Robert Helpmann 1958: From the nude with violin to the lunch with Nugget Coombs
No one excelled Robert Helpmann as a multi tasker. Dancer, choreographer, actor, singer, director and publicist, Helpmann was at the peak of his multi tasking life in 1958/59 when he joined the Royal...
View ArticleKenneth MacMillan: His creative spirit remains, 25 years after his death
To mark the 25th anniversary of MacMillan’s death – in October 1992 – six dance companies in the United Kingdom have been staging his works – the Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Birmingham Royal...
View ArticleThe Australian days of Annette Page, Ronald Hynd and Dudley Simpson
When Margot Fonteyn toured Australia in 1962 she brought with her an elite group of seven dancers, shown in the photo on the left. One of the seven was Annette Page, a principal dancer with the Royal...
View ArticlePeggy van Praagh’s portrait with help from Noel Pelly
For years I’ve wondered who painted the portrait of Peggy van Praagh that’s hung in the main studio of the The Primrose Potter Australian Ballet Centre in Melbourne. I’d like to think Van Praagh is...
View ArticleLa Scala and Nureyev, at home and abroad
The strong connection between Rudolf Nureyev and La Scala was recently honoured with a gala in Milan to mark the 80th anniversary of Nureyev’s birth and the 25th anniversary of his death. La Scala...
View Article200 years after Petipa’s birth, Ratmansky prepares for a new Bayadère
To mark the 200 years since the birth of Marius Petipa, the choreographer was celebrated with a memorial plaque at the Vaganova Academy in St Petersburg and a gala concert at the Mariinsky Theatre....
View ArticleThe Emperor’s Hand: the symbol of Spartacus
Hands can speak in many ways. There’s the high five, the stop! and go no further, the hands that clasp the face in despair, the crossed fingers for good luck and the driver’s hand that says thanks or...
View ArticleEdna Busse: “I was determined to be a ballerina”
Edna Busse OAM, who played a special role in the history of ballet in Australia, has died at the age of 100. Busse, the first student at the Melbourne studio of Edouard and Xenia Borovansky in 1939,...
View ArticleDancing Under the Southern Skies: A History of Ballet in Australia
Are you an author who describes yourself as self-employed on LinkedIn? If so, the description is probably half true. Self, yes. Employed, probably no. Authors, especially in Australia, tend to write as...
View ArticleThe journey of Spartacus, stage by stage by stage
After the Bolshoi Ballet’s season at Brisbane’s Queensland Performing Arts Centre (from late June to early July 2019) the company is heading to the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. In Brisbane Yuri...
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