Dance is a very dynamic part of Australian performing arts
culture. It can provide a rich performance experience,
merging the imagination and skill of choreographers,
dancers, designers, composers and musicians.
Rachelle Roberts, Red Hot & New (Natalie
Decorte and Matthew Lawrence), 2004. Image courtesy of
The Australian Ballet.
Classical and contemporary dance performances are enjoyed
across Australia. An array of independent, company and
project dance initiatives can:
... give audiences anything from unadorned movement
process to high-end technology and real-time linkups
across the globe, from glossy, fluid dance to hip hop,
from fusions of Aboriginal and new forms to dance on
film.
Baxter, V and Gallasch, K,
In repertoire: A guide to Australian contemporary
dance, Australia Council, p 31
Major arts festivals provide the chance for
international and Australian dance companies to entertain,
challenge and delight new audiences. In turn, Australian
dance ventures such as
Chunky Move,
Buzz Dance Theatre and
Australian Dance Theatre are bringing their work to the
world through international tours.
What is ballet
Ballet is exciting to do, and to watch.
It is an entertaining theatrical art, performed on stage
to an audience. Ballet is about art, but it is also about
life. Classical ballet technique was established centuries
ago in the courts of Europe, and it has been evolving ever
since as dance teachers, artists and researchers refine
approaches to training and add to the vocabulary of steps
and movements that are unique to the ballet discipline.
Ballet dancers are fit, strong and flexible, and they are
lifelong students. They take class every day of their lives
to keep in shape, to maintain the quality of their style and
technique, and to enjoy the community of other dancers. To
be able to perform at the best of their ability, dancers
need focus, commitment and a capacity for hard work.
A ballet performance enables dancers to communicate with
an audience. The creation of a ballet starts with an idea or
a movement which is nurtured, tried out, modified, tried
again, talked through, tried again, refined, practised and
presented, then reflected upon and finally remembered.
On a crowded stage, dancers are able to kick, run, jump
and turn without hitting each other. This is because they
have a highly developed kinaesthetic sense, a sensibility of
who is where, a perception of speed and trajectory, and
respect for one another’s performance space. A performance
is a successful model for our crowded world, where people
working in concert learn to adjust and compromise.
A brief history of dance in Australia
Australia dance draws on many influences including the
traditions and history of dance as an art form, as well as
the different cultures and trends in society.
A strong Indigenous tradition
Dance is an important part of Indigenous Australians'
cultural traditions. It is reflected and reinterpreted in
the work and creativity of various
Aboriginal and Islander dance companies which formed
from the early 1960s onward.
Dance is increasing the prominence of Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander peoples as it is transferred from
communities to public theatres and transformed from ceremony
to spectacle.
European influences
Different forms of dance came to Australia with
the first European settlers. Dancers visited colonial
Australia from other countries, and danced as part of
pantomime, opera and other theatre performances.
Ballet and other forms of theatre became very popular
during the
Australian gold rushes. The appeal of Romantic Ballet in
particular brought many European and American dancers to
perform in Australia.
Russian ballet was also very influential.
Anna Pavlova's Australian tours in 1926 and 1929, and
tours by the
Ballet Russes in the 1930s attracted a lot of interest
and stimulated the development of Australia's own ballet
culture.
Developing Australian dance
A number of professional Australian ballet companies were
founded during the 1940s and 1950s. These included the
Kirsova Ballet,
The Borovansky Ballet, Laurel Martyn's Ballet Guild,
The West Australian Ballet and the short-lived
Australian Theatre Ballet.
The Australian Ballet School was established in 1964 and
a range of contemporary dance companies flourished over the
next three decades, including
Expressions,
Bangarra Dance Theatre and
The Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre.
Key players in Australian dance
Funding for Australian dance
The federal government-funded arts body,
The Australia Council, has contributed to the survival
and growth of contemporary Australian dance and dance
companies since the 1960s. Australia Council funding has
increased the number of small dance groups and the range of
dance performances.
Travel grants have given dancers and choreographers the
chance to study or work with dance companies in America and
Europe. State governments have also supported local dance
companies, while subscribers and sponsors also help to
support some ventures.
Playing Australia is a federal government program which
provides grants to performing arts companies, producers,
venues, presenters and tour organisers to tour in regional
areas.
Australian dancers and choreographers
Hugh Hamilton, Graeme Murphy, Artistic Director
and resident choreographer, Sydney Dance Company.
Image courtesy of the
Sydney Dance Company.
Australian dance has flourished through the effort and
talent of many great dancers and choreographers.
Sir Robert Helpmann,
Edna Busse,
Kathleen Gorham,
Martin Rubinstein,
Marilyn Jones,
Garth Welch,
Marilyn Rowe,
Greg Horsman,
Lisa Pavane,
Steven Heathcote and
Christine Walsh are just a few of our memorable
Australian dancers.
Meryl Tankard,
Graeme Murphy and
Stephen Page are among Australia's most well-known
choreographers.
Contemporary Australian dance companies and groups
Large and small Australian dance groups explore the
possibilities of dance in a range of ways. From the more
traditional
Australian Ballet to the upbeat performances of
Chunky Move, there are public performances to satisfy
all tastes. The mix includes
Sydney Dance Company,
Australian Dance Theatre,
Buzz Dance Theatre,
Expressions,
Dance North,
TasDance,
Bangarra Dance Theatre,
Tracks Inc,
West Australian Dance,
Paige Gordon and many others.
Youth dance companies
Youth dance companies exist in most Australian states.
They offer young people aged between fourteen and
twenty-five a unique opportunity to participate in and
experiment with dance and performance. Professional artists
work with participants to explore and create or choreograph
new work.
Collaboration with professional artists and involvement
in the creation of new works gives young people broad
experience in the arts and increased understanding of the
artistic process.
Related sites
Act Sing Dance
Act Sing Dance
offers services such as designer dance
workshops, casual hip hop and funk ...
The Early Dance Consort
The Early
Dance Consort is a Sydney-based teaching and
performing ensemble specialising in...
Related Culture Portal Stories
Useful links
Dance companies
Dance exhibitions
Dance organisations
Print references
- Baxter,V. and Gallasch, K, In repertoire: A
guide to Australian contemporary dance, Australia
Council, NSW, 2004.
- Pask, E.H., Enter The Colonies Dancing: A
History of Dance in Australia 1835-1940, Oxford
University Press, Melbourne,1979.
- Whiteoak, J & Scott-Maxwell, A Currency
Companion to Music and Dance in Australia, Currency
House, NSW, 2003.
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