopated jabs and asymmetrical rhythms. The frenetic semiquavers and dissonant punctuations accompanying Romeo’s subsequent struggle with Tybalt seem to evoke not only his sense of duty to his fallen friend, but his uncontrolled fury at what has happened. They also herald the inevitable and devastating consequences of his actions.

As had Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky before him, Prokofiev in Romeo and Juliet was able to invest the music itself with an expressive function, rather than relegating it to a mere soundtrack to events unfolding on stage. Against all odds – political, artistic and personal – Prokofiev succeeded in greatly enriching Russian ballet music’s symphonic traditions Dr Mark Carroll is an Associate Professor at The Elder Conservatorium, University of Adelaide

Thanks to our Piano Partner Kawai for supplying our rehearsal pianos

music note “By 1900, Strauss and his rivals were

all dead, and the search was on for a successor. Franz Lehár, a Hungarian

and former military bandmaster, turned out to be that man.”

Kevin Jackson Photography Georges Antoni

conductor

Nicolette Fraillon began her music studies on violin and piano at an early age. At 16 she conducted her first concert with the Victorian Junior Symphony Orchestra. She graduated on viola from Melbourne University in 1982, gaining an equal first place in her year in Performance. From 1984–87 she furthered her instrumental studies at the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna and from 1987–88 in Hannover. During her time in Germany and Austria Nicolette toured with many orchestras, including the Salzburger Chamber Ensemble and the Chamber Orchestra of Bassano, and was a member of the Haydn Quartet, based at the Esterhazy Palace in Eisenstadt.

In 1990 Nicolette moved to the Netherlands, where she became Assistant Musical Director for the 1991–92 season of Les Misérables in Amsterdam and The Hague. In 1992 she was admitted to the Netherlands Broadcasting Association’s International Conductors’ Masterclass, resulting in a performance with the Dutch Radio Symphony Orchestra in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. This led to an invitation to conduct for the Nederlands Dans Theater. She was then invited to become Music Director and Chief Conductor of the National Ballet of the Netherlands, working with such renowned choreographers as Hans van Manen, Toer van Schayk, Rudi van Dantzig and Krzysztof Pastor, and conducting numerous world premieres. During the following five years she worked with the North Holland Philharmonic Orchestra, the New Sinfonietta Amsterdam, Noord Nederlands Orchestra, the Gelders Orchestra in Arnhem, the Limburg Symphony Orchestra, the Residentie Orchestra in The Hague, the Kanazawa Chamber Orchestra (Japan) and the Finnish Ballet.

In 1998 she took up the position of Director at the School of Music, Australian National University, and continued her conducting work with the West Australian Ballet, the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Youth Orchestra and the Canberra Symphony Orchestra.

She debuted with The Australian Ballet in 2002, conducting Spartacus, and was then invited by David McAllister to become Music Director and Chief Conductor, beginning in January 2003. Since joining the company, Nicolette has conducted all programmes for The Australian Ballet, including three overseas tours, and has been a guest conductor for San Francisco Ballet. Following The Australian Ballet’s 2005 tour to the UK, Nicolette was, in 2006, invited back to conduct The Sleeping Beauty with Birmingham Royal Ballet. In 2007 Nicolette guested with the New York City Ballet. In 2008 she returned to the Birmingham Royal Ballet for a Nutcracker season, then finished the year with a New Year’s Gala in Skopje with the Macedonian Philharmonic Orchestra. In early 2011, Nicolette guested with San Francisco Ballet, conducting their production of Giselle.

nIcoleTTe FraIllon MusIc DIrecTor anD chIeF conDucTor

Intersections of style between stage and street, runway and rehearsal room

Ballet v Fashion

Dana Stephensen and Brett Simon Photography Paul Empson

Ollivier-Philippe Cuneo studied violin and conducting in Australia, France and the USA, and from 2000 to 2005 he participated in Symphony Australia’s Conductor Development Program.

Ollivier-Philippe was a member of the Young Artist Program at Opera Australia, assisting Richard Hickox and other conductors on 13 productions. In 2007, he made his debut for Opera Australia, conducting Le Nozze di Figaro at the Sydney Opera House.

Ollivier-Philippe was previously a Young Artist Conductor at West Australian Opera and the Associate Conductor for Batavia for the 2004 Perth International Arts Festival. He has conducted the Sydney Symphony, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Opera Queensland, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria and ARCO Chamber Orchestra. 2009 engagements included Die Zauberflöte and Così fan tutte (Opera Australia), and La Boheme at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in association with Opera Australia, The Pearlfishers (West Australian Opera) and Nutcracker – The Story of Clara (The Australian Ballet). 2010 engagements include Walton’s The Bear and Ibert’s Angelique (Victorian Opera), OzOpera’s tour of La Traviata, Rigoletto for Opera Australia in Sydney and The Silver Rose for The Australian ballet in Sydney.

Ollivier-Philippe holds a Bachelor of Music (Honours) from the University of Western Australia and a Masters in Performance from Indiana University in Bloomington, USA. He received the 2006 Brian Stacey Award for Emerging Conductors.

ollIVIer-PhIlIPPe cuneo guesT conDucTor (Sydney Season)

P icture Audrey Hepburn’s ballet flats in Funny Face. Or Marilyn Monroe’s iconic 1950s ‘ballerina’ shoot in a dress inspired by a Romantic-era

tutu. Or even the tight waists and ultra-flared, stiffened skirts of Dior’s New Look. Long before Black Swan reignited the ballet-fashion relationship, stylists and designers had a yen for the graceful, exaggerated shapes of classical costumes; and when ballet moves beyond the traditional it returns the favour, borrowing from street styles and haute couture to dress its dancers.

The symbiotic relationship between the ballet and fashion communities makes a lot of sense. After all, they’re both focused on lithe, breed-apart muses dressed in fantastical concoctions. (Of course, fashion designers don’t have to make sure their creations can withstand a triple pirouette.) Both inspire with otherworldly visions that filter down on to the street. And both borrow right back from the street and from historical dress to fuel their aesthetics.

One of the most famous intersections of dance and fashion is the era of the Ballet Russes. Serge Diaghilev’s lavish commissions for his company put it at the forefront of artistic innovation in the early 20th century, and its designs, particularly the vivid, sinuous, Oriental-inspired costumes of Léon Bakst, coloured the aesthetic of the whole decade. Paul Poiret’s wildly popular ‘Orientalism’ look, with its harem pants, beading and heavily furred cuffs, was pure Bakst. Considering Poiret’s designs are widely credited with helping to free women from the corset, today’s women should probably drink a toast to Bakst as well as Poiret.

Marie Taglioni’s innovative Romantic tutu inspired a case of the ‘gimme-that!’s before ever Monroe popularised it. Fashionable ladies of the 19th century, inspired by Taglioni’s wistful en pointe wafting, went mad for the ethereal. They affected gauzes and fluttering diaphanous ribbons, and cultivated a not-of-this-world air. The tutu, in fact, has been a key scene of the ballet-fashion exchange (so much so that in 2002 The Australian Ballet commissioned a series of reinvented tutus designed by the likes of Colette Dinnigan and Akira Isogawa). It’s certainly not above responding to cultural trends. Look at the way it moved from the heavily beaded and stiffened numbers of the 19th century to the freer shapes of Pavlova’s 1920 tutus and the abbreviated frills of the 1960s.

So how has this osmotic deal worked out for ballet? Fashion designers have been turning their hands to dance costumes since Chanel whipped up tunics for Nijinska’s Le Train Bleu. More recently, Valentino has designed for the Vienna State Ballet, Karl Lagerfeld for the English National Ballet, and Akira Isogawa for The Australian Ballet. Dancers turn their enviable physiques to modelling for the glossy magazines, and star in fashion and music videos. It’s all part of a cultural signal: ballet is saying, ‘Hey – it’s not all tulle and chignons. Ballet can be as sexy, as threatening, as edgy, as envied, as the streetest of street wear or the highest haute couture.’ And fashion replies, ‘Of course it can - we’ve always known it. Now give us that tutu!’Rose MulReady

Invented by a sensation-creating French trapeze artist in 1859, the leotard has moved between barre and Bazaar with an adaptability that’s positively, well,

elastic. Since its early days it’s gone through some changes, becoming shorter (the first leotard covered almost the whole body) and sleeker. The invention of Spandex by DuPont in 1959 is the leotard’s breakthrough date; the give-and-take qualities of the synthetic fabric spurred the advent of sporty fashions and spirited active wear. Emilio Pucci’s long-sleeved bodysuit exploded on the scene in 1960 in a brightly pixelated print. His ‘capsulas’ – tight, stretch nylon and silk one-piece bodysuits – were precursors to the Lycra leotard and exercise garments of the 1970s and 80s.

1975: Desmond Heeley’s costumes for The Merry Widow channel the height of Belle Époque glamour with swooping hats, hourglass waists, bustles, flounces and fans, offset by a hefty dose of military suave and Balkan dash. The lavish colour and extravagant lines of the costumes win as many hearts as the dancing.

1994: Vanessa Leyonhjelm designs the costumes for Stanton Welch’s fresh new work Divergence, using industrial fabrics and street-inspired shapes to make the dancers look as haughty and menacing as catwalk models. The most-talked about piece? A perfectly round, quivering tutu made of air-conditioning mesh, worn with a stiffly shaped bra.

2002: For the Tutu Project, we commission 17 top Australian designers, including Akira Isogawa, Collette Dinnigan, Easton Pearson and Scanlan and Theodore, to reinvent the tutu. The imaginative results (including a Scanlan and Theodore tutu made entirely from black ballet slippers) star in parades, photo shoots and an exhibition.

2006: Anna French, whose collaboration with our Resident Choreographer Stephen Baynes spans several eye-catching works, designs an opulent suite of costumes for Baynes’ revamped Raymonda, which is loosely based on the life of Grace Kelly. Monaco meets Rear Window-era Hollywood in a succulent explosion of New-Look brocades and perfectly cut tuxedos.

2009: Tim Richardson photographs our dancers in shots styled by Toni Maticevski, a Melbourne designer whose clothes tend toward frangible concoctions of filmy layers. The shoot produces many memorable images, including one of Kirsty Martin in a tangle of zephyrous fabric.

2010: Our dancers star in a Harper’s Bazaar shoot dreamed up by Edward Coutts Davidson. Danielle Rowe is a glam Cinderella

in red glitter platform boots, with Li Cunxin as her Prince Charming. The other dancers, in white tutus (women) and black bandages over jock straps (men) pose with a black Friesian stallion called Lucifer.

2010: Alice Topp, a member of our corps de ballet, creates her first work Trace for our choreographic workshop Bodytorque.à la mode, using stretchy flesh-toned costumes created by fashion designers Crystal Dunn and Georgia Lazzarro for inspiration. “The fabric dictated the movement,” says Topp. “It created its own dance vocabulary.” Topp is nominated for an Australian Dance Award for Outstanding Choreography, and Trace is filmed by Sideshow Alley TV in a Melbourne laneway and performed at the L’Oréal Fashion Festival Week.

2011: Amber Scott stars in A Dance for One, a video for the Melbourne fashion label Lover, in which she’s shown dreamily warming up in a studio full of dusky Dégas light and dancing by herself to Satie in Lover’s ballet-inspired collection. Scott uses the diaphanous laces and silks (teamed with grey marle pieces) to inspire the movement.

2011: Huge buzz surrounds The Australian Ballet’s Melbourne studios as Akira Isogawa creates the costumes for Graeme Murphy’s Romeo & Juliet. Isogawa uses his trademark sheer fabrics and appliqués to clothe the skittish, innocent Juliet, and snake leathers and reptile-scale pleated silks for the Montague men. Gun and rose motifs distinguish the warring families.

2012: One to grow on … In our 2012 season, Gideon Obarzanek will create a new ballet for the Infinity program with costumes by Alexi Freeman, a Melbourne designer who aims to “lure fashion into bed with art”. The result? Glam, industrial, geometric, shiny. We can’t wait to see what happens when ballet makes it a ménage a trois.Rose MulReady

Ballet and fashion – strange attractors

The Australian Ballet ballet v fashion

The Australian Ballet’s top 10 fashion moments

Meanwhile, the leotard was revolutionising ballet aesthetics and throwing emphasis onto technique. Balanchine’s ‘leotard ballets’ of the 1960s pared costumes down to essentials in a move that some have equated to bra-burning. Black and white leotards became so synonymous with Balanchine’s neoclassical style that they became almost a genre of their own. Suzanne Farrell, Balanchine’s greatest dancer and muse, starred in many of these productions throughout the 1960s; she was the epitome of the modern ballerina. This was the Space Age: ballet was streamlining, and the nature of dancewear was changing forever. So, also, was fashion. Suspenders and stockings were superseded by tights; revealing clothes required flesh-coloured leotards underneath them, and the rise of form-fitting, movable fabrics ushered in a feeling of playful modernity. The leotard became institutionalised in the 1950s and 60s through its use in dance schools, rising to popularity as a result of the 1970s aerobics craze and space-age films. Lustrous Lycra came into its own as leggings and leotards inched onto the streets and the club dance floor. The catsuit became campy high fashion, exalted by superheroes and vixens like Julie Newmar’s Catwoman and Jane Fonda’s Barbarella. In films like Saturday Night Fever (1977), the leotard was king. In the same year Stevie Nicks posed on the cover of Fleetwood Mac’s seminal Rumours album in black ballet slippers, tights and a bat-wing dress. In 1979, People magazine ran with the headline, “Danskin Designer Bonnie August Has Got Almost Everybody Going Around in Next to Nothing”. The leotard was pivotal to fashion in the 1980s. Although the prevailing trend was for a more relaxed silhouette, the vogue for exercise scissor-kicked well into the 1980s with the Jane Fonda-led craze for exercise videos and fitness clubs. Norma Kamali’s 1981 ‘Sweats’ collection was an innovative blend of exercise clothing and high fashion. The Fleece range introduced activewear as daywear and became one of the first fashion phenomena of the 1980s.

Work-out clothes were transformed into haute couture ensembles. Kamali added androgynous suits in bright pop colours, cheerleader mini skirts and harem pants to the existing spectrum

of grey sweatshirt fleece. Oversized T-shirts were worn like mini dresses

and layered over leotards, while legwarmers witnessed the fitness. Suddenly, women in sweats were everywhere. Kamali went on to design for Twyla Tharp dance productions throughout the 1980s. Perhaps the designer Jean Muir put it best. She was passionate about ballet and valued practicality and comfort. In 1989 she said, “I like structure, but I like it to be fluid. So that, therefore, I make structured shapes in jersey. They have fluidity but they still have a structure – which is rather like classical ballet.” anna sutton

At a stretch: loving the leotard

Reiko Hombo Photography Justin Smith

Kirsty Martin Photography Tim Richardson

Natalie Portman in Black Swan

Our popular education program offers experiences of the highest value through participation, engagement and observation of dance.

In 2012, the program is again packed full of events for a broad range of age groups and skill levels – classes, special days, workshops and tours. We offer in-theatre programs where you can see dancers in practice and performance as well as talks and forums which offer a greater insight into our performances and behind-the-scenes activities.

The program will go on sale 30 Jan 2012,so put the date in your diary now and stay tuned for more details.

Principal Sponsor

Photography Teagan Glenane

experience education 2012

Luminous: ceLebrating 50 years of the austraLian baLLet Luminous captures 50 years of The Australian Ballet in photographs, revealing dancers at work and at play, on stage and on tour, in rehearsals and in love, and the many creatives who nurtured our artistic vision.

This handsome 368-page coffee table book features defining images and never-seen-before photographs of the company, accompanied by essays from Australia’s leading arts writers.

aVaIlable aT australianaballet.com.au/luminous

Principal SponsorGovernment Partners

Government Partners

Countless ballerinas have graced the stage with elegant Repetto- shod feet, but the shoe long ago burst the confines of ballet and headed

out to the street. Its ubiquitous style has since morphed into every imaginable form, from pony-hair leopard print to crystal-embellished suede.

The legendary label is an enduring tribute to passion and technique. In 1947 Rose Repetto, mother of dancer and choreographer Roland Petit, lovingly created a pair of ballet shoes for him in a humble Parisian atelier. The innovative reverse-stitch technique she used resulted in a flexible, lightweight slipper that became popular amongst dancers, who still flock to Repetto boutiques today.

Brigitte Bardot is often attributed with launching the Repetto into the sartorial stratosphere. The screen siren asked Repetto to adapt the ballet shoe for the cobbled streets of everyday life. The result can be seen in a famous photograph of Bardot sensuously draped over a Rouge Simca at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. She transformed the Repetto into an icon of Parisian chic, forever inseparable from that ravishing image. In 1959 Rose opened her first boutique on the Rue de la Paix, a few strides away from the Paris Opera.

In the 1970s, men took up the craze with the Zizi Homme Repetto, a narrow lace-up jazz shoe originally designed for Zizi Jeanmarie. The story of how Serge Gainsbourg came to wear these paragons of pared-down cool is the stuff of rock-n-roll folklore. Writes Karin Nelson in The New York Times, “Unbeknown to many, Serge Gainsbourg, the seminal French singer and style icon, had sensitive feet. Boots hurt him. He hated walking. His only salvation was calfskin jazz shoes made by Repetto …” Gainsbourg’s girlfriend Jane Birkin bought him a pair of white Zizi Hommes, and legend

has it that he went through 30 pairs a year until his death in 1991. Numerous other celebrities followed in his footsteps, but none with such captivating style as Gainsbourg.To mark Repetto’s 60th Anniversary in 2007, the label invited 20 artists and designers to design shoes and tutus, resulting in a wondrously tangential travelling exhibition. In 2009 Karl Lagerfeld designed his stunning tutu-inspired creation, and the Rodarte-Repetto marbled ballet flat debuted at Colette in Paris. This year Repetto has conspired with designer John Derian to make wearers’ feet look like a spring garden, courtesy of a vibrant floral print.

The most memorable recent collaborations combine classical romance with uniquely 21st-century sensibilities. Fashion retailer Opening Ceremony marked their Repetto Shop-in-Shop and collaborative line with a swoon-inducing film called Pas de Deux Coda, which they describe as a ‘Valentine to the Ballet’. This cinematic reverie features Joffrey ballerinas in full flight, dancing in practice clothes, Opening Ceremony and Repettos.

One of the most magical moments in the Repetto story happened earlier this year, when the Paris Repetto Boutique featured an interactive window installation. Enchanted passers-by could orchestrate ballerinas in a transitional 3D landscape – a fairytale for a new generation. In that very same street where Rose began her illustrious career, Repetto’s path continues to illuminate.

anna sutton

Speaking of shoes … we’d like to thank Sambag, our Pointe Shoe Partner, for their support.

Principal SponsorGovernment Partners

The Repetto: part shoe, part legendWhen the Ballets Russes boarded

Nijinska’s Le Train Bleu (The Blue Train) in 1924, the quintessentially modern Coco

Chanel was the perfect choice as costumier. Her simple, spirited designs were a carefree evocation of seaside chic at a time when sportswear was a relatively new category of clothing. Le Train’s cast of wayfaring sports champions (including a golfer inspired by the Princes of Wales) and ladies of leisure spun a seaside pantomime out of a gymnastic-classical ballet tightrope. Their costumes – black tank bathing tops, striped wool jerseys, culottes and muted tunic dresses accessorised with bathing caps like nubile petals – reflected the spirit of a libertarian age. The influence of Coco Chanel’s Le Train designs were echoed in Chanel’s 2010 Resort collection.

Le Train Bleu takes place on the French Riviera circa 1920s, an era where populist visions of a modernist utopia gave rise to the cult of the body beautiful. Choreographer Bronislava Nijinska used Chanel’s sporting ensembles to satirise this trend, although Chanel was quite the sporty type herself: indeed, legend has it that Coco was credited with making suntans fashionable in Europe, following a run-in with the sun while yachting on the Riviera.

Le Train was a typical Ballets Russes collaboration of leading artists, with Jean Cocteau as librettist and Pablo Picasso fulfilling the rather specific role of curtain painter. Jean Cocteau envisaged the ballet as a series of vignettes filled with all the things you might see on the front of a postcard sent from France circa 1924 (jets falling out of the sky, maillots, chorus lines, movie cameras). When I think of Le Train Bleu I imagine rosy women and men with shoulders like boulders racing seaside together, trying to catch the first wave of salacious gossip as it crashes and breaks onto the shore …anna sutton

When balletstepped in to the sun

Anna Sutton is a freelance arts and fashion writer

Rose Mulready is The Australian Ballet’s publications editor

For more ballet v fashion stories, as well as behind-the-scenes glimpses, dancer insights, videos and photo galleries, visit behindballet.com

principal artists

PrIncIPal arTIsTs generouslY suPPorTeD bY les eToIles

Mrs Mary BarlowNatasha BownessMs Robin CampbellMrs Sam ChisholmVal HardingLynnette HarveyMr Arthur L NorcottMrs Roma NorcottMrs Helen O’NeilMrs Kerry Packer AODr Valmai Pidgeon AMLady Potter ACMrs Robert Rose AMMrs Christine Smedley

lana Jones’ PrIncIPal arTIsT PosITIon Is generouslY suPPorTeD bY The DoroThY hIcks FunD

olIVIa bell aDaM bull“An intoxicating lead”Sunday Herald Sun

“Tender and self-deprecating … a true danseur noble” The Observer, UK

Newcastle-born Olivia Bell competed in the Prix de Lausanne competition and won a scholarship to the Paris Opéra Ballet School, where she graduated in 1995. Joining The Australian Ballet the same year, Olivia would go on to dance some of The Australian Ballet’s most coveted lead roles, hailed variously as ‘imperious and sinuous’, ‘truly exquisite’, and for her ‘cool, sensitive precision’. In 1996 she was awarded a Khitercs Foundation scholarship, enabling her to study abroad. Olivia’s acclaimed performances in everything from the most classical of ballets to contemporary pieces have shown her great versatility. A career highlight was her debut in the title role of Manon in 2008. Olivia was promoted to principal artist in 2007.

repertoire highlights •Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake 2002–10 •Jerome Robbins’ Afternoon of a Faun 2008 •Sugar Plum Fairy in Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker 2007, 2010 •Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain©, Continuum© and Mercurial Manoeuvres© •Terpsichore in George Balanchine’s Apollo 2007 •Zobeide in Schéhérazade 2006 •Jirí Kylián’s Petite Mort and Stepping Stones 2005 •Flavia in Spartacus 2003 •William Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated 1996 and The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude 2000 •Grande Pas Classique 2008 •George Balanchine’s Agon 2004, Serenade, Symphony in C and Ballet Imperial

guest appearances •Swan Lake with The Dancers Company 2001

You may not know … Olivia took time out to travel and see the world in 1997, rejoining the company in 1999.

Adam Bull was born in 1981 and began training at Dance World 301 with Brian Nolan before joining The Australian Ballet School. In 2000 he represented Australia in the Paris International Ballet Competition, before graduating from The Australian Ballet School with honours in 2001. Adam joined The Australian Ballet in 2002, going on to dance soloist and principal roles in works by George Balanchine, Jirí Kylián, Graeme Murphy, Christopher Wheeldon, Stephen Baynes, Stanton Welch, Nicolo Fonte and Wayne McGregor. After just six months as a senior artist, Adam was promoted to the highest rank of principal in June 2008, capping off a string of critically acclaimed lead performances. Performances in principal lead roles in the company’s tours to Paris, London, Manchester and Japan have also been career highlights.

repertoire highlights •Graeme Murphy’s Nutcracker - The Story of Clara 2009 •Prince Florimund in Stanton Welch’s The Sleeping Beauty 2009 •Des Grieux in Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon 2008 •Prince Siegfried in Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake 2008 •The Prince in Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker 2007, 2010 •Basilio and Espada in Don Quixote 2007 •Albrecht in Giselle 2006

guest appearances •The Dancers Company tour 2006

awards •Green Room Award ‘Year’s work’ nomination 2009 •Benois de la Danse Best Male Dancer nomination for Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake 2009 •Telstra Ballet Dancer Award nominee 2006 and 2004 •Green Room nomination for Albrecht in Giselle 2006 •The Australian Ballet Society Scholarship in 2001

You may not know ... “I have ticked off a lifelong dream of visiting the Antarctic continent, doing so in our summer break at the end of 2009. Landing at the same site as the famous Australian explorer Sir Douglas Mawson was an awe-inspiring and life changing experience.”

roberT curran“The ultimate poetic and sensitive dancer”Sunday Herald Sun

A graduate of The Australian Ballet School, Robert Curran joined The Australian Ballet in 1996 and was promoted to principal artist in 2002. During his time with the company he has performed in numerous classical and contemporary works by choreographers such as Jirí Kylián, William Forsythe, Stanton Welch, George Balanchine,John Cranko, Stephen Baynes, Jerome Robbins and Sir Kenneth MacMillan, carving out a niche with his powerful partnering. Robert particularly enjoys the interaction with other dancers in the technical achievements of pas de deux and the creation of stories and feelings on stage. Robert has toured extensively overseas with The Australian Ballet, and a burgeoning interest in choreography has seen him create four works for the company’s Bodytorque program.

repertoire highlights •Graeme Murphy’s Nutcracker – The Story of Clara 2009 •Des Grieux in Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon 2008 •Symphonie Fantastique 2007 •Don Quixote 2007 •Apollo 2007 •Giselle 2006 •Le Spectre de la rose 2006 •Forgotten Land 2005 •Petite Mort 2005 •Other Dances 2001 •At the edge of night 1997

guest appearances •The Sleeping Beauty with Houston Ballet •The Nutcracker with the Royal Danish Ballet

choreographic works •Fold for Bodytorque.à la mode 2010 •Veiled in Flesh for Bodytorque.2.2 2009 •amusemeant for Bodytorque.To the Pointe 2008 •Promenade for Bodytorque.Generations 2007

You may not know … Robert is undertaking a Bachelor of Business by correspondence, and is studying for the Vocational Graduate Certificate in Elite Ballet Instruction with The Australian Ballet School. He has a miniature border collie called Gilly.

MaDeleIne easToe“Her dancing is fearless and utterly assured”Herald Sun

lucInDa Dunn“Lucinda Dunn is a superstar”Sunday Herald Sun

A graduate of The Australian Ballet School, Perth-born Madeleine Eastoe joined the company in 1997 and danced many lead roles before being promoted to principal artist following her debut as Giselle in 2006. Madeleine has particularly enjoyed working one-on-one with choreographer Stephen Baynes to create the lead role in 2007’s Constant Variants, and dancing with guest artists such as Angel Corella in La Fille mal gardée and Cédric Ygnace in Giselle. A career highlight was dancing Odette on the opening night of Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake in London, a role she reprised on the company’s 2007 Japan tour and 2008 Paris and Manchester tours. Madeleine has also toured internationally with The Australian Ballet to China, Singapore, New Zealand and the USA.

repertoire highlights •Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker 2007 •Don Quixote 2007 •Constant Variants 2007 •Giselle 2006 •La Sylphide 2005 •Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake 2005 •La Fille mal gardée 2004 •Romeo and Juliet 2003 •Graeme Murphy’s Nutcracker – the Story of Clara 2000

awards •Telstra People’s Choice Award 2006 •Green Room Award 2005 •Helpmann Award nomination 2003

You may not know … “My great uncle Herbert Sachse invented the Pavlova dessert. He was a chef at the Esplanade Hotel in 1935 and was asked by the opera singer Dame Nellie Melba for a nice light dessert. Inspired by the dancer Anna Pavlova who was performing in Perth at the time, he named it after her for the light and fluffy qualities it’s so famous for.”

Lucinda Dunn received her early training in Sydney with Janece Graham and Tanya Pearson before going on to win a Prix de Lausanne scholarship to study at The Royal Ballet School, London. While in London she also performed with Birmingham Royal Ballet. In 1991 Lucinda joined The Australian Ballet and was promoted to principal artist in 2002. She has also been awarded several scholarships to study overseas and has been partnered by many international guests of The Australian Ballet. A diverse and musical dancer with a strong technique, Lucinda excels in the pure classical ballets and enjoys portraying characters in story ballets, as well as the physicality of contemporary pieces.

repertoire highlights In addition to the ballerina roles in all of the major classical ballets such as Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake and Coppélia, a particular career highlight for Lucinda was dancing the world premiere of Stanton Welch’s The Sleeping Beauty in 2005 and most recently, dancing Firebird and Nutcracker – The Story of Clara by Graeme Murphy. Other highlights include her performances on The Australian Ballet’s tours to London, Tokyo, Italy, Shanghai and New York, as well as dancing lead roles in contemporary works by Christopher Wheeldon, Jirí Kylián, Jerome Robbins, George Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, Nicolo Fonte and Stephen Baynes.

guest appearances •The Royal Danish Ballet •Le Jeune Ballet de France •Birmingham Royal Ballet •World Ballet Festival, Tokyo 2009, 2006 •Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company 2009

awards •Australian Dance Award for Outstanding Performance 2008 •Helpmann Award nomination for Dance Performer of the Year 2007 and 2004 •Mo Award nomination for Dance Performer of the Year 2006, 2005 and 2001 •Green Room Award for Best Female Dancer 2005

You may not know … Lucinda and husband Danilo are proud parents of toddler Claudia.

“Mesmerising in execution”media-culture.org.au

lana Jones

Lana Jones was born in Coffs Harbour but moved soon after to Canberra, where she commenced her ballet training at the Canberra Youth Ballet School. She moved to Melbourne in 1999 to attend The Australian Ballet School, graduating dux to join The Australian Ballet in 2002. In 2005 she was promoted to coryphée and won the Telstra Ballet Dancer Award, the highest accolade of its kind for the dancers of The Australian Ballet. A rising star within the ranks, Lana has been critically acclaimed as ‘joyous and effervescent’, with one writer declaring her performance in George Balanchine’s Apollo as ‘supernatural’. Lana was promoted to principal artist in 2010.

repertoire highlights •Black Swan Pas De Deux 2010 •Coppélia 2010 •Aurora, Carabosse and Lilac Fairy in Stanton Welch’s The Sleeping Beauty 2009 •The Baroness in Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake 2009 •Firebird in Graeme Murphy’s Firebird 2009 •Wayne McGregor’s Dyad 1929 2010 •George Balanchine’s Ballet Imperial 2008 •Grand pas classique pas de deux 2010 •The Mistress in Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon 2008 •Kitri in Don Quixote 2007

guest appearances •West Australian Ballet •The Royal Ballet 2010

awards •Khitercs Foundation scholarship to The Royal Ballet •Australian Dance Award for outstanding performance by a female dancer in Firebird 2009 •Green Room Award for best female dancer in Firebird 2009 •Helpmann Award for best female dancer in Firebird 2009 •Helpmann Award for best female dancer in Forgotten Land 2006 •Telstra Ballet Dancer Award 2005

You may not know ... Lana loves photography, jet skiing and the beach, and has two dogs, Chloe and Rico.

“Physically striking and technically assured” The Sunday Age

keVIn Jackson

Born in Perth, Kevin commenced his dance training at the age of seven with the Shirley Farrell Academy of Dance. In 2002 he graduated from The Australian Ballet School and joined The Australian Ballet in 2003. In his time with the company, he has performed many lead roles in both classical and contemporary works by choreographers Tim Harbour, Nicolo Fonte, Matjash Mrozewski, Wayne McGregor and Graeme Murphy. Kevin enjoys the technique and artistry demanded by many different works but holds the story ballet closest to his heart. Kevin was promoted to principal artist in 2010 and looks forward to entertaining audiences around Australia and the world.

repertoire highlights •The Prince in Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker 2010 •Octavian in Graeme Murphy’s The Silver Rose 2010 •Prince Siegfried in Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake 2009 •Prince Florimond in Stanton Welch’s The Sleeping Beauty 2009 •Doctor/Lover in Graeme Murphy’s Nutcracker – The Story of Clara 2009 and Japan Tour 2010 •Prince Ivan in Graeme Murphy’s Firebird 2009 •Des Grieux in Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon 2008 •Jerome Robbins’ A Suite of Dances 2008 •George Balanchine’s Apollo 2007

awards •Telstra Ballet Dancer Award 2008 •The Australian Ballet Society Scholarship •Khitercs Foundation 2007

choreographic works •Enter Closer for Bodytorque.2.2 2009

You may not know ... Kevin is studying for the Vocational Graduate Certificate in Elite Ballet Instruction with The Australian Ballet School.

principal artists

“Precision, aplomb and charm” thestage.co.uk

DanIel gauDIello

Brisbane-born Daniel Gaudiello strapped on his first pair of dancing shoes at the age of six at the Johnny Young Talent School, then at Promenade Dance Academy. Later he completed the Queensland Dance School of Excellence and Queensland Ballet professional year before being accepted into The Australian Ballet School, where he performed as an exchange student with The National Ballet School of Canada and the School of American Ballet. Daniel joined The Australian Ballet in 2004 and in early 2007 participated in classes with some of the world’s finest ballet companies in London, Amsterdam, Munich and Paris. Daniel made his choreographic debut with a piece called Notte in Bianco for Bodytorque.To the Pointe in 2009 and was promoted to principal artist in 2010.

repertoire highlights •Franz in Coppélia 2010 •Basilio in Don Quixote 2010 •Christopher Wheeldon’s Continuum® 2004 •Lescaut in Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon 2008 •Petrouchka in Petrouchka 2009

guest appearances • English National Ballet in Le Spectre de la rose, London and Barcelona 2009

awards •Australian Dance Award nomination for Dyad 1929 2010 •Green Room Award nomination for Petrouchka 2010 •Helpmann Award nomination for Graeme Murphy’s The Silver Rose 2010 •Telstra Ballet Dancer Award 2007 •Freda Irving Scholarship 2006 •BJ Sutton Scholarship

You may not know ... “I love camping on the beach, spending time with my family, and my two dogs Chloe and Rico.”

YosVanI raMos

“A revelation ... with his smouldering matinee -idol looks, he achieves the extraordinary”Evening Standard

Yosvani Ramos was born in Camagüey, Cuba and trained at the National Ballet School, going on to dance with Jeune Ballet de France and Ballet de l’Opéra National de Paris after winning the Gold Medal at the Paris International Ballet Competition in 1998. He joined English National Ballet as a Soloist in 1999 and was promoted to senior soloist in 2000, then principal artist in 2003 after his performance as Franz in Coppélia. During his time with English National Ballet he created many pieces in the company’s choreographic workshops and was nominated for several years running in the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards. He joined The Australian Ballet as a principal artist at the beginning of 2008.

repertoire highlights •Franz in Coppélia •The Prince in Stanton Welch’s The Sleeping Beauty 2009 •Graeme Murphy’s Nutcracker – The Story of Clara 2009 •Des Grieux in Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon 2008 •Kai in The Snow Queen 2007 •Basilio in Don Quixote 2006 •Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake 2004 •The Prince in Cinderella 2003 •Romeo in Rudolf Nureyev’s Romeo and Juliet 2002 •Albrecht in Giselle 2001 •George Balanchine’s Who Cares? 2000 •Principal Man in Etudes 2000 •The Prince in The Nutcracker 1999

awards •Silver Medal in Nagoya, Japan 1999 •Gold Medal in the International Ballet Competition in Paris 1998 •Silver Medal in Mississippi, USA 1997 •Silver Medal and Best Couple in the Junior division at the International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria 1996 •Grand Prix and the Best Couple at the first International Ballet Competition in Havana 1995 •Gold Medal at the International Ballet Competition in Vignale, Italy 1994

You may not know … Yosvani speaks fluent French, Spanish, Portuguese and English and loves cooking Cuban food.

Melbourne-born Andrew Killian, a student of The Australian Ballet School, joined The Australian Ballet in 2000 and was promoted to principal artist in 2011. During his time with The Australian Ballet Andrew has thoroughly enjoyed performing leading roles in the company’s extensive classical repertoire including Lescaut in Sir Kenneth McMillan’s Manon, Espada in Rudolf Nureyev’s Don Quixote, the Prince in Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker, and the Cavalier in George Balanchine’s Ballet Imperial. Andrew has also been involved in the creation of many new works including Stephen Baynes’ Constant Variants and Tim Harbour’s Wa, and has performed in all of The Australian Ballet’s Bodytorque seasons. In this creative process Andrew enjoys working closely with choreographers and offers a unique versatility that places him in high demand. Andrew has toured with The Australian Ballet to New Zealand, Japan, China, the UK and France. Andrew was nominated for the Telstra Ballet Dancer Award in 2009.

Repertoire highlights •A Suite of Dances 2008 •The Cage 2008 •Rites 2008 •Spring Waters 2007 •After the Rain© 2007 •Stepping Stones 2005 •Forgotten Land 2005 •Petite Mort 2005

Guest Appearances •Fool’s Paradise with Morphoses 2009 •The Nutcracker with Houston Ballet 2007

You may not know... Andrew is still struggling to learn how to cook and cried like a baby at his best friend’s wedding.

“Immaculate and debonair”Dance Australia

anDrew kIllIan rachel rawlIns

“meltingly beautiful” Adelaide Advertiser

Rachel studied ballet with Del Brady in Canberra. She moved to Melbourne at 14 and trained at the VCA, the National Theatre Ballet School with Ann Jenner, and at The Australian Ballet School with Gailene Stock. After dancing with The Australian Ballet, she joined The Royal Ballet for two years as a First Soloist. Returning to Australia, she was promoted to principal artist. Reviewers comment on her fine technique, lyricism and deeply felt narrative interpretation. “Her delicacy is divine, her abandon is breathtaking and her artistry will show you what ballet can achieve” (Madame Butterfly 2011). “She’s superb; a prima ballerina if ever there was one” (Sugar Plum Fairy, Peter Wright’s Nutcracker 2010).

repertoire highlights •Cio-Cio-San in Stanton Welch’s Madame Butterfly 2011 •Sugar Plum Fairy in Nutcracker 2010 •Aurora in Stanton Welch’s The Sleeping Beauty 2009 •Odette in Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake 2009 •Clara the Ballerina in Graeme Murphy’s Nutcracker 2009 •Manon in Manon 2008 •Kitri in Don Quixote 2007 •Raymonda Grey in Stephen Baynes’ Raymonda 2006 •Giselle in Giselle 2008, 2006 •Jirí Kylián’s Forgotten Land and Petite Mort 2005 •Juliet in Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet 2003

guest appearances •International Gala, Ena Ballet, Kuala Lumpur, 2011 •World Festival of Ballet, Tokyo 2009 •Farewell Gala for Desmond Kelly 2008, Birmingham Royal Ballet •Twentieth Anniversary Gala, Singapore Dance Theatre 2008 •Featured in Michael Carter’s experimental film Principal Role

You may not know Rachel came to Australia as a one-year-old and learned to balance on her six-week voyage from England.

playbill ads 35-36

“Flawless”The Australian

leanne sToJMenoV

Leanne was born and raised in Perth, where she began her initial ballet training with Helen McKay. Her full-time training began at the Graduate College in 1993 under the school’s director, Terri Charlesworth, and in 1999 she joined the West Australian Ballet. In 2001 Leanne left Perth to take up a position with The Australian Ballet. Receiving the New South Wales Friends of The Australian Ballet scholarship in 2004 enabled her to study throughout Europe. Leanne has a high regard for artists who can adapt to all kinds of roles and repertoire. She was promoted to principal artist in 2011.

repertoire highlights •Coppélia 2010 •Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake 2009 •Wayne McGregor’s Dyad 1929 2009 •Alexi Ratmansky’s Scuola di ballo 2009 •Petrouchka 2009 •Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon 2008 •Esmeralda 2008 •Don Quixote 2007 •Apollo 2007 •Stephen Baynes’ Constant Variants 2007 •Le Corsaire 2007 •Symphonie Fantastique 2007 •Les Présages 2007 •Giselle 2006 •Stepping Stones 2005 •Stanton Welch’s The Sleeping Beauty 2009, 2005 •Grand Tarantella 2005

awards •Telstra Ballet Dancer Award nominee 2009, 2007 and 2005

You may not know … “Although for now my passion is in the arts, in the future I would love to open a small business.”

principal artists

“A definition of poise and steely confidence, every bit the prima ballerina”Herald Sun

aMber scoTT

Amber Scott joined The Australian Ballet School at age eleven. After graduating as dux, Amber joined The Australian Ballet in 2001. In 2003 she spent four months on a dancer exchange at the Royal Danish Ballet, giving her the opportunity to learn the Bournonville technique firsthand. A lyrical and musical dancer, Amber relishes the many different genres in the company’s repertoire. Performing traditional fairytale and dramatic full-length ballets are career favourites. Amber was promoted to principal artist in 2011. Career highlights include working with Wayne McGregor on Dyad 1929 in 2009, and with Stephen Page on Rites in 2006 and 2008; dancing with guest artist Robert Tewsley during the 2008 Manon season; and performing Odette with Adam Bull in Paris and Manchester in 2008 and Tokyo and Nagoya in 2010.

repertoire highlights •Sugar Plum Fairy in Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker, 2010 •Odette in Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake 2010, 2009, 2008, 2006, 2005, 2004 •Stephen Baynes’ Molto Vivace 2010 •Aurora and Lilac Fairy in Stanton Welch’s The Sleeping Beauty 2009 •Flute variation and pas de deux in Serge Lifar’s Suite en blanc 2009, 2005 •Manon in Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon 2008

guest appearances •The Dancers Company tour 2004, 2003

awards •Telstra Ballet Dancer Award and Telstra People’s Choice Award 2004 •First Place Junior Asian Pacific Competition, Tokyo 1999 •Adeline Genée Awards,bronze medal 1998

playbill ads 35-36

senior artists

Born in Sydney, Juliet trained in the Cecchetti method with Valerie Jenkins, and later with Christine Keith. She was also fortunate to receive special coaching from the late Valrene Tweedie, a great mentor for Juliet. She was accepted into The Australian Ballet School in 2000 and joined The Australian Ballet in 2003. Highlights since then have included being plucked from the rank of coryphée to create the title role in Matjash Mrozewski’s Semele, and working closely with Graeme Murphy and Janet Vernon in the role of Sophie in The Silver Rose. She is also a writer and regular contributor to The Australian Ballet’s blog Behind Ballet. Juliet was promoted to soloist in 2009 and to senior artist for the 2011 season.

repertoire highlights •Sophie in Graeme Murphy’s The Silver Rose 2010 •Wayne McGregor’s Dyad 1929 2009 •Flute variation in Serge Lifar’s Suite en blanc 2009 •Valse variation in Mikhail Fokine’s Les Sylphides 2009 •Semele in Matjash Mrozewski’s Semele 2008 •Polyhmnia in George Balanchine’s Apollo 2007

guest appearances •The Dancers Company tour 2004

awards •Telstra Ballet Dancer Award nominee 2009

You may not know ... Juliet’s mum is Indonesian, and comes from a large family of dancers, actors, musicians, poets and playwrights. Juliet’s grandmother was the Sultan’s principal dancer in his court in Java.

JulIeT burneTT “Captivating in sincerity.” The Australian

Miwako was born in Japan and began her ballet training with Fumika Morishima in Okinawa. Before joining The Australian Ballet School she trained with Kimie Sasamoto and Iwao Nagae in Tokyo. In 1997 Miwako was awarded the Idemitsu Scholarship at the sixth Asia Pacific Competition. After graduating from The Australian Ballet School in 1998 with honours she joined The Australian Ballet, going on to perform in many roles, including principal ones. She toured to Japan, New Zealand, China, London and New York with the company. Miwako was promoted to senior artist in 2010.

repertoire highlights •Swanilda and Dawn in Peggy van Praagh’s Coppélia 2010 •Princess Aurora and Lilac Fairy in Stanton Welch’s The Sleeping Beauty 2009 •Young Tsarevna in Graeme Murphy’s Firebird 2009 •Clara, Rose Fairy and Snow Fairy in Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker 2010, 2007 •Stephen Baynes’ Molto Vivace, Beyond Bach, Requiem and Catalyst •Prelude and Mazurka in Michel Fokine’s Les Sylphides 2009, 2006

awards •Telstra Ballet Dancer Award nominee 2010

guest appearances •The Dancers Company tour 2006

You may not know ... Miwako loves knitting, crochet, puzzles, Sudoku and cooking and is a proud Melbourne Storm supporter.

MIwako kuboTa “Delicate and regal” The Daily Telegraph

Born in Waihi, New Zealand, Ty King-Wall started dancing at the age of seven. He received his early ballet training at the Dance Education Centre in Tauranga. A Junior Associate of the New Zealand School of Dance, he left New Zealand at 16 to study full-time at The Australian Ballet School. Upon graduating dux with honours, Ty was accepted into The Australian Ballet in 2006. Since joining the company, Ty has danced such featured roles as Prince Florimund in The Sleeping Beauty, Octavian in The Silver Rose, Franz in Coppélia, and the Prince in The Nutcracker. He also had the role of Ceyx created on him in Tim Harbour’s Halcyon. Ty was promoted to soloist in 2010, and senior artist in 2011.

repertoire highlights •Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker 2010 •Tim Harbour’s Halcyon 2010 •Peggy van Praagh’s Coppélia 2010 •Stanton Welch’s The Sleeping Beauty 2009 •Nacho Duato’s Por vos muero 2009 •Stanton Welch’s Divergence 2009 •Suite en blanc 2009

awards •Telstra Ballet Dancer Award 2010 •Telstra Ballet Dancer Award nominee 2010 and 2008 •Lissa Black scholarship 2009 •Silver Medal, Asia Pacific International Ballet Competition 2005 •PACANZ Young Performer of the Year Award 2002

You may not know ... Ty is studying towards a Bachelor of Arts, with a double major in History and Classical Studies, through New Zealand’s Massey University.

TY kIng-wall “Vibrant and energetic” The Sunday Age

soloists

aMY harrIs

Amy Harris was born in Ararat, Victoria and began jazz and tap classes at her local ballet school, Rosengreens School of Dancing, at the age of three. From the age of ten, Amy trained in the Cecchetti method with Carole Oliver School of Ballet in Ballarat, and as a Cecchetti scholar won bronze and silver medals. In 1999, aged 15, Amy successfully auditioned for The Australian Ballet School. She joined The Australian Ballet in 2002 and was promoted to coryphée in 2007 and soloist in 2011.

repertoire highlights •The Silver Rose 2010 •The Girlfriend in Peggy van Praagh’s Coppélia 2010 •Robert Curran’s Fold, BodyTorque.à la mode 2010 •Stephen Baynes’ At the edge of night 2010 •Hera in Tim Harbour’s Halcyon 2010 •Stanton Welch’s The Sleeping Beauty 2009 •Nacho Duato’s Por vos muero 2009 •Alexei Ratmansky’s Scuola di ballo 2009

awards •Telstra People’s Choice Award 2008, 2010 •Friends of the Australian Ballet Scholarship 2001 •Nagae Scholarship 2000

You may not know ... Amy loves photography and music and finds herself snapping away and going to gigs whenever she can fit it in.

MaTThew DonnellY

Born in New South Wales, Matthew trained in Newcastle before joining The Australian Ballet School. After graduating with honours in 1996, he was invited to join the Royal Danish Ballet, where he worked with some of the world’s leading choreographers including Maurice Béjart, who recreated a solo for him in Gaîté Parisienne. A memorable moment was performing Return to the Strange Land for Her Majesty Queen Margrethe of Denmark in 1998. Matthew returned to The Australian Ballet in 1999. While enjoying the physical challenges of the contemporary works, classic storytelling is his passion. Matthew was promoted to soloist in 2005.

repertoire highlights •Drosselmeyer in Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker 2010 •Dr Coppelius in Peggy van Praagh’s Coppélia 2010 •Stephen Baynes’ Constant Variants 2007 •Colas and Alain in Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée 2004 •Mercutio in John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet 2003 •Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room 2002 •Peter Martins’ Fearful Symmetries 1997

awards •George Garrett scholarship 2010 •Adeline Genée Awards, Silver Medal 1995 •Asian Pacific International Ballet Competition, Silver Medal 1995 •Adeline Genée Awards, Bronze Medal 1994

You may not know … Matthew has a keen interest in film and editing, and has produced work for the company’s website and for use in performances.

ben DaVIs

Born in Melbourne in 1982, Ben Davis used to tag along to his sister’s jazz ballet classes and copy the routines from the back of the studio before he started attending his own classes at age seven. He trained with Leeanne Rutherford at Ballet Theatre of Australia and joined The Australian Ballet in 2005. Ben was promoted to coryphée in 2009 and soloist for the 2011 season.

repertoire highlights •The Baron in Graeme Murphy’s The Silver Rose 2010 •Stanton Welch’s Divergence 2009 •The Professor in Alexei Ratmansky’s Scuola di ballo 2009 •Wayne McGregor’s Dyad 1929 2009 •Nicolo Fonte’s The Possibility Space 2008 •Jirí Kylián’s Petite Mort 2005

awards •Maurice Sullivan scholarship 2007

You may not know ... Ben is a huge fan of pop music and loves singing in the car (which he sometimes forgets is not a soundproof booth).

soloists

laura Tong

Laura was born in Whangarei, New Zealand, grew up in Northland, New Zealand and has lived in Singapore and London. She started dancing at four when she began going, along with her older sister, to ballet and piano lessons. Laura studied with Maureen Ax, Phillipa Campbell and Joye Lowe in New Zealand, then at the English National Ballet School from 1998 to 2000. Upon graduation Laura entered the English National Ballet before joining The Australian Ballet in 2004. Laura has danced a diverse repertoire since joining the company and particularly enjoys the challenge of roles that are both physically and artistically demanding. She has toured to Japan, China, New Zealand, London, Paris and Greece.

repertoire highlights •Stephen Baynes’ Molto Vivace 2010 •Cigarette in Serge Lifar’s Suite en blanc 2009 •Guardian Swans in Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake 2009 •Carabosse in Stanton Welch’s The Sleeping Beauty 2009 •Nacho Duato’s Por vos muero 2009 •Stanton Welch’s Divergence 2009 •Waltz Girl in Les Sylphides 2009, 2006 •The Mistress in Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon 2008 •The Wife in Jerome Robbins’ The Concert 2008

You may not know … Laura has three sisters: a scientist, a vet and an economist

breTT sIMon

Brett Simon was born in Adelaide and began his dance training with Sheila Laing. At 16, he moved to Melbourne and studied at The Australian Ballet School, graduating in 2003. From 2004 to 2006 Brett was a member of West Australian Ballet and in 2007 he joined The Hong Kong Ballet as senior soloist after appearing with them as a guest artist. Brett has performed many principal and soloist roles in classical and contemporary ballets and he was nominated for Best Male Dancer at the 2005 Helpmann Awards for his performance in West Australian Ballet’s Dangerous Liaisons. Brett joined The Australian Ballet as coryphée in July 2009 and was promoted to soloist in 2011.

repertoire highlights •Stephen Baynes’ At the edge of night 2010 •William Forsythe’s Steptext 2009 •Romeo in Rudi van Dantzig’s Romeo and Juliet 2007 •Count Danilo in Ronald Hynd’s The Merry Widow 2007 •Le Viscomte de Valmont in Simon Dow’s Dangerous Liaisons 2005

awards •Helpmann Award nomination for Best Male Dancer 2005 •Keith M Christensen Award for Excellence •The Geoffrey Rothwell scholarship •The Noel Pelly scholarship

reIko hoMbo

Reiko started ballet at the age of five in her hometown of Kobe, Japan. After ten years of training in Japan, she joined The Australian Ballet School in 2003. In 2006 Reiko made her debut with The Australian Ballet in Giselle dancing the Peasant Pas De Deux. Since then, Reiko has danced a handful of critically acclaimed principal roles with the company, including Clara in Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker, and the title roles in Paquita and Matjash Mrozewski’s Semele. Reiko was promoted to soloist in 2010.

repertoire highlights •Coppélia 2010 •Alexei Ratmansky’s Scuola di ballo 2009 •Stanton Welch’s The Sleeping Beauty 2009 •Suite en blanc 2009 •Graeme Murphy’s Firebird 2009 •Semele 2008 •Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake 2008 •Paquita 2007 •Don Quixote 2007 •La Favorita 2007 •Spring Waters 2007 •Les Présages 2007 •Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker 2007 •Giselle 2006 •Raymonda 2006

guest appearances •The Dancers Company tour 2011, 2009, 2006

awards •Telstra Ballet Dancer Award nominee 2008 •The Friends of The Australian Ballet Scholarship 2005 •Caroline Poon Scholarship 2004

You may not know …Reiko would love to work as a Japanese-English interpreter one day.

anDrew wrIghT

Melbourne-born Andrew Wright began dancing at Christine Waters School of Dance in 1990 before completing his VCE and secondary dance training at the Victorian College of the Arts. In 2001 Andrew was accepted into The Australian Ballet School and during his time there had the opportunity to study with The National Ballet School of Canada and the School of American Ballet as an exchange student. After graduating as dux, Andrew joined The Australian Ballet in 2002. 2007 saw Andrew travel to Europe on a scholarship from the company. In 2010 he guested in the USA at the Oregon Ballet Theater’s gala. He was promoted to coryphée in 2008 and to soloist for the 2011 season.

repertoire highlights •Act 3 grand pas de deux in Stanton Welch’s The Sleeping Beauty 2010 •Stanton Welch’s Divergence 2009 •Wayne McGregor’s Dyad 1929 2009 •Peasant Pas De Deux in Giselle 2008 •Pas de cinq in Suite en blanc 2009 •George Balanchine’s Symphony in C 2004 •Jirí Kylián’s Sechs Tanze 2004

awards •Telstra Ballet Dancer Award nominee 2008 •Anne Woolliams Award for Excellence in Dance 2001 •Geoffrey Rothwell scholarship •James & Pamela Mills scholarship

You may not know... Andrew loves to travel. His favourite city is New York.

Jacob soFer

Jacob Sofer was born in Israel and moved to Melbourne at the age of five. He studied at the National Theatre Ballet School and the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School before attending The Australian Ballet School. After graduating Jacob joined the Royal New Zealand Ballet in 2003, where he danced the role of Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet both in New Zealand and during the 2004 UK tour. He also danced the role of Franz in Coppélia and several main parts in contemporary seasons. Jacob joined The Australian Ballet at the beginning of 2005 and was promoted to soloist in 2011.

repertoire highlights •The Photographer in Graeme Murphy’s The Silver Rose 2009 •The Professor in Alexei Ratmansky’s Scuolo di ballo 2009 •Stephen Baynes’ Constant Variants 2007 •Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker 2007 •Don Quixote 2007 •Stephen Baynes’ Raymonda 2006 •Jir í Kylián’s Petite Mort 2005

You may not know ... Jacob enjoys designing, photography and riding his motorbike and has a mini schnauzer called Spiky.

ruDY hawkes

At the age of seven, Ipswich-born Rudy joined his local dance school, where he spent several years learning jazz, tap, and contemporary ballet. He studied at the Shayne McCormick Dance Centre and Brisbane Dance Centre before joining the Queensland Dance School of Excellence. He moved to Melbourne in 2002 to take up a position at The Australian Ballet School. In 2004 Rudy was selected to participate in a student exchange to New York and Toronto, taking classes with the American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company. He joined The Australian Ballet in 2005 and was promoted to soloist for the 2011 season. Rudy has enjoyed working with many choreographers including Wayne McGregor, Graeme Murphy and Janet Vernon, Stephen Page and Stephen Baynes.

repertoire highlights •Jir í Kylián’s Forgotten Land, Stepping Stones and Petite Mort 2005 •Stephen Page’s Amalgamate 2006 •Stephen Page’s Rites 2008 •Rat Pack member in Stephen Baynes’ Raymonda 2006 •Prince Partner in Graeme Murphy’s Nutcracker – The Story of Clara 2009 •Octavian in Graeme Murphy’s The Silver Rose 2010 •Ceyx in Tim Harbour’s Halcyon 2010

robYn henDrIcks

South African-born Robyn Hendricks began ballet classes aged eight after her grandfather observed her dancing on her toes all the time. Growing up in an academic family, Robyn was the first family member to pursue a creative passion. Training in the Cecchetti Syllabus, Robyn travelled to Melbourne in 2001 to participate in the annual Cecchetti International Competition. During the competition, she was approached by The Australian Ballet School and was asked to audition formally for entrance into the prestigious national school. During her time at The Australian Ballet School, Robyn was one of four students selected to participate in a student exchange to Canada, where she studied for four weeks with the National Ballet School in Toronto. She joined The Australian Ballet in 2005.

repertoire highlights •Wayne McGregor’s Dyad 1929 2009 •Alexei Ratmansky’s Scola di ballo 2009 •Nacho Duato’s Por vos muero 2009 •Stanton Welch’s The Sleeping Beauty 2009

guest appearances •The Dancers Company tour 2008

awards •Telstra Ballet Dancer Award nominee 2009, 2007 •Friends of The Australian Ballet Scholarship

You may not know ... Robyn enjoys reading and cooking in her spare time. She is fluent in Afrikaans.

Andrew Killian and Robyn Hendricks Photography Lynette Wills

Photo: James Braund.

Fostering potential far and wide.“Out There - The Australian Ballet in schools provides the opportunity for boys and girls to participate in workshops that engage and educate, regardless of their previous dance experience.

Thanks to In Schools Education Program Partner NAB, workshops will be offered to thousands of Australian students this year.

NAB’s support means we can give as many students as possible the chance to dance, fostering their potential and opening them up to new artistic experiences.”

David McAllister Artistic Director, The Australian Ballet

Dimity Azoury Imogen Chapman Brett Chynoweth Kristy Corea Eloise Fryer Rohan Furnell Jessica Fyfe

Ingrid Gow Noah Gumbert Calvin Hannaford Timothy Harford Jack Hersee Richard House Cameron Hunter

John-Paul Idaszak Ako Kondo Brooke Lockett Jake Mangakahia* Luke Marchant Karen Nanasca Rina Nemoto

Mitchell Rayner Christopher Rodgers-Wilson Sharni Spencer Benjamin Stuart-Carberry Valerie Tereshchenko Charles Thompson Sarah Thompson

Alice Topp Jade Wood Jessica Wood

coryphÉes

corps de ballet *Corps de ballet Scholarship endowed by the Paulette Carson Trust

Kismet Bourne Chengwu Guo Natalie Fincher Halaina Hills Natasha Kusen Jarryd Madden Heidi Martin

Dana Stephensen Garry Stocks Vivienne Wong

artistic staff

Danilo Radojevic, a dancer with a dynamic style and exceptional technical skill, catapulted to international status at the age of 19 when he won the Gold Medal at the 1977 International Ballet Competition in Moscow, the only Australian to win this prestigious award throughout the Moscow competition’s long history.

Soon after, Danilo left The Australian Ballet to become a soloist with American Ballet Theatre in New York. He remained with the company for 15 years, visiting his homeland in 1978 and 1979 with Stars of the World Ballet and in 1991 with Rudolf Nureyev’s last tour. Danilo was promoted to principal dancer of American Ballet Theatre by Artistic Director Mikhail Baryshnikov in 1981 and performed the leading roles in many of the classics, often alternating with Baryshnikov himself.

After retiring from dancing, Danilo taught at American Ballet Theatre, New York Dance Studios and leading universities in California, gaining a reputation as an outstanding technical coach. He returned to join the ballet staff of The Australian Ballet in 1997 at the invitation of former Artistic Director Ross Stretton.

Danilo was appointed Associate Artistic Director of The Australian Ballet in July 2001.

Elizabeth was born in Melbourne, Australia. Her full-time dance training was at the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts, under the direction of Alan Alder and Lucette Aldous. At the conclusion of her training in 1986, Elizabeth joined West Australian Ballet under the direction of Barry Moreland. During the ten years with West Australian Ballet, Elizabeth was encouraged to explore her choreographic and rehearsal direction talents, assisting ballet staff and leaving a legacy of several works in repertoire.

Moving to freelance work in 1996, Elizabeth choreographed and taught classical ballet for several of the major dance institutions in Australia. She commenced a choreographic career in opera which has seen her create movement for Fledermaus, Lakme, Arabella, Pirates of Penzance, HMS Pinafore, Trial by Jury, Tales of Hoffmann, My Fair Lady, A Little Night Music, all for Opera Australia. She also wrote and directed a schools’ production of Cinderella for Oz Opera. Elizabeth has had the privilege of working with celebrated directors and conductors such as Stuart Maunder, John Cox, Lindy Hume and Richard Bonynge.

Elizabeth holds a graduate Diploma in Arts Management, a qualification which has allowed her to work as Company Manager for Opera Australia, Artistic Liaison Manager for ABC television and Opera Australia and Producer for Symphony of Australia.

In 2003 Elizabeth was asked to assist Meryl Tankard on her production of Wild Swans for The Australian Ballet. This project enabled her to teach and coach for The Australian Ballet; she later choreographed for the inaugural season of Bodytorque.

Fiona Tonkin began her career in Wellington where she joined the Royal New Zealand Ballet in 1979. Her association with The Australian Ballet began in 1980 when Marilyn Jones invited her to join the company.

By 1987 she had become a principal artist, renowned for her interpretative artistry, classicism and technical versatility. On her retirement in 1993, she had danced almost every major female role in the company’s repertoire.

Career highlights with The Australian Ballet include her performances at The Royal Opera House, the Kirov Theatre and the Metropolitan Opera House and opening the company’s 1992 London Coliseum season as Giselle.

She appeared as a guest artist with the Kirov Ballet in Swan Lake and on Rudolf Nureyev’s Farewell Tour, and danced lead roles in the ABC TV broadcasts of La Fille mal gardée and Romeo and Juliet. Fiona received Green Room Awards in 1988 and 1989.

Fiona returned to New Zealand in 1994 where she completed a Bachelor of Arts at Canterbury University while guest teaching in New Zealand and Australia. In 1999 she completed The Australian Ballet School’s Professional Dance Teachers Course and was awarded the Australian Multicultural Foundation Scholarship.

In 2000 Artistic Director Matz Skoog appointed her Rehearsal Director of the Royal New Zealand Ballet. She continued to work with Skoog in London as Assistant Artistic Director of the English National Ballet in 2002. Fiona has worked with many choreographers including Stanton Welch, Mark Morris, Christopher Hampson and Mark Baldwin.

Fiona returned to The Australian Ballet in 2003 at the invitation of David McAllister.

Originally from Melbourne, Darren started dancing with Jennie Johnson before attending The Australian Ballet School. He went on to enjoy a successful career spanning 18 years with Queensland Ballet, Bonner Ballet, Basel Ballet, Gothenburg Ballet, The Royal New Zealand Ballet, English National Ballet and the Scottish Ballet. During this period he danced many leading roles in ballets by such notable choreographers as Sir Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, Robert Cohen, Harold Collins, Robert North, Jirí Kylián, Youri Vamos and Mats Ek.

He has received the Cadbury Arts Award (1991), the Swedish Male Dancer Award (1994) and the Swedish Freemason’s Critics’ Award (1995). He gained his Professional Dancers’ Teaching Diploma through the Royal Academy of Dance in 2003 and his Benesh Movement Notation Diploma in 2005.

Now based in London, Darren’s freelance teaching has taken him to companies and schools world-wide. He has held posts at the Elmhurst and Laban institutes (UK), trained the original Billys for Billy Elliot, and taught in the Genée competition (2010).

As a notator he has worked for The Royal Ballet on Wayne McGregor’s Chroma, Nimbus and Infra and Christopher Wheeldon’s additional choreography for The Sleeping Beauty.

Darren loves life and all the adventures that come with it.

DanIlo raDoJeVIc Associate Artistic Director

Mark Kay took up the profession of choreology after studying Benesh Movement Notation at The Australian Ballet School. In 1986 he went to London to complete the course at the Benesh Institute and while there notated and worked with choreographer Gillian Lynne on the musical The Phantom of the Opera.

He joined The Royal Ballet as a freelance notator in 1987 and worked on Wayne Eagling’s Beauty and the Beast and Anthony Dowell’s Swan Lake.

After a twelve-month repose in Australia, Mark returned to London in 1988 to work for English National Ballet. During his five years with the company he performed, notated, and worked with many choreographers and directors, including Peter Schaufuss, Ronald Hynd, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Nicholas Beriosoff, Ben Stevenson and Ivan Nagy.

As a freelancer, Mark has staged Peter Schaufuss’ Nutcracker for the Graz Oper Ballett in Austria in 1992, Rudolf Nureyev’s Don Quixote for the Royal Swedish Ballet in 1994 and for The Royal Ballet in 2001, and taught Christopher Wheeldon’s Continuum© for the Dutch National Ballet (2005) and Zurich Ballet (2006).

In 1993 former Artistic Director Maina Gielgud invited Mark to join The Australian Ballet as the company’s choreologist, where he continues to notate and stage ballet, as well as performing character roles such as Sancho Panza in Don Quixote. For The Dancers Company, he has been responsible for teaching, staging, and recently performing the role of The Head Mistress in Graduation Ball.

Mark kaY Ballet Master & Choreologist

elIzabeTh hIll Ballet Mistress & Repetiteur

FIona TonkIn Principal Coach & Ballet Mistress

Darren ParIsh Ballet Master & Choreologist

Lana Jones and Adam Bull Photography Lynette Wills

philanthropy

what does it take to be a part of something unique, great and lasting?

The journey begins with the artistic director deciding to commission a new ballet. He works with the choreographer he’s selected to determine the work – in this case Romeo & Juliet – and together they decide on the creative team.

The creative briefs are fixed, the budgets are set and the process brings together a host of

artists, including costume, lighting and set designers, who together agree on how they will tell the story. Interestingly, when all the design elements are in place, the last piece of creation is the choreography. The choreographer will have thought a great deal about what they want the ballet to look like, but it is only when they get into the studio with the dancers that all the elements start to become a reality. By this time, hundreds of hours have been spent building and painting sets and making the costumes to exacting specifications, and choreologists and ballet staff have worked tirelessly to assist the choreographer in bringing the ballet together.

The curtain goes up and the audience witnesses the birth of something truly extraordinary.

That is the incredibly exciting, creative side of the business and that is what drives us all to be part of this ballet company. While all that creativity has been taking place, Finance, Marketing & Communications, Customer Services and Fundraising teams have been working to support the artistic process.

The journey of Romeo & Juliet would not have been possible without the generosity of the James & Diana Ramsay Foundation. Diana Ramsay and her trustees decided to contribute $300,000 towards the production of the costumes designed by Akira Isogawa. This gift was matched by the Ian Potter Foundation and a budget of $600,000 was realised, making possible the production of the most beautiful costumes imaginable.

Philanthropy is increasingly playing a major role in what is being achieved by The Australian Ballet and we are so grateful to all our Patrons, whose donations are the lifeblood of the company.

As the curtain rises on Graeme Murphy’s new Romeo & Juliet, you will be witnessing the culmination of enormous effort and dedication by so many and we thank our Patrons for supporting us. Philanthropy is helping us to be part of something unique, great and lasting.

kenneth w watkinsDirector of PhilanthropyPhone 03 9669 2780

enDowMenT Funds within The endowment The Australian Ballet Endowment encompasses capital funds created by individuals, large donations and bequests. The income earned is used for the benefit of the Ballet.

The International Fund capital contributions Ms Laurie CowledFrances GerardDale & Ian JohnsonMrs Sarah MurdochMrs R H O’ConnorDr Valmai Pidgeon AMMr Kenneth R ReedTalbot Family FoundationAnonymous (1)We are also grateful to those other individuals who made donations of $20,000 or less.It was the Opening Night of Swan Lake in London in 2005 that inspired Frances Gerard to establish this important Fund.

endowment Funds The Robert & Elizabeth Albert Music FundThe Richard & Barbara Allert FundThe K Christensen & AE Bond BequestThe Walter Bourke PrizeThe George Garratt FundThe Maina Gielgud FundThe Kathleen Gorham Fund established in her memoryThe Neil Hopkins FundThe Freda Irving Memorial Scholarship FundBarry Kay Memorial Scholarship FundJohn Lanchbery FundThe Ian McRae AO FundThe Susan Morgan FundThe Frank & Thora Pearce FundThe Colin Peasley OAM Fund for EducationThe Noël Pelly AM FundThe Margaret Ellen Pidgeon Fund for Classical Ballet endowed by Dr Valmai Pidgeon AMThe James & Diana Ramsay (The Australian Ballet) FundThe Kenneth R Reed FundKevin Regan Fund endowed by Max JohnstonThe James Slater Memorial FundThe Marigold Southey FundThe Robert Southey Fund for Australian Choreography, endowed by The Sidney Myer FundRoss Stretton Fund endowed by Bee FletcherThe Maurice Sullivan Memorial Scholarship FundDame Peggy van Praagh Fund for ChoreographyMargaret Elizabeth Oxford Fund The Christine Marie Johnson Maple-Brown ScholarshipThe Dorothy Hicks FundThe Melba Alma Cromack Fund

contributions to the general Fund David Crawford AO & Maureen CrawfordIan & Norma DrewHenry & Miriam GreenfieldMr Fred Millar AO CBE & Beth MillarPerini Family FoundationQueensland Friends of The Australian BalletThe Robert Salzer FoundationDick & Pip SmithPeter & Frieda ThornhillAnonymous (1)

estates The Australian Ballet acknowledges with great appreciation the bequests which it has received from the Estates of the following benefactors. These bequests have been invaluable in the achievement of the company’s objectives.Mr Reginald Edward Gregory MBE & Mrs GregoryPatricia Marie SmitPatricia Hope WillisColin Robert MarshallHazel GrahamEthel Margaret Ewing CuttenRobert J ShipsidesE M BlackPaul SinclairMrs M M C DjordjevicDr George GarrattRobert Salzer AOBetty Gleeson-WhiteClifford BurgessKeith M ChristensenWilliam Arthur Hugh GordonFreda Eileen SpicerAsle Noel ChiltonGwendolyn Letitia TennantSir Robert Southey AO CMGBrenda June McGowanMr Will NobleNorma Lucas PayneMrs Ila Leland Massy BurnsideGay John Therese ClarkeGwendoline I TregearLesley Morgan SperryGwen HuntMrs Patricia McSpeerinMr Noël Pelly AMLady Snedden AMWilliam F WellsMrs Thora PearceMiss Ann WilliamsMr Ian Berkeley SmallNola Joan HassallJean HammondMr A S LeslieMr Laurie DaviesEsther Primrose Lucy Gertrude PoelmanDame Joyce Margaretta DawsLady Nancy Fairfax AM OBEErnest SpinnerMargery I PierceBarbara Bishop HewittMrs Sylvia BoxDr Donald WrightMrs Sally SinisoffBetty June DrabschMarianne MartinMr Norman Drogemuller OAMJean M NegusDr Dawn Meryl ThewJudith Gwen NewberryDuncan Elphinstone McBryde LearyMiss Ruth Margaret DavidsonDr Alf HowardMs Jane D CrawfordMr Harold G Marshall AMMuriel LeadbeaterMelba Alma CromackPatricia Cameron-StewartAnonymous (2)

The Dame Peggy van Praagh leadership circle securing the future through a bequest If you would like further information on the Bequest program, please ring Donna brearley (03) 9669 2782.Mr L Kevin AdairMrs Sheila AdamsRichard Allert AM FCA & Barbara AllertBetty Amsden OAMMrs Patricia AndersMs Greta ArchboldMs Jennifer Barnes

Philip & Laurel BendreyMs Kirsty BennettMrs Anne BoyleAnn & Derek BrahamDonna BrearleyPatricia A BreslinMrs R D Bridges OBEMrs Margaret BroeksJannie BrownMs Deborah BuckettWendy BurginDr Sheena L BurnellTrish ByrnePam CaldwellMr John Calvert-Jones AM & Mrs Janet Calvert-Jones AODr Brian T CareyRobert E A CarliRowena CatchatoorRon & Luci ChambersMr Bryan ChidgeyMiss Beverley F ClarkJoyce Clothier OAMJudy ConnorCaroline Cooper MVOMr Jim Cousins AO & Mrs Libby CousinsJudith CowdenMiss Katrina CowenJoan CowieMrs Maree D’AlterioJohn DalyMr Leonard DarkMerawyn DaviesDavid de Verelle-HillMiss Patricia DownesGeorge DrewMrs Lorraine DrogemullerMrs Jill DuckEdrina Dunstan & The Late David DunstanCarol & Ted EdwardsJo EdwardsMrs Joan Daphne EvansRichard EvansRoss FairhurstThe Late Jim FinchPeter F FlemingRita FletcherBarrie I Follows AM JP & Margaret Gail FollowsMr George FosterMrs Geraldine Fox-PenglisFrances GerardAnthea GilbertSuzanne GleesonThe Late Mrs Krystyna Gogolak & Mr Stephen GogolakMs Margo GrahamLyn GriggMrs Lilian HardyMr Robert B HaynesHilary A HazledineChristopher Hector & Ros NeaveMs Claire HoustonDr & Mrs Ken HoyleLilla ItoMichael & Jennifer JamesMax JohnstonThe Late Mrs Mary JonesMarlene KavanaghMarion J KellyMrs Valda KlaricLisa KokegeiSimon LambourneFrancine LancasterMavis LanceMrs Carlean LangbeinPeter Langford AMGeraldine Lawton BequestMrs Judy LeeDaniel-Francois LemesleKate LewisDr C S LoaderMrs Patricia LoughheadPamela & David LuhrsChris MackayGeoff & Margaret MarkhamL Marrone

Patsy MartinMr Edward J MasonGraham MathesonDavid McAllister AMMr Robert W McCormackD J McGregorMr Michael McKenzie & Mr Neil JonesJudithe & John McKindleyCanon Albert McPhersonToni MeathPrudence MenziesMs A MichellMargaret MiddletonMrs Susan MorganMary MurphyTJ NakasuwanSimon NettletonMiss Shirley NevilleMiss Judith NewberryDr Kersti NogesteMr Arthur L NorcottMrs Roma NorcottKathleen O’HaraDi Palmer & Stephen Rodgers-WilsonMrs Meredith PetersLady PorterMrs Diana Ramsay AOPenelope S RawlinsTrevor RiceRhonda & Peter RogaRichard RossCaroline J Ross-SmithMs Ros RussellMrs Margaret SaultMiss Sheila Scotter AM MBEMargot SeeleyMr & Mrs Charles SheldonSara J SimpsonElvira SinicinsMr Tiger SmithLady Southey ACJacques Spira OAM & Edith SpiraNorman StevensMs Juanita StockwellMiss Pat SutherlandDeb SuttonElizabeth SwantonSusanne SweetlandMs Susan TaylorDr Christine ThevathasanDr Diana TolhurstMichele & Mario TopcicDr Sally TownsendMiss Ruth TraitPatricia TylerJohn & Susan VanderstockPatricia Speher VanderwalMs Jill VaughanPeter VaughanDr Richard VeseyKenneth W WatkinsPamela WhalanDi Whitaker, in memory of Emma Jane ToussaintMargaret Amery WhiteBarry & Megan WillcoxMr Antony WilliamsJan WilliamsLeonard J WilsonMs Sallyann WilsonJosie Woodgate OAMYvonne YendellVictor & Christine ZemancheffMrs Ruth ZionzeeAnonymous (42)

general support The australian ballet society Inc President Josie Woodgate OAMFriends of The australian ballet (nsw) Chairman Greg KhouryFriends of The australian ballet (sa) Inc President Catherine Ellice-FlintThe australian ballet school Director Marilyn Rowe OBE

australian opera and ballet orchestra through opera australia orchestra Victoriasydney opera house Trust Queensland Performing arts centre

annual gIVIng President lady Potter ac The Australian Ballet is proud to acknowledge the generous support and encouragement it receives through Annual Giving. Continued support from individuals and corporations is essential to develop our artistic excellence and secure the future of The Australian Ballet. If you would like to join our Annual Giving program, please ring: Judy Turner senior Manager QlD/sa/wa 03 9669 2732lisa bolte Patrons Manager VIc/Tas 03 9669 2735Jane Diamond Patrons Manager nsw/acT 02 9253 5316All donations are fully tax deductible.

MaJor gIFT & MaTchIng granT The Ian Potter FoundationThe Ian Potter Foundation has made a grant of $4 million over five years for the maintenance, upgrading and refurbishment of The Primrose Potter Australian Ballet Centre and towards furthering the company’s education programs, followed by a matching grant of up to $4 million that matches other grants and donations made to The Australian Ballet on a dollar for dollar basis.

les etoiles supporting the Principal artists Mrs Mary BarlowNatasha BownessMs Robin CampbellMrs Sam ChisholmVal HardingLynnette HarveyMr Arthur L NorcottMrs Roma NorcottMrs Helen O’NeilMrs Kerry Packer AODr Valmai Pidgeon AMLady Potter ACMrs Robert Rose AMMrs Christine Smedley

Principal Patrons gifts over $20,000 Mr Robert Albert AO & Mrs AlbertMr Peter Clemenger AM & Mrs Joan ClemengerMrs Tonya McCusker

gifts $15,000 – $19,999 Betty Amsden OAMMrs Janis SalisburyMr Dick Smith AO & Mrs Pip Smith

soloist Patrons gifts $10,000 – $14,999Brian Abel & The Late Ben Gannon AOMrs Roseanne AmarantMrs Ruth ArmytageMr John Calvert-Jones AM & Mrs Janet Calvert-Jones AOAngie CarterMrs Gordon Douglass AM

Mrs Barbara DuhigMrs Penny EdwardsJohn & Catherine Ellice-FlintBeverley Harvey & The Late Richard HarveyMrs Norma LeslieJoan LyonsMr Robert Maple-Brown AO & Mrs Susan Maple-BrownMrs D H McLaurinDame Elisabeth Murdoch AC DBEDr Clare MyersMr & Mrs B G O’ConorMrs Sue PeriniDave Poddar & Angela FlanneryLady PorterMr Kenneth R ReedRenaissance ToursE XipellAnonymous (1)

coryphee Patrons gifts $5,000 – $9,999 Antoinette AlbertJim & Janette BainArda & John BarryMrs Ros Bracher AMJannie BrownJoyce Clothier OAMBar & Tim CohenAnnette CookMr Jim Cousins AO & Mrs Libby CousinsMs Laurie CowledMrs Shirley DanglowMrs Suzanne Davidson OAMMr Adam C ElderIn memory of Winefred FaithfullMr & Mrs Chris FullertonMr John R FullertonDr Nicholas Girdis CBE & Mrs Marina GirdisLouis Hamon OAMLouise HamshereClaire HandlerGillian HundDale & Ian JohnsonGreg KhouryDr Judith KinnearMr & Mrs Aron KleinlehrerMr Steven Lowy AM & Mrs Judy LowyMiss Fay MahoneyGraham MathesonDavid McAllister AMJohn & Anni McArthurMecca CosmeticaSusan MorganDiana & Graeme PhillipsNorman F PollackProf Ruth RentschlerDr Ian Ross & Mrs Margaret S Ross AMLyne SedgmanMrs Joyce Sproat & Mrs CookeMrs Anne SymonsDr Christine ThevathasanJill ThorpeMr & Mrs Leigh VirtueRay Wilson OAM & The Late James Agapitos OAMDr Michael J WrightEmma ZuberAnonymous (5)

corps de ballet Patrons gifts $3,000 – $4,999 Mr Lee BarrRosemary & John BarrKirsty BennettCharles G ClarkMr John K DowlingMrs Neilma GantnerMr Chris GillmanMrs Anne GluyasAlan & Marion GrundyPat HowellGillian HundMiss Dawn V KellyChristina Marks

Malcolm & Sandy McLachlanDr Merrilyn Murnane AMMr Henry Nowik AO OBE & Mrs Kathy NowikYvonne ReuvekampMr Michael ShmithValerie TaylorAnn TregearDanny & Barbara WatsonDonna WoodhillAnonymous (2)

gifts $1,000 – $2,999 Mrs Anna AffleckDon & Veronica AldridgeMrs Jane AllenMiss Catherine AlstonIn memory of Ian & Ila AndersonRichard & Therese ArmstrongPeter & Jennifer BartterMs Barbara BedwellP. & L. BendreyBirdsall Leather & CraftsMiss Catherine BoagMr Leonard BosmanMaxine BownessMrs Susan BrennanMrs R D Bridges OBEMrs Annabel M BrownMs Rita BrownMarilyn BurtonMrs Nancy ButlerMs Trish ByrnePam CaldwellMrs June CameronMs Joyce CampbellMr & Mrs Michel-Henri CarriolMr Paul CarterMrs Ronda ChisholmMrs David ClarkeDr Anne ColmanDr Margaret CookBarry CowdellTim & Bryony CoxMrs Joanne CrothersCharles Curran AC & Eva CurranMrs Kate DammMrs Joan DarlingMs Jenny Darling & Ms Emma DarlingMrs Felicity DemediukDickerson Gallery NSWJean-Yves DidierMr John G Donaldson AOMr John Downer AM & Mrs DownerPatricia DuffyOlive DunkDr Lyn Edwards & Prof Robert BryceMr Greg EganMiss S Y EvansRonald B FarrowMr & Mrs Robert FlewMr William J Forrest AMGeorge FosterEric & Tonia GaleMs Joanne GallpenMrs Kylie GankoChristine GeorgeMs Diana GerstmanMs Judy GillardWilliam G. GloverMr Charles GoodeDr Kirsten Gormly & Mr Kristian DowningMr & Mrs Leon GorrMr Richard Green & Mrs Isabella Green OAMLyn GriggFelicity Gunner OAMMaria HallMrs Jean HealeyMs Linda HerdDr & Mrs Darryl J HodgkinsonAlan HolgateMrs Robyn HopkinsMrs Caroline HowardDr & Mrs Greg HoyMrs Christine HughesDr Alastair Jackson

Michelle JohnsonMr Maxwell JohnstonMr Paul A JonesSteven & Paula JonesMr & Mrs Ervin KatzMrs Jenny KudelkaMrs Nathalie KulakowskiPeter Langford AMDr Joan M Lawrence AMMargaret LedermanMr Ross LiebmannRosalind LilleySusie LobbMr & Mrs Rob Logie-SmithRichard & Elizabeth LongesAnthony & Suzanne Maple-BrownMrs Alexandra MartinMrs Judith A MatearMarie McCann OAMMrs Cherry McCardelMr Robert W McCormackMs Sandra McCullaghMrs Ann McFarlingMrs Jane McGregorMr Michael McKenzie & Mr Neil JonesJohn & Rae McKimMrs Ann McNamaraDrs Pam & Andrew McQueenMrs Pamela McTaggartHarry Melkonian & Wei WuMr Alex MichalakJohn M MichelmoreMargaret MiddletonDesmond B Misso EsqBeatrice MoignardMrs Veronica MooneyMrs Marie MortonMr D M MurrayMrs Margaret MurrayMr Simon NettletonMrs Jan NorthamRussell J NowellMrs Rachel H O’ConorRichard O’DwyerThe Hon Mr Justice B O’Keefe AM & Mrs Janette O’KeefeMrs Diana-Rose OrrMs Amanda PaliourasMrs Yvonne R PennyDi Palmer & Stephen Rodgers-WilsonGeoffrey & Jan PhillipsDr Valmai Pidgeon AMMr & Mrs Alan L PlattRobin PotterKerryn PratchettMrs Esme ProudmanLynn Rainbow ReidMiss Jennifer RhodesJudy Roach for Estate Ian RoachMs Judy RogersPamela RogersDr John RoseMichael & Veronica RouxMs Ros RussellMrs Deri SaundersMr Bill Scales AOIn memory of Phyllis ScarlettMax & Jill SchultzDonna Scott-YoungMrs Christine SearcyMs Polly ShawDr Adam T SheridanTim & Lynne SherwoodNev SimpsonMr Gary Singer & Mr Geoffrey SmithMr Steven Skala AO & Mrs Lousje SkalaMr & Mrs B N SmithMrs Jenny SmithProf Nerida A SmithMr Sam Smorgon AO & Mrs Minnie SmorgonMr Ezekiel Solomon AMMr David SouthwickJacques Spira OAM & Edith SpiraMr Bruce Stracey

John & Jo StruttThe Honourable Brian Sully QCMildred TeitlerRuth TraitMr Roger N Traves SC & Mrs Samantha TravesMr A.J. TruettMrs Claire TruscottDaphne TurnbullRosslyn J TurnerMr & Mrs F G UptonMrs Robyn VealMrs K D VercoDr Richard VeseyJohn & Judith WalkerMrs Jackie WallaceS & J WallisMs Rosemary WallsSusan WarburtonMrs Margaret WardMrs Elizabeth WareingMrs Suzanne A WaterhouseMr Kenneth W WatkinsPat & John WebbM W WellsAngela WestacottPamela WhalanMrs Anne WhartonMrs Marjorie WhiteMrs S WhiteDrs E & H WickiMr & Mrs M WillcoxsonJudith WilliamsKay WilliamsonMr Robert WinnelMs Josie Woodgate OAMMs Helen WoodsIain & Judy WyattrobAust Pty LtdRuth ZionzeeAnonymous (26)

supporters gifts $100 – $999 1080

support from Private Foundations The Sandy Michell Legacy - ANZ TrusteesDunstan Family FoundationJames & Diana Ramsay FoundationKhitercs Hirai FoundationLord Mayor’s Charitable FoundationThe Cory Charitable FoundationThe Flew FoundationThe Greatorex FoundationThe Ken & Asle Chilton Charitable TrustThe Ross TrustSnowy Nominees Charitable TrustWilliam Arthur Hugh Gordon Fund – Perpetual Trustees

out There – The australian ballet in schools Talbot Family FoundationThe Angior Family FoundationThe Ian Potter Foundation The Profield FoundationTim Fairfax Family FoundationWilliam Angliss (Victoria) Charitable Fund

Philanthropy support Renaissance Tours – Preferred Philanthropy tour operatorDendy Films & KinoHopscotch

Correct as at05.08.11

Daniel Gaudiello and Lana JonesPhotography James Braund

melbourne

CONCERTMASTER adam chalabi

DEPUTY CONCERTMASTER roger Jonsson

VIOLIN Yi wang Erica Kennedy* Elizabeth Ambrose Binny Baik Severin Donnenberg Lubino Fernandes^ Rachel Gamer Matthew Hassall Rachael Hunt Ceridwen Jones Mara Miller^ Philip Nixon John Noble Susan Pierotti^ Martin Reddington Christine Ruiter

VIOLA Paul McMillan Hannah Forsyth*^ Catherine Bishop Jason Bunn Nadine Delbridge Ray Hope

CELLO Melissa chominsky Diane Froomes* Sarah Cuming Philippa Gardner Tania Hardy-Smith Andrea Taylor

DOUBLE BASS Davin holt Dennis Vaughan* Matthew Thorne

FLUTE lisa-Maree amos Karen Schofield* Lorraine Bradbury

PICCOLO Michael Smith

OBOE stephen robinson Joshua de Graaf*

CLARINET Paul champion Richard Sholl*

BASS CLARINET Andrew Mitchell

BASSOON lucinda cran Tahnee Van Herk*

CONTRABASSOON Glenn Prohasky

FRENCH HORN Jasen Moulton Linda Hewett Heather McMahon

TRUMPET Mark Fitzpatrick Anthony Pope* Mark Skillington Robert Smithies^

TROMBONE scott evans Anthony Gilham*

BASS TROMBONE Geraldine Evers

HARP Mary anderson

TIMPANI guy du blêt

PERCUSSION conrad nilsson Paul Sablinskis*

BOLD PRINT denotes Section Leaders

* denotes the player who leads the section in the absence of the Section Leader

^ denotes Principal Emeritus

BOARD Hon. Mary Delahunty (Chair) Paul Champion Evelyn Danos Richard Hamer Jane Gilmour OAM Tony Osmond Rob Perry Lady Marigold Southey AC

MANAGEMENT Managing Director Rob Robertson

Deputy Managing Director/Director of Development Franca Smarrelli

Personal Assistant to Managing Director Vicki Shuttleworth

Director of Operations Heikki Mohell

Production Manager Paul Doyle

Production Coordinator Ryan Barwood

Orchestra Manager Mel Wilson

Orchestral Librarian Robert Smithies (Acting)

Library Assistant Jennette Green

Community Programs Manager Minerva Draeger

Corporate Services Manager Philip Bird

Marketing Coordinator Justin King

Administration Officer Estelle Hentze

Finance Officer Rose Dragovic

Finance Assistant Jason Nguyen

Major gifts Orchestra Victoria acknowledges the outstanding generosity of our very special donors. Mr Robert Albert AO, RFD RD & Mrs Libby Albert Miss Betty Amsden OAM Annamila Pty Ltd Evelyn & Tom Danos Mrs Neilma Gantner Gaye & John Gaylard Geoff Handbury AO Mr Richard Hamer Handbury Family Foundation Dr Peter A Kingsbury Gippsland Dental Group Mr David Mandie AM, OBE Don & Angela Mercer Dame Elisabeth Murdoch AC, DBE Lady Southey AC

Principal Donors The ongoing work of Orchestra Victoria throughout Victoria is only possible with donations Every gift is important and appreciated. Davis & Cindy Abbey Alan & Sally Beckett Peter & Ivanka Canet Sandy Clark Grace Croft Hon. Mary Delahunty Paul Doyle Jane Edmanson OAM Ian Hocking & Rosemary Forbes Isabella Green OAM & Richard Green Jean Hadges Henkell Brothers Australia, Pty Ltd Darvell M Hutchinson AM Dr Alastair Jackson Russell & Jenni Jenkins Peter Kolliner OAM Maple-Brown Abbott Investment Managers Yvonne & Phillip Marshall David McAlpine Heather McKenzie Michelle & Ian Moore Baillieu Myer AC & Mrs Sarah Myer John & Lorraine Redman Michael Robinson AO & Judith Robinson Elizabeth Tupper Ross & Daphne Turnbull Drs Victor & Karen Wayne Erna Werner & Neil Werner OAM

Principal regional Partner Bendigo Bank Bendigo Bank’s strong community and regional focus has great synergies with Orchestra Victoria’s work across Victoria.

Trust & Foundation support Orchestra Victoria’s activities throughout the State are made possible with the generous support from the following Trusts and Foundations. The Angior Family Foundation William Angliss (Victoria) Charitable Fund Collier Charitable Fund Harold Mitchell Foundation Helen Macpherson Smith Trust John T Reid Charitable Trusts Sidney Myer Fund the Myer Foundataion Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation (Eldon & Anne Foote Trust) Melbourne Community Foundation Perpetual Ltd Poola Charitable Foundation Margaret & Irene Stewardson Charitable Trust Tattersall’s George Adams Foundation William Buckland Foundation

corporate Partnerships Partnerships with the business community through sponsorship ensure that Orchestra Victoria can continue to deliver high quality accessible music across Victoria. Iluka Resources Limited Ace Radio Allens Arthur Robinson Kent Moving & Storage Chandler Direct Personalised Communication Universal Music HR Legal

government Partners The support received from the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts and from the Victorian Government through Arts Victoria provides the foundation from which we present all our activities particularly our work with our partner opera and ballet companies. Further support from Arts Victoria and local Governments across Victoria support our innovative Community and Education Programs. City of Greater Bendigo Shire of Campaspe Otway Shire Council

City of Melbourne City of Greater Shepparton City of Geelong East Gippsland Shire Council Echuca Moama Tourism Latrobe City Council Mildura Rural City Council Southern Grampians Shire Council Wyndham City Council

Performance Partners Orchestra Victoria is the proud orchestral performance partner of Australia’s premier performing arts companies. The Australian Ballet Melba Recordings Opera Australia The Production Company Victorian Opera

Principal Presenting Partners Orchestra Victoria enjoys working with companies and venues throughout Victoria to make music accessible. 3MBS 103.5 FM The Arts Centre City of Melbourne Melbourne Recital Centre NGV International

bequests Leaving a legacy to Orchestra Victoria supports the Orchestra’s ongoing cultural contribution to Victorians. Miss Betty Amsden OAM Alan Egan Rosemary Forbes Ian Hocking The late G.B.Hutchings The late James Minson Graeme Studd Michael Walker For more information about how you can support Orchestra Victoria please contact 03 9694 3600 or info@orchestravictoria.com.au

Please note that this list is updated annually on 1 January.

the arts centre PO Box 7585 St Kilda Road Melbourne Vic 8004Telephone (03) 9281 8000Facsimile (03) 9281 8282website theartscentre.com.au

Victorian arts centre Trust Ms Janet Whiting (President)Ms Deborah BealeMs Terry BracksMr Paul BrasherMr Julian ClarkeMs Catherine McClementsMr Graham SmorgonProf Leon van Schaik AOMr David Vigo

execuTIVe grouPMs Judith Isherwood chief executive

Mr Tim Brinkman executive, Performing arts

Mr Michael Burns executive, Facilities & asset Management

Ms Pippa Croucamp executive, corporate services (cFo)

Ms Melindy Green executive, Marketing & Development

Mr Mike Harper executive, commercial & Visitor operations

The Arts Centre gratefully acknowledges the support of its donors through the Arts Angels Program.

For Your InForMaTIon· The management reserves the right to add, withdraw or substitute artists and to vary the programme as necessary.· The Trust reserves the right of refusing admission.

· Cameras, tape recorders, paging machines, video recorders and mobile telephones must not be operated in the venue.

· In the interests of public health, the Arts Centre is a smoke-free area.

sydney

concertmaster Aubrey Murphy

associate concertmaster Huy-Nguyen Bui

Deputy concertmaster Vivien Jeffery

Violin Adrian Keating+ Catalin Ungureanu+ Tony Gault+ Airena Nakamura (Principal 2nd) Mark Fitzpatrick* Virginia Blunt Rachel Easton Yu-Qing Rebecca Irwin Marek Kruszynski Samuel Podjarski Daniel Rosenbaum Robert Sek Jaroslaw Talar Rachel Westwood Thomas Dundas Kerry Martin Jennifer Taylor Stephanie Zarka

Viola Virginia Comerford Amanda Murphy* David Dixon Magda Kruszynska Marilyn Wilson Shelley Sörensen

cello Eszter Mikes-Liu* Pierre Emery Andrew Hines Margaret Iddison Henry Urbanavicius Andrew Wilson

Double bass Brett Berthold Andrew Meisel* Edmund Bastian Jennifer Penno David Cooper

Flute Elizabeth Pring Amanda Hollins* Alistair Howlett

Piccolo Diane Berger

oboe Conall McClure Matthew Tighe* Mark Bruwel

cor anglais Andrew Malec

clarinet Peter Jenkin Richard Rourke

bass clarinet Euan Huggett

bassoon Douglas Eyre Matthew Ockenden* Gillian Hansen

horn Victoria Chatterley Lisa Wynne-Allen

Trumpet Joshua Clarke Craig Ross* Bruce Hellmers

cornet Brian Evans

Trombone Gregory van der Struik Brett Favell* William Farmer

bass Trombone Brett Page

Tuba Ed Diefes

Percussion Allan Watson

Timpani David Clarence

harp Jane Rosenson

Italics denotes Principal + denotes Principal 1st Violin * denotes Associate Principal

orchestra Management general Manager, orchestra Ed Hossack

orchestra Manager Gérard Patacca

orchestral operations Manager Anna Dodgshun

assistant orchestra Manager Ella Howard

orchestral administration coordinator Emma In der Maur

senior staging assistant Scott Moon

board of Directors Ziggy Switkowski Chairman Lesley Alway Anson Austin OAM Virginia Braden David Epstein Tim McFarlane Richard Owens OAM Judith Stewart Josephine Sukkar

Management Adrian Collette AM chief executive

Lyndon Terracini artistic Director

Narelle Beattie Finance Director and company secretary

Alex Budd general Manager, Melbourne and enterprises

Anton Dolk Director - human resources

Ed Hossack general Manager, orchestra

Ian McCahon artistic administrator

Liz Nield Marketing and communications Director

Sue Olden Technical operations and Project Manager

Nicholas Selman head of Development

Chris Yates Director - Technical administration

The Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra Limited, a subsidiary company of Opera Australia, is assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body, and by the NSW Government through Arts NSW.

sydney opera house Bennelong Point GPO Box 4274 Sydney 2001 NSW Administration (02) 9250 7111Box Office (02) 9250 7777Facsimile (02) 9250 7666Website sydneyoperahouse.com

sYDneY oPera house TrusT Mr Kim Williams AM (Chair)Ms Catherine BrennerRev Dr Arthur Bridge AMMr Wesley EnochMs Renata Kaldor AOMr Robert Leece AM, RFDMs Sue Nattrass AODr Thomas Parry AMMr Leo Schofield AMMr Evan Williams AM

execuTIVe ManageMenTchief executive officer Richard Evans chief operating officer David Antawexecutive Producer, soh Presents Jonathan BielskiDirector, Marketing, communications & customer services Victoria Doidge

Director, building Development & Maintenance Greg McTaggart

Director, Venue Partners & safety Julia Pucci chief Financial officer Claire Spencer

company & directors

Principal Sponsor

Lead Sponsor

Media Sponsors

Supporting Sponsors

Government Partners

Nurturing the future of Australian ballet

Telstra, supporting The Australian Ballet for more than a quarter of a century

The Australian Ballet is assisted by the Commonwealth Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body

The Australian Ballet is supported by the NSW Government through Arts NSW

The Australian Ballet is supported by the Victorian Government through Arts Victoria

Supporting the magic of ballet

Proud sponsor of The Australian Ballet

Proud sponsor of The Australian Ballet

business & Government partners

The fashion of ballet to come

Proud sponsor of The Australian Ballet

See the arts up close on channel 132

Australia’s leading Mind & Body Health Clubs

Elegant, Understated and Stylish

Luxury Hotel Partner of The Australian Ballet in Sydney

A unique Australian expression of world-class luxury in the Whitsundays

Major Sponsors

Official outdoor media partner

Méthode Tasmanoise®: Exclusive sparkling wine sponsor

Official legal partner of The Australian Ballet

Official Wine Sponsor of The Australian Ballet

Pointe Shoe Partner of The Australian Ballet

Proud partner ofThe Australian Ballet

Official airline of The Australian Ballet

Official Piano Partner of The Australian Ballet

Official Beauty Partner of The Australian Ballet

Matching Grant Partner

Melbourne The Primrose Potter Australian Ballet Centre 2 Kavanagh Street, Southbank Victoria 3006 Telephone (03) 9669 2700 mail@australianballet.com.au australianballet.com.au

sYDneY The Australian Ballet Level 3 10 Hickson Road, The Rocks Sydney 2000 Telephone (02) 9252 5500 The Australian Ballet ABN 57 004 849 987

Patron Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia

boarD Chairman Christopher Knoblanche Deputy Chairman Jim Cousins AO Directors Robert O Albert AO, RFD, RD John Borghetti Julie da Costa OAM Li Cunxin John Ellice-Flint Christopher Goldsworthy - Dancers’ Representative Siobhan McKenna Sarah Murdoch Peter Smedley Craig Spencer

honorary life Members Elizabeth Albert Robert Albert AO, RFD, RD John Calvert-Jones AM Timothy K F Cox AO Maina Gielgud AO Frederick W Millar AO, CBE Lady Porter Lady Potter DLJ Dame Margaret Scott DBE Lady Southey AM Josie Woodgate OAM

execuTIVe Artistic Director David McAllister AM

Executive Director Valerie Wilder

Music Director & Chief Conductor Nicolette Fraillon

Associate Artistic Director Danilo Radojevic

Associate Executive Director Philippe Magid

Chief Financial Officer Carol Benson

Director of Philanthropy Kenneth Watkins

Director of Operations Helen McCormack

Technical & Production Director Darren Conway

Director of Corporate Relations Sophie Burbidge

arTIsTIc ballet Principal Coach & Ballet Mistress Fiona Tonkin

Ballet Mistress & Repetiteur Elizabeth Hill

Ballet Mistress & Rehabilitation Facilitator Noelle Shader

Choreologist & Ballet Master Mark Kay Darren Parish

Ballet Coach Megan Connelly

Artist in Residence Colin Peasley

Resident Choreographers Stephen Baynes Stanton Welch

Guest Teacher* Cynthia Harvey *Guest Teacher visit endowed by Freda May Irving Scholarship

Music Music Operations Manager Julie Amos

Principal Pianist & Music Librarian Stuart Macklin

Pianist & Associate Music Librarian Duncan Salton

Pianist Emma Lippa

The Australian Ballet Conducting Fellow Simon Thew

artistic Management Personal Assistant to the Artistic Director Larissa McKinnon

Artistic Administrator & Assistant to Music Director & Chief Conductor Frank Leo

Artistic Coordinator Caitlin Topham

education Education Consultant Helen Cameron

Education Operations Manager Viviana Sacchero

Education Coordinator Donna Cusack

Dance Education Ensemble Hannah Beer Polly Hilton Alexander McKinnon Patrick Meessmann

Medical Medical Coordinator Dr Ken Crichton

Sports Physician Dr Andrew Garnham

Principal Physiotherapist Susan Mayes

Physiotherapists Sophie Emery Ebonie Scase

Myotherapist Stuart Buzza

Consultant General Practitioner Dr Vicki Higgins

Body Conditioning Specialist Paula Baird Colt

sTage company Management Company Managers Robyn Fincham Sarah Griffiths

Assistant Company Manager Jasmine Moseley

Operations Coordinator Noeleen King

Travel Coordinator Michelle Saultry

Assistant Travel Coordinator Lynne McDougall

Technical & Production Production Manager Romeo & Juliet Paul Anderson

Production Coordinator & Administrator, The Dancers Company Angela Embleton

Stage Manager Fiona Boundy

Master Technician Bruce Gordon

Master Electrician John Berrett

Wardrobe Master Geoffrey Harman

Assistant Stage Managers Keiren Smith Victoria Woolley

Mechanists Bart Kendall Avon Kilcullen

Assistant Wardrobe Master Ian Martlew

Production wardrobe Wardrobe Production Manager Michael Williams

Wardrobe Production Coordinator Jenny Howard

Head Costumier /Ladies’ Cutter Kerry Cumberbatch

Ladies’ Cutter Musette Molyneaux

Acting Gentlemen’s Cutter Marsia Bergh

Senior Costumier Maureen Ryan

Costumiers Penelope Bjorksten Jessie Dole Karine Larché Elizabeth Maisey Ruth Owen

Casual Costumiers Lara Barwick Lexi George Corinne Gibbs Zoe Giblett Peggy Jackson Aurelie Jean Peri Jenkins Anne Kay Angela Mesiano Fiona Page Sally Sutherland

Head of Millinery Vicki Car

Casual Millinery Kate Powers Georgiana Russell-Head Tessie Scott

Casual Wardrobe Production Assistant Katie Glenn-Smith

Production Division Assistant Dana Morfett

scenery & Properties Scenic Design Coordinator Scott Mathewson

Design Assistant Kat Chan

store Wardrobe Manager Barbara Langley

Store Operations Manager Warren Rice

Production centre Project Manager Jo Sapir

MarkeT DeVeloPMenT Marketing & communications Marketing & Communications Manager Kate Scott

Strategic Communications Kitty Walker

Campaign Marketing Daniel Burns

Digital Marketing Chrystal Daniel

Education & Philanthropy Marketing Fiona Howat

Graphic Designer Jasmin Tulk

Publications Editor Rose Mulready

Marketing Assistant Maeve Ashby

Merchandising Coordinator & Assistant to Associate Executive Director Fiona Macmillan

customer relationship Management Customer Relationships Manager Emma Carter

Database Administrator Richard Laslett

customer services Customer Services Manager Adam Santilli

CS Coordinator – Operations Ann Brennan

CS Coordinator – Sales Pam Martin

CS Coordinator – Ticketing Anna Kavanagh

CS Coordinator – Reports & Projects Jeffrey Guiborat

CS Assistants Benji Groenewegen Matt Jakowenko Kate Millard Shane Sotiropoulos

corporate relations Business Development Kathy Gambranis

Corporate Relations Account Managers Christina Chiam Elizabeth Gauld

National Events Manager Fionn Meikle

Corporate Relations Coordinator Zoe Knight

Reception/Office Administration (Sydney) Kendal Cuneo

Media relations Media Relations Manager Nicole Lovelock

Publicist Eli Wallis

Media Coordinator Bradley Grimshaw

Media Relations Assistant Felicity Howell

50th anniversary Director of Special Projects Yvonne Gates

Philanthropy Senior Manager – Annual Giving Judy Turner

Senior Manager – Major Gifts Ken Groves

Patrons Manager (NSW, ACT) Jane Diamond

Patrons Manager Lisa Bolte

Planned Giving Manager Donna Brearley

Grants Manager Nick Hays

Philanthropy Services Manager Susan Learner

Prospect Researcher Olivia Jones

Philanthropy Services Assistant – Donations and Events Coral East

Assistant to Philanthropy Director Sharyn Gilham

Philanthropy Assistant (Sydney) Lynn Neilsen

FInance & aDMInIsTraTIon Finance Finance Manager Carolyn Dryley

Financial Accountant Diana Bedoya

Operations Accountant Felicity Frederickson

Payroll Administrator Samantha Oliver

Accounts Administrator Denise Barratt

Finance Assistant Thilini Siriwardana

Information Technology IT Manager Damien Calvert

IT Assistant Peter Hawthorn

administration Executive Assistant to the Executive Director Louise Grills

Assistant to Company Secretary/CFO Vivien Newnham

Office & Building Projects Administrator Tracy Hosier

Receptionist Jenny Abramson

huMan resources Human Resources Manager Helen Williams

EHS Coordinator Marina Milankovic

THE PRIMROSE POTTER AUSTRALIAN BALLET CENTRE PTY LTD ABN 16 005 363 646

Director Christopher Knoblanche (Chairman)

Car Park Manager John Vanderstock

Car Park Attendants Vi Nguyen Maurice Surley

Casual Maintenance Stephen Reddrop

correct as 11.08.11

For ThIs ProDucTIonset Design realisation Julie Nelson

costumes manufactured by the Production Division of The Australian Ballet

scenery & properties manufactured by Show Works

scenery & properties painted by Scenic Studios

specialist costume Manufacture David Anderson Berensens Tailors

Fabric Dyeing & costume Properties Lynn Munro

Fabric Painting Victora Rowell

wigs & hairpieces by Alison Kidd

specialist props Greg Taylor Yolande Robertson

Program edited by Rose Mulready

Program designed by Jasmin Tulk

The australian ballet portrait photography by James Braund

The australian ballet 2011 identity 3 Deep Design www.3deep.com.au

The cast for this performance is available on the nightly cast list which is issued free of charge to patrons. The Australian Ballet reserves the right to cancel or alter any detail of this season, or any performance forming part of this season, as it considers necessary.

playbill ad 55

The Australian Ballet School is Australia’spremier vocational training institution forclassical dance, and offers a carefully gradedeight-level Training Programme to preparestudents for a professional dance career.Auditions are open to all boys and girls fromage 9 and above with a dream to create afuture in dance.DIRECTOR: Marilyn Rowe OBE

For further information please visit australianballetschool.com.au

Operating in Sydney, MelbOurne, Canberra, briSbane, adelaide, perth, hObart & darwin

OverSeaS OperatiOnS:

new Zealand: Wellington: Playbill (NZ) Limited, Level 1, 100 Tory Street, Wellington, New Zealand 6011; (64 4) 385 8893, Fax (64 4) 385 8899.

Auckland: Mt. Smart Stadium, Beasley Avenue, Penrose, Auckland; (64 9) 571 1607, Fax (64 9) 571 1608, Mobile 6421 741 148, Email: admin@playbill.co.nz.

uK: Playbill UK Limited, C/- Everett Baldwin Barclay Consultancy Services, 35 Paul Street, London EC2A 4UQ; (44) 207 628 0857, Fax (44) 207 628 7253.

hong Kong: Playbill (HK) Limited, C/- Fanny Lai, Rm 804, 8/F Eastern Commercial Centre, 397 Hennessey Road, Wanchai HK 168001 WCH 38; (852) 2891 6799; Fax (852) 2891 1618.

Malaysia: Playbill Malaysia Sdn Bhn, C/- Peter I.M. Chieng & Co., No.2-E (1st Floor) Jalan SS 22/25, Damansara Jaya, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan; (60 3) 7728 5889; Fax (60 3) 7729 5998.

Singapore: Playbill (HK) Limited, C/- HLB Loke Lum Consultants Pte Ltd, 110 Middle Road #05-00 Chiat Hong Building, Singapore 188968; (65) 6332 0088; Fax (65) 6333 9690.

South africa: Playbill South Africa Pty Ltd, C/- HLB Barnett Chown Inc., Bradford House, 12 Bradford Road, Bedfordview, SA 2007; (27) 11856 5300, Fax (27) 11856 5333.

this is a playbill / ShOwbill publication. Playbill Proprietary Limited / Showbill Proprietary Limited ACN 003 311 064 ABN 27 003 311 064

head Office: Suite a, level 1, building 16, Fox Studios australia, park road north, Moore park nSw 2021pO box 410 paddington nSw 2021Telephone: +61 2 9921 5353 Fax: +61 2 9449 6053 E-mail: admin@playbill.com.au Website: www.playbill.com.au

Chairman Brian Nebenzahl oam, rfd

Managing director Michael Nebenzahl

editorial director Jocelyn Nebenzahl

Manager–production & graphic design Debbie Clarke

This publication is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s consent in writing. It is a further condition that this publication shall not be circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it was published.

All enquiries for advertising space in this publication should be directed to the above company and address. Entire concept copyright. Reproduction without permission in whole or in part of any material contained herein is prohibited. Title ‘Playbill’ is the registered title of Playbill Proprietary Limited. Title ‘Showbill’ is the registered title of Showbill Proprietary Limited. Additional copies of this publication are available by post from the publisher; please write for details. XXXXXX

Madeleine Eastoe and Kevin Jackson Photography Georges Antoni

201

1 M

ELBO

UR

NE S

YDN

EY