Features – Valerie Lawson's Dancelines

Features

Beth Dean: a dancer many steps ahead of her time

May 12, 2012 – 10:13 am

It may have been the oddest introduction of the royal tour of 1954. ”Your Majesty,” said the general manager of

By valerie | Tagged Beth Dean, Corroboree, Nicholas Legat, Rex Reid | Comments (0)

Picasso’s ballet years, from Parade to 5th position

April 25, 2012 – 8:14 am

At 96, the photographer David Douglas Duncan can still remember the moment, more than 55 years ago, when he was

By valerie | Tagged Diaghilev, Le Train Bleu, Le Tricorne, Olga Khokhlova, Pablo Picasso, Parade, Pulcinella | Comments (0)

Amber Scott, as Tatiana in Onegin, The Australian Ballet, photo © Lynette Wills

The precious gift of Tatiana

April 19, 2012 – 5:29 am

I recently interviewed dancers, past and present, who’ve danced the role of Tatiana in Onegin or who soon will. For

By valerie | Tagged Adam Marchant, Amber Scott, Anne Woolliams, Austrailan Ballet, Christine Walsh.Ulrike Lytton, Gary Norman, Jane Bourne, John Cranko, John Meehan, Jonathan Kelly, Lisa Pavane, Madeleine Eastoe, Marilyn Rowe, Miranda Coney, Miwako Kubota, Onegin, Rachel Rawlins, Reid Anderson, Steven Heathcote, Tamas Detrich, Vicki Attard | Comments (0)

Front row, l to r: Ronald Emblen, Annette Page, Bryan Ashbridge. Back row, l to r: Margot Fonteyn, Brian Shaw, Maryon Lane, David Blair

The Fonteyn Follies of ’62

March 31, 2012 – 12:22 pm

With the men in miniscule swimming costumes, and the women dressed modestly in summer shirts and cotton trousers, Margot Fonteyn

By valerie | Tagged Annette Page, Arthur Tait, Brian Shaw, Brithday Offering, Bryan Ashbridge, David Blair, Elaine Fifield, Frederick Ashton, James Laurie, John Cranko, John Lanchbery, Madame Butterfly, Margot Fonteyn, Maryon Lane, Merle Park, Nadia Nerina, Ninette de Valois, Robin Haig, Roland Petit, Ronald Emblen, Royal Ballet, Rudolf Nureyev, Symphonic Variations, The Lady and the Fool | Comments (0)

Behind the velvet curtain: a true insight into a company at work

March 26, 2012 – 12:14 pm

More than a decade ago, Christopher Millard, director of press and communications at the Royal Opera House, explained to me

By valerie | Tagged Alexander Campbell, Beatriz Stix-Brunell, Christopher Wheeldon, Grant Coyle, Kristen McNally, Leanne Cope, Liam Scarlett, Marianela Nunez, Monica Mason, Olga Evreinoff, Royal Ballet, Tamara Rojo, Thiago Soares, Wayne McGregor | Comments (1)

Svetlana Zakharova and Andrei Uvarov inVladimir Vasiliev's Macbeth

Our black and deep desires: Macbeth re-visted

March 25, 2012 – 2:03 am

Earlier this month, for The Australian Financial Review, I interviewed Peter Evans, the director of a new production of Macbeth

By valerie | Tagged Andrei Uvarov, Anna Cordingley, Bell Shakespeare Company, Kristian Fredrikson, Peter Evans, Svetlana Zakharova, Vladimir Vasiliev | Comments (0)

Tanja Liedtke, self portrait

Tanja Liedtke on film: a tribute to her brief but brilliant life

March 11, 2012 – 7:35 am

The appointment was for 10am, the place was the top floor of a hotel in Macquarie Street in Sydney’s CBD

By valerie | Tagged Amelia McQueen, Anton, Australian Dance Theatre, Bangarra Dance Theatre, Bryan Mason, Craig Bary, DV8, Garry Stewart, Joshua Tyler, Julian Crotti, Kristina Chan, Life in Movement, Lloyd Newson, Paul White, Shane Carroll, Sol Ulbrich, Sophie Hyde, Tanja Liedtke, Theo Clinkard | Comments (1)

John Neumeier at home, with Nijinsky drawings in the background, photo © dpa

Neumeier: the presiding spirit of Hamburg

February 28, 2012 – 10:41 am

THE remains of Vaslav Nijinsky lie within the Montmartre cemetery in Paris. But the essence of the great dancer continues

By valerie | Tagged Hamburg Ballet, John Neumeier, Kevin Haigen, Midsummer Night's Dream, Nijinksy | Comments (0)

Daria Klimentova and Vadim Muntagirov, Swan Lake Act III, photo © John Ross

The May-December triumph of Daria and Vadim

February 15, 2012 – 11:32 am

At 38, Daria Klimentova, was ready to retire when she was called to Wayne Eagling’s office. The artistic director of

By valerie | Tagged American Ballet Theatre, Daria Klimentova, English National Ballet, Kevin McKenzie, Vadim Muntagirov, Wayne Eagling | Comments (0)

Twyla’s new take on the narrative ballet

February 6, 2012 – 11:53 pm

Twyla Tharp is one of the great stayers of the dance world. Sometimes harshly criticised for her most recent work,

By valerie | Tagged Atlanta Ballet, Hamburg Ballet, John Neumeier, Lillliom, Royal Winnepeg Ballet, The Princess and the Goblin, Twyla Tharp | Comments (0)

New Writing

16 May : Australian Ballet financial result: R&J sells out but the cost takes its toll in 2011
The Australian Ballet’s sold out production of Romeo & Juliet in Melbourne and Sydney attracted an audience of more than more...

14 May : David Hallberg the headline attraction for the Australian Ballet’s gala
David Hallberg will return to Australia to guest with the Australian Ballet in the company’s s 50th anniversary gala in more...

12 May : Beth Dean: a dancer many steps ahead of her time
It may have been the oddest introduction of the royal tour of 1954. ”Your Majesty,” said the general manager of more...

11 May : Onegin: To every thing there is a season
The double asterisks on the nightly cast lists say it all. The symbol following a dancer’s name means “debut in more...
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