The Australian Ballet is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd. and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teacher, repetiteur and director Dame Peggy van Praagh as founding artistic director. Today, it is recognised as one of the world's major international ballet companies.
History
The roots of the Australian Ballet can be found in the Borovansky Ballet, a company founded in 1940 by the Czech dancer Edouard Borovansky. Borovansky had been a dancer in the touring ballet company of the famous Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova and, after visiting Australia on tour with the Covent Garden Russian Ballet, he decided to remain in Australia, establishing a ballet school in Melbourne in 1939, out of which he developed a performance group which became the Borovansky Ballet. The company was supported and funded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd from 1944. Following Borovansky's death in 1959, the English dancer and administrator Dame Peggy van Praagh was invited to become artistic director of the company. J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd decided to disband the Borovansky Ballet in 1961.
In 1961, J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust received federal subsidies towards the establishment of a national ballet company. These organisations established the Australian Ballet Foundation to assist with the establishment of a new company, which in 1962 became the Australian Ballet. Peggy van Praagh, who had been kept on a retainer by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd through the intervening year between the disbanding of the Borovansky Ballet and the establishment of the Australian Ballet, was invited to become the founding artistic director of the company. The majority of the dancers employed by the fledgling company were drawn from former members of the Borovansky Ballet.
The first performance by the Australian Ballet was Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, staged at Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney on 2 November 1962. The principal dancers in the first season were Kathleen Gorham, Marilyn Jones and Garth Welch. Van Praagh also invited the Royal Ballet's Ray Powell to temporarily became the company's first ballet master, with Leon Kellaway (brother of Cecil Kellaway), a former dancer with the Covent Garden Russian Ballet, as the company's first ballet teacher. In later years Sir Robert Helpmann, Marilyn Jones and Maina Gielgud made major contributions as Artistic Directors of the Australian Ballet.
In 1964 van Praagh established the Australian Ballet School, which was formed specially to train dancers for the company and remains the company's associate school to this day. Dame Margaret Scott was the founding director of the school, followed by Gailene Stock CBE AM, Marilyn Rowe OBE, and now Lisa Pavane, all three former company principal artists.
Present
Today the company is based in Melbourne; its Southbank headquarters is the Primrose Potter Australian Ballet Centre, named after its long term supporter Lady (Primrose) Potter. The company regularly tours to mainland state capital cities within Australia, with lengthy seasons in Melbourne at the State Theatre (accompanied by Orchestra Victoria) and in Sydney at the Sydney Opera House. Other regular venues are the Lyric Theatre at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre in Brisbane, and the Adelaide Festival Centre in Adelaide. The company also tours internationally, and performs annually in an intimate outdoor setting on Hamilton Island.
The Australian Ballet works in close cooperation with the Australian Ballet School, of which many of the company's dancers are graduates. Giving approximately 200 performances a year, the Australian Ballet claims to be the busiest ballet company in the world. With a vast repertoire which includes the major classical and heritage works as well as contemporary productions, it follows its artistic vision of "Caring for Tradition, Daring to be Different". Each year, the company also presents an extensive national education programme, run by Colin Peasley a former Principal Dancer with the company, to further inspire and educate its audiences.
Box office sales, derived from its strong and loyal audience base, are the foundation of the company's income stream. The Australian Ballet also receives funding from the Australian, Victorian and New South Wales governments, corporate sponsors, private donors and bequests.
The company's current artistic director is David McAllister, who was a principal dancer until 2001. The company's previous artistic directors were: Ross Stretton (1996â€"2001); Maina Gielgud (1983â€"96); Marilyn Jones (1979â€"82); Anne Woolliams (1976â€"77); Sir Robert Helpmann (1965â€"76) and the founding artistic director, Dame Peggy van Praagh (1962â€"74; 1978).
The most recent appointment to the position of executive director (July 2013) is Libby Christie, former Managing Director of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Her predecessor was Valerie Wilder, who succeeded Richard Evans.
Repertoire
Don Quixote
In 1973 the Australian Ballet released a film version of the ballet Don Quixote with music by Ludwig Minkus, starring Rudolf Nureyev as Basilio, Lucette Aldous as Kitri and Sir Robert Helpmann in the title role, along with artists of the Australian Ballet. Set and costumes were designed by Barry Kay. Future artistic director Ross Stretton staged the stage production during his artistic directorship of The Royal Ballet.
The Merry Widow
The ballet The Merry Widow, with music from Franz Lehár's operetta of the same name, was created by Sir Robert Helpmann and choreographed by Ronald Hynd especially for the Australian Ballet. The designer was Desmond Healey. The adaptation from operetta score to ballet score was done by John Lanchbery (then musical director of the Australian Ballet) and his colleague Alan Abbot. The ballet premiered on 13 November 1975 at the Palais Theatre, Melbourne.
In 1976, Dame Margot Fonteyn, who was guesting with the Australian Ballet, danced the leading role of Hanna Glawari.
The ballet was revived by the company in 2011, in Melbourne from 23 June to 4 July, the final performance being principal artist Kirsty Martin's farewell performance, and in Sydney from 10 to 28 November, the 26 November evening performance farewelling principal artist Robert Curran.
Company
Dancers with The Australian Ballet are:
Principal artists
Senior artists
Soloists
Coryphées
Corps de ballet
Telstra Ballet Dancer Award
The Telstra Ballet Dancer Awards have been made annually since 2003, in support of the aspirations of The Australian Ballet's elite young dancers. It is the biggest prize available specifically to a dancer in Australia, with a cash prize of $20,000 to the winner. The Telstra People's Choice Award is made to the most popular of the nominees in that year, using internet and SMS voting. The winner of the People's Choice receives a cash prize of $5,000.
For the first time since the inauguration of the awards, the judging panel was unable to separate two dancers for the main award in 2010 and each received $20,000. The winners were Ty King-Wall and Dana Stephensen. Amy Harris won the People's Choice Award for the second time (she also won it in 2008).
In 2011, Chengwu Guo became the first male dancer to take out both the main award and the People's Choice.
In 2012, Amy Harris, nominated for a third time, won the main award.
In 2013, Christopher Rodgers-Wilson won the main award.
In 2014, Dimity Azoury won the main award.
Behind Ballet
Behind Ballet is the blog of the Australian Ballet.
References
External links
- Official website
- The Australian Ballet School
- The Australian Ballet education programme
- Australia Dancing, The Australian Ballet (1962â€")
- The Australian Ballet Collection and Australian Archives of the Dance collections are held at the Performing Arts Collection, Arts Centre Melbourne