Faster - The Australian Ballet

Below is my Herald Sun review of Faster, published 21 March

They don’t get the same recognition as sporting folk, but dancers are athletes in their own right. Their training is relentless and their drive to succeed is fierce. 

Opening the 2017 season, Faster is The Australian Ballet’s ode to that endurance and strength. It’s a triple bill of varying works that showcase the Australian Ballet en masse, allowing lesser seen dancers to strut their stuff and principals to duet with different partners than usual.

Trio of Runners in Faster, Photo by Jeff Busby

The headlining work (made for the 2012 Olympics) comes from David Bintley and what it lacks in subtlety, it makes up for in shear crowd-pleasing energy. Dancers dressed as competitors- swimmers, runners, fencers - come thick and fast in a vocabulary mixing blatant sport imitation and fairly cliched ballet tropes, all to Matthew Hindson’s driving score. While it doesn’t hit choreographic heights, it contains eye catching moments like Ako Kondo and Andrew Killian's duet and the lycra-clad running ensembles’ swinging legs and scissoring arms in large scale unison. 

The Australian Ballet in Faster, Photo by Jeff Busby

The energy doesn’t let up in resident choreographer Tim Harbour’s Squander and Glory where 14 dancers become 28 in a large mirrored backdrop (by Kelvin Ho) that not only creates continual body doubles, but also reveals a large abstract sculpture behind. It’s a non-stop flow of angling limbs and quickly changing linear patterns, with Michael Gordon’s accompanying music, just as fierce, pushing the action to a point of (literal) collapsed exhaustion. 

Ensemble of Squander and Glory, Photo by Jeff Busby

After such bigness, Wayne McGregor’s more subtle and nuanced Infra is a calm breath. Above stage, a LED projection of pedestrians suggests a train station in which a coming and going of people unfolds. McGregor’s trademark sinuey, long-limbed post modern style is complex, abstracted movement that has the tendency towards formality rather than emotion. But here, in combination with Max Richter's music and clever staging of many variations on the duet, it is quite moving, with many stand out couples and solos. 

Jarryd Madden and Leanne Stojmenov in Infra, Photo by Jeff Busby

Infra is the most understated work of the bill but also the most powerful, proving that athleticism relies as much on restraint and technical control as muscular energy. 

***1/2 Stars

Faster

State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne

17-27 March

Let's Dance

Let's Dance is not a typical Australian Ballet season. Part of the company's fiftieth birthday celebrations, it is a gala featuring Australian dance companies from every state. The Australian Ballet, itself, doesn't perform in it. At first thought, that seems a bit strange, but it actually doesn't take away from the impact and importance of the affair. It's not that the company is not missed on stage, but there is so much other top-notch and diverse work that the evening feels satisfyingly complete.

Probably most significant about Let's Dance is the opportunity it has created for companies like the West Australian Ballet, Queensland Ballet and Dance North to be seen by Victorian audiences. Due to cost and distance, dance touring is not easy in this country and even a cultural hub like Melbourne doesn't get visits from many interstate companies. (Bangarra visits yearly and Sydney Dance Company comes most years, but even Australian Dance Theatre - ADT -  has only been to Melbourne once in the past decade.)

It takes a mothership like The Australian Ballet to orchestrate such a large event. And luckily, the effort is worth it! Mainly because the works are all well-matched to the event. Firstly, with the exception of Tasdance's contribution of a dance film, they are all choreographed by the artistic directors of the respective companies. Secondly, they are all good representations of where each company is at right now. Thirdly, they are all strong dances in and of themselves.

Keian Langdon and Rachael Walsh in Cloudland.
Photo by Ken Sparrow.

West Australian Ballet and Queensland Ballet both present duets, which makes the most sense, given logistics. Ombra Leggera by Ivan Cavallari and danced by Andre Santos and Daryl Brandwood, has choreography that ripples and pops - it's all about sensuous lines of the bare male torsos and the pull of the music (by Giacomom Meyerbeer and performed by Maria Callas.) It's a tight opening to the whole evening. Queensland Ballet's excerpts from Cloudland by Francois Klaus is closer to a traditional pas de deux - man (Keian Langdon) and woman (Rachael Walsh), but the style is more soft jazz than classical ballet. With music sung by Nana Mouskouri, it's light and breezy.

Don't by Natalie Weir for Expressions Dance Company mixes clean, crisp neo-classical and contemporary movement that shifts between couplings, a six-strong ensemble and solo within a black and white aesthetic. The sextet of dancers are well-matched in terms of their technical and emotional delivery which builds convincing flow and cohesion to the piece. This is the first that Melbourne has seen of Expressions since Weir took the artistic directorship reigns and if this is an indication of the quality of the work that they are producing, they are in good hands.

Sydney Dance Company's 2 One Another will tour to Melbourne later in the year, so the quartet offered feels more like a teaser of what's to come. Against a starry projected backdrop, it's a feast of sensuously flowing limbs and generally gorgeous spiraling shapes that unwind into incredibly long extensions. Dancers Natalie Allen, Richard Cilli, Chen Wen and Charmene Yap are exceptional in capturing the ebb and flow in and out of curvaceousness that choreographer Rafael Bonachela is after.
You can check out the whole piece online on ABCIView where it was recently filmed for ABC2.


Dance North's Fugue by Raewyn Hill is really ambitious - eight dancers in unison to Ravel's Bolero. And while it doesn't come off completely in terms of unison, it does build an intensity as the large group glides across the space and continues to swell and contract together, all the while changing levels and shapes and responding to the dynamic shifts in the music.

Australian Dance Theatre in Be Your Self.

The longest excerpt is ADT's Be Your Self by Garry Stewart, a work that has extensively toured (but not yet to Melbourne.) It stands out in the program as the most "out there" in its extreme take on the body and will undoubtedly be the wildcard for traditional audiences. Uncompromising in its dissection of the human body - from spoken detail about the precise physiology and anatomy of flexing an ankle, to uncomfortable sounds of whacks, splats and rotations that accompany the ridiculously difficult, acrobatically-modified choreography. Makes me want to see the entire piece!

TasDance's presence is on-screen. Momentary, choreographed by Anna Smith features both company dancers and elders. While this isn't the ideal way to represent the small but prolific company (who, due to touring commitments can't participate live) the inclusion is significant as TasDance is the state's main professional company and their commitment to education and regional touring has influenced the Australian dance ecology for many years.


Even though the AB wasn't on stage, there was a direct connection to the company via a new commission from Tim Harbour. Harbour retired from the AB in 2007 and has since been developing a substantial choreographic career. Here in Sweedeedee he works with ex-principals Steven Heathcote and Justine Summers (whose names alone would still pack out the State Theatre) and two young dancers from the AB School - Mia Heathcote (Steven's daughter) and Lennox Niven. Harbour uses a suburban backyard setting - washing lines and sheets - and the context of a typical nuclear family to play with ideas of love and loss and tragedy.

Justine Summers and Steven Heathcote in Sweedeedee.
Photo by Lynette Wills.

Unusually for a ballet commission, the music is a mix of sparse rock/folk music sung live by Suzannah Espe. Choreographically, Harbour opts for gestural and upper body work over complex balletic steps At times, it's almost too simplistic and one-dimensional, especially for Summers, but the strength of both Summers and Heathcote as emotionally nuanced dancers, the generational significance of the casting, the lighting design (by Ben Cisterne) and the musical collection all bring it together. It's a fitting finale to a showcase displaying so many different strands of this country's dance lineage.

Click here for my review of Let's Dance in the Herald Sun on 11 June 2012.

Let's Dance 
State Theatre, Art Centre Melbourne
07 - 16 June 2012

Infinity

Warumuk - In The Dark Night by Stephen Page in Infinity. Photo by AFP

The Australian Ballet started its 50th year in celebration mode with Infinity. Triple bills are always risky endeavours, as modern works are a harder sell than classics to ballet audiences. Infinity has a lot going for it. It's big names all around - Graeme Murphy, Gideon Obarzanek and Stephen Page - three of Australia's most famous choreographers, all of whom have histories with the company. Three specially commissioned musical scores accompany the pieces. While the works are not all perfect hits in and of themselves, each has plenty to like. Overall, it's an entertaining and substantial evening with plenty of appeal for a broad spectrum of dance lovers.

For me, Obarzanek's There's Definitely a Prince Involved was the highlight. A tongue in cheek deconstruction of something dear to the heart of of balletomines - Swan Lake, the work involves dancers breaking out of corps roles to ruminate on love and longing while pondering the plot and characters of the traditional ballet. It won't be everyone's cup of tea and audiences are divided on this one for sure. Chunky Move fans will be used to Obarzanek's post-modern take, but those who like to enjoy classical ballet straight may not be amused.


Click here for my review of Infinity in the Herald Sun, 27 Feburary 2012.

Infinity
24 February - 06 March 2012
State Theatre, Art Centre Melbourne


05 -25 April 2012
Opera Theatre, Sydney Opera House

Elegy

 Stephen Baynes's Beyond Bach in the Elegy double bill.

I love the The Australian Ballet's mixed bills and would take them over full-length narrative ballets any day. Personal preference really - I enjoy modern ballet. That's probably opposite to the tastes of many of The Australian Ballet's subscribers and patrons. Interest in the classic canon never seems to wane, no matter how many times the company presents different versions of Swan Lake, Giselle and Manon. While the company is in their element in those works, they also shine in dances by hard-hitting 20th/21st century choreographers like Jiri Kylian, William Forsythe, Nacho Duato and Wayne MacGregor.

Elegy is a double bill of choreography by Stephen Baynes. Baynes is The Australian Ballet's resident choreographer and has a distinct, formal style that's not as modern/post-modern as the choreographers mentioned above. He's not out to ruffle feathers in the dance world -  he just makes solid, clean works, often in the neo-classical vein. I have to admit that prior to seeing Elegy I didn't have strong feelings about Baynes' work. Neither dislike nor reverence. I hadn't seen enough to have a real opinion.

The critical and audience comment around Elegy has been mixed. For me it really worked. The two diverse offerings made me appreciate the breath of this quiet achiever. Requiem, the more modern piece integrates a live choir with the dancers which creates a continuous swell and release of emotive movement and voice.  Beyond Bach is more of a classical showcase piece - all gold tones and glamourous set and lots of Bach music, of course. Both dances have a solid surety about themselves. They don't feel like they are trying too hard and their intents and aesthetics are solid. 

Click here for my review of Elegy in the Herald Sun 13 June 2011.

Promotions at The Australian Ballet

New AB Principals - Kevin Jackson, Lana Jones, Daniel Gaudiello. Photo by James Braund.

The Australian Ballet's artistic director David McAllister has recently announced 3 new principal dancers - Daniel Gaudiello, Kevin Jackson and Lana Jones. 26 year old Jackson, who hails from Perth, is now the company's youngest principal. All three have won the Telstra Ballet Dancer Award and have been consistently impressing audiences in a range of roles. They take up their new prestigious titles in January 2011. Keep your eyes out for them on centre stage.