Search

The article presents an interview with dancer and choreographer Chandrabhanu. He emphasizes the significance of the acts of translation represented in his choreography. He cites examples of how the traditional Indian dance Bharata-Natyam reinvents forms in the context of modernity. The dancer relates his experiences as a migrant artist in Australia.

The article focuses on Bronislava Nijinska's ballet "Les Cent Baisers." The ballet had its world premiere on July 18, 1935 with a second performance on July 24 of the same year in London, England, which was attended by the Prince of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of York in a Gala Jubilee programme. In addition, it had its U.S. premiere on October 18, 1935 and was widely accepted by the audience, which resulted to a 25,000 mile cross-country tour. It was also the first Nijinska ballet seen in Australia and was translated as "The Hundred Kisses" on its Melbourne, Victoria premiere on December 5, 1936.

A chapter of the book "Writings on Dance 16: Performing Institution," is presented in which the author responds to the making, and public reception of "The Cutting Room," choreographed and performed by Ros Crisp, and directed by Nigel Jamieson which was performed at The Performance Space in Sydney, Australia in July 1995. The author emphasizes that Ros's genuine engagement with the audience as she had in the Lucy work, with that compelling intensity which is both part of her talent as an artist and as a person.

This article presents an interview with choreographer Dana Reitz, who has conducted workshops for several beginners and professionals in various locations throughout the U.S., Europe and Australia. When asked about where a phase of her dance work finishes, she says that she starts out right in the middle, and cannot decide on beginnings and where she is ending. Reitz says that light and stage dimensions are very important for her work. She also talks about her performances.

This article features gay artistic director Stanton Welch of Houston Ballet. Apart from his home country of Australia--which even 10 years ago promoted what he calls a blokey image in ballet companies--Texas has been the most accepting place for a gay director. What with sodomy laws still on the books, Welch admits he was dubious when he first went to Houston six years ago to choreograph. His first move has been to advocate for female choreographers. The opening program of the Houston Ballet's current season, September's Women@Art, showcased a rare all-female roster of choreographers: Julia Adam, Lila York, and Natalie Weir. Welch has choreographed works for American Ballet Theatre and San Francisco Ballet. Despite his successes, not everything in Welch's life has had ballet's fairy-tale charm. Several years ago his partner, Gene Walsh, a former New York City fireman, suffered a stroke that left him severely paralyzed. Welch has been his caretaker. Welch knows that gay audiences have sometimes tuned out ballet because of its overwhelming messages of heterosexuality. But he believes that change comes with new choreographers, even in George Bush's backyard. Welch said that he wants to make Houston Ballet a utopia for choreography.

Presents information on the dance performance of television personality Tom Williams with dance partner Kym Johnson during the grand finale of the reality television program "Dancing With the Stars" in Australia in 2005. Choreography of the performance by Johnson; Dissatisfaction of runner-up Ian Roberts on the performance; Background on the performance of Roberts and dance partner Natalie Lowe. INSET: Tom's secret crush.

This year's Adelaide Festival held in March 2004 in South Australia hosted a unique collaboration between dance photographer Lois Greenfield and Australian Dance Theatre. Lois Greenfield stood onstage with the dancers at various times for a total of 20 minutes during the 50-minute piece. The collaboration began when Greenfield met ADT Artistic Director Garry Stewart at the Association of Performing Arts Presenters booking conference in New York City in July 2003. In front of an audience, Greenfield sets up photographic equipment and uses a digital camera to take pictures of dancers that get projected on screens simultaneously. After finding the configurations that worked for Greenfield's camera eye, Stewart created the choreography that would link the" photo moments" into a dance.

Viewed around the world at the opening ceremony of Sydney's 2000 Olympic Games, Australian tap dancing appeared in a segment that paid tribute not to showbiz, but to Australian workers. From every corner of the Olympic Stadium, came an army of 1,300 tappers, male and female, ripping into choreography by Tap Dogs creator Dein Perry and showing how the raw strength of tap from Australia differs from the polished tapping typically seen on Broadway. This gritty, uniquely Australian concept took flight when Perry was invited to create a show, which he called Tap Dogs, for the Sydney Festival in 1995. The appeal of Tap Dogs is its refreshing approach to a traditional artform.