Dance Australia December 2017/January 2018

EARLIER this year I started taking ballet classes again. I’d had a break of about 18 months, the longest I’ve ever gone between classes. Nonetheless, I returned to the same adult ballet class as before my protracted ballet vacation, pitched at intermediate level. Turns out that 18 months break post-40 really isn’t a great idea. My flexibility was fine, thanks to yoga, but what of my turnout? Wherefore art thou demi-pointe? Balance? Co-ordination? Use it or lose it… especially if you’re over forty. Somewhat demoralised but not defeated I decided to take a few beginner level classes to work on my basic technique. I also enrolled in floor barre classes to try and regain some of my lost condition. And gradually it is coming back. Of course, I don’t have…

THE Australian Ballet makes a custom of creating a fresh new major ballet every year, and in 2018 that ballet is to be Spartacus, choreographed by Australian choreographer and former dancer with the company, Lucas Jervies. To Aram Khachaturian’s driving score, Spartacus will premiere in Melbourne before playing in Sydney in November. But before then the company has plenty more to occupy its muscle power. In March in Melbourne, the year will start with a mixed bill that pays homage to beloved Australian choreographer Graeme Murphy. Simply titled Murphy , the show will move to Sydney in April. Next is The Merry Widow in Sydney and Canberra in May and Melbourne in June. The 2018 contemporary triple…

IT’S getting close to Christmas, and that means The Nutcracker for ballet lovers! If you can’t see the live productions, then here is the next best thing! Event & Village Cinemas in partnership with Trafalgar Releasing is presenting a cinema program that they will screen exclusively in Australia: the Royal Opera House 2017/18 Live Cinema Season. Featuring filmed performances from the Royal Opera House in London, the program presents the very best opera and ballet from the iconic venue, captured in jaw-dropping detail for Australian audiences to enjoy as if they were there themselves. Presented exclusively, six incredible operas and four beautiful ballets will screen across 14 Event Cinemas nationwide and five Village Cinemas in Victoria and Hobart from October 2017–July 2018. The next ballet is The Nutcracker, choreographed by…

THE Queensland Ballet's 2018 line-up is entitled “For Every Dreamer” and has an emphasis on story ballets and fantasies. The first production for the year will be a new production of La Bayadere by Greg Horsman. “Audiences will be transported and transfixed by this ballet, caught up in a whirlwind of love, drama, dreamlike scenes and family politics,” promises QB artistic director Li Cunxin. Following on from this "We’re thrilled to be staging Carlos Acosta’s production of Carmen and Liam Scarlett’s Firebird for Brisbane audiences in this powerful double bill”, Li says. In September the company will remount Ben Stevenson’s Cinderella. In addition, the company will stage “Bespoke” at the Brisbane Powerhouse in November. This season will feature new works by company artist Jack Lister, guest choreographer Gabrielle Nankivell and…

TOP of the bill at the Sydney Festival in January is Tree of Codes, the contemporary ballet which brings together choreographer Wayne McGregor, installation artist Olafur Eliasson and composer Jamie xx with Jonathan Safran Foer’s experimental novella of the same name as its jumping-off point. From closer to home comes Force Majeure’s You Animal, You. Force Majeure is the resident company at Sydney’s Carriage Works and this work is the result of a development that started in conjunction with the Sydney Festival last year. Directed by artistic director Danielle Micich in collaboration with a diverse cast of actors and dancers, this work uses the sense of smell as its central theme. It is co-written by actor Heather Mitchell. The dancers will perform…

1 KEIR AWARD FINALISTS ANNOUNCED Dance Australia congratulates the eight artists who have been selected to create work for the 2018 Keir Choreographic Award. Read more at http://www.danceaustralia.com.au/news/ http://www.danceaustralia.com.au/news/ keir-choreographic-awardcandidates-announced keir-choreographic-awardcandidates-announced 2 ADELAIDE FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS The Adelaide Festival announced its key dance attraction – the return of Akram Kahn in Xenos – a couple of weeks ago. But it has been keeping some other dance highlights up its sleeve. Read more at http://www.danceaustralia.com.au/news/ more-adelaide-festival-dance 3 CANDIDLY LLOYD NEWSON Choreographer Lloyd Newson has been a fearless questioner of social issues and injustices. So it was unlikely his conversation with Emma Sandall would be anything but candid. Read more at http://www.danceaustralia.com.au/artists/deviations-with-lloydnewson-and-dv8…