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THE AUSTRALIAN BALLETIN CHINA
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AUSTRALIA’S NATIONAL DANCE COMPANY
The Australian Ballet is Australia’s national dance company, presenting approximately 200 live performances to 270,000 people each year.
It regularly performs in all Australian capital cities and
has an extensive regional and international touring program. A recent study by Newspoll found that The Australian Ballet is the
most recognised performing arts company in Australia.
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INTERNATIONAL TOURING: IT’S IN OUR BLOOD
The Australian Ballet has a long history of high profile international touring, visiting 37 countries and 87 cities
since it was founded in 1962.
The company has developed a global reputation for technical excellence, versatility and dramatic flair.
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Artists of The Australian Ballet meet performers from the Chinese Opera during the 1980 tour.
THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET AND CHINA
The Australian Ballet’s relationship with China stretches back to 1980 when the company first toured to the region.
Since then, the Ballet has regularly returned to perform across the country and has developed strong relationships with resident ballet
companies by establishing important exchange programs for dancers and those working behind-the-scenes in the industry.
The Australian Ballet’s presence in China has been strongly supported by government and the corporate sector for many years.
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THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET AND CHINA 2015 TOUR
In October 2015 The Australian Ballet has been invited to perform in Beijing and Shanghai at two important and prestigious festivals, giving the company the opportunity to represent Australia at the highest level, and providing our partners a unique platform to develop their profile and contacts in this key economic and
political region.
Performance details:
NATIONAL CENTRE FOR PERFORMING ARTS, BEIJING (opening program of the NCP Dance Festival)
Friday 16th October Mixed programme including resident choreographer
Stephen Baynes’s acclaimed Unspoken Dialogues
Saturday 17th October Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake
Sunday 18th October Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake
SHANGHAI GRAND THEATRE (Shanghai International Arts Festival)
Friday 23rd October:Alexei Ratmansky’s Cinderella
Saturday 24th October: Alexei Ratmansky’s Cinderella
Sunday 25th October: Mixed programme including resident choreographer
Stephen Baynes’s acclaimed Unspoken Dialogues
The tour will be The Australian Ballet’s major international activity for 2015 and a significant undertaking. Our touring party of 115 will include all the dancers of The Australian Ballet, artistic staff, medical, technical, production and support
teams and touring two full scale productions, plus a mixed program, will involve transporting 12 sea containers of production sets and costumes.
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GRAEME MURPHY’S SWAN LAKE
In 2001 The Australian Ballet’s newly appointed Artistic Director, David McAllister, approached one of Australia’s greatest choreographers, Graeme Murphy, to create a new version of Swan Lake. The production became an instant smash hit and a calling card both at home and abroad.
Murphy’s Swan Lake was produced to mark the company’s 40th anniversary in 2002. Since then, it has been performed over 170 times to a domestic audience of 220,000 people and has grossed more than $14.2 million at the box office.
Swan Lake is undoubtedly one of ballet’s most iconic narratives. The creative team – Murphy, his wife and creative associate Janet Vernon, and long-time collaborator Kristian Fredrikson – sought to give relevance to the often implausible story while retaining an intrinsic magic. Murphy’s choreography dramatically communicates the passion and emotion of betrayal and unrequited love.
Helping Murphy to realise his unique vision is the sumptuous set and costume design by Fredrikson. A designer of vivid imagination and scope, New Zealand-born Fredrikson (1940 – 2005) enjoyed a long career at the forefront of Australian design. His award-winning creations spanned ballet, opera, theatre, film and television.
One of Murphy’s great strengths as a choreographer is retelling traditional stories with a twist. Since its premiere, this version of Swan Lake has been acclaimed by audiences and critics in London, Cardiff, Manchester, Paris, Shanghai, Tokyo, Nagoya and New York.
THE STORYMurphy’s Swan Lake follows the fortunes of Odette who is betrothed to Prince Siegfried, yet she is deeply apprehensive about his relationship with the Baroness von Rothbart. It’s not until after the wedding that the true nature of Siegfried and the Baroness’ relationship becomes clear, causing Odette such distress that by royal command she is committed to a sanatorium. There she finds comfort and escape amongst serene white swans in a frozen dream world. Critics worldwide have picked up on more than a hint of another world-famous royal ménage à trois, finding several parallels in this story of adultery, personality disorders and the betrayal of innocence.
AWARDSWinner, Best Foreign Dance Company UK Critics’ Circle Awards 2005Winner of four Helpmann Awards in 2003Winner of four Green Room Awards 2003Winner, Mo Award 2003
Choreography Graeme MurphyCreative Associate Janet VernonMusic Piotr Ilyich TchaikovskySet and Costume Design Kristian FredriksonLighting Design Damien Cooper Number of dancers Approximately 61Length 171 minutes (2 intervals / 4 acts)
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In 2013, Artistic Director David McAllister commissioned the world’s most sought-after choreographer, Alexei Ratmansky, to create a new Cinderella for The Australian Ballet. Its world premiere season sold out across Australia.
Cinderella is the first full-length work Ratmansky has created for an Australian company and the second time he has worked with The Australian Ballet. This Cinderella is brilliantly re-imagined: Ratmansky unleashed his considerable narrative talents on a sublime story ballet, to take audiences on a journey to 20th-century Russia and into an abandoned theatre where this unconventional fairy-tale is set.
On working with the dancers of The Australian Ballet to create Cinderella, Ratmansky says: “There is definitely something Australian about the way they dance. Really strong. The dancers are alive. At the same time they’re precise, well placed, musical. There’s something sunny about them.”
Ratmansky teamed up with award-winning French designer Jérôme Kaplan to realise his spectacular vision for Cinderella. The duo has previously worked together on Het Nationale Ballet’s Don Quixote and the world premiere of Lost Illusions at Bolshoi; the latter won Kaplan a Golden Mask Award for Best Costume Design.
THE STORYCinderella works away while her tempestuous Stepmother and Stepsisters prepare for the royal ball. As she dreams of dancing with the Prince, an eccentrically disguised Fairy Godmother revolutionises Cinderella’s rags into a magnificent ball gown – forget the pumpkin and the mice, planets, moons and stars accompany Cinderella to the ball.
Captivated from the moment Cinderella enters the room, the Prince only has eyes for his mysterious muse. A tick of the clock and one lost slipper later, the handsome Prince must embark on a world-wide journey to find his lost love, visiting many lands teeming with temptations before he is reunited with her.
AWARDSWinner of three Green Room Awards 2013
ALEXEI RATMANSKY’S CINDERELLA
Choreography Alexei RatmanskyMusic Sergei Prokofiev Set and Costume Design Jérôme KaplanLighting Design Rachel BurkeProjection Design Wendall K. HarringtonNumber of dancers Approximately 41Length 154 minutes (2 intervals / 3 acts)
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THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET AND CHINA:
A TIMELINE
Artist of The Australian Ballet David McAllister (now Artistic Director) visits the Great Wall of China during the 1993 tour.
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1987 LOCATION Beijing, Guangzhou
PERFORMANCES 8
SUPPORTED BY Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade ALUVIC Australian National Line (ANL) Qantas Airways Ken Done & Associates Port of Melbourne Authority CRA Limited OTC Australia
1987
1980 LOCATION Beijing, Shanghai
PERFORMANCES 6PRESENTED BY China Performing Company
SUPPORTED BY Australia-China Council Department of Foreign Affairs
The Australian Ballet was the first major ballet company to tour to China since the Cultural Revolution.
Vice-Premiere Li Xiannian and the Minister of Culture Huang Zhen attended performances and a live telecast attracted a television audience of some 200 million people throughout the country.
This visit aimed to further the agreement for cultural cooperation between the Chinese and Australian Governments.
“For more than a decade the friendly relations between the peoples of Australia and China have continued to grow stronger, and the role of cultural exchange in promoting mutual understanding has been of major significance.” Then Prime Minister of Australia, Bob Hawke
COLLABORATIONS CENTRAL BALLET OF CHINA: Australian Ballet principal artists David Ashmole and Christine Walsh performed as guest artists with the Central Ballet of China following the The Australian Ballet’s tour.
SHENYANG COMPANY: David Ashmole and Christine Walsh also performed as guest artists with the Shenyang Company following The Australian Ballet’s tour.
In addition, Australian Ballet dancers Fiona Tonkin, Paul de Mason and Adam Marchant performed as guests at a gala performance in Shanghai.
CENTRAL BALLET OF CHINA: principal artists Tang Min and Zhang Weiqiang from the Central Ballet of China performed as guests with The Australian Ballet in Sydney
BEIJING ACADEMY: Acclaimed ballet teacher Wang Jiahong travelled to Australia to work with The Australian Ballet dancers in the studios.
THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET AND CHINA: A TIMELINE
1993 LOCATION Beijing
PERFORMANCES 3
PRESENTED BY China Performing Arts Agency
SUPPORTED BY Australia-China Council Australian National Line (ANL) Qantas BHP Telstra
The Australian Ballet’s return to Asia came at a time of considerable focus on Australia’s relationship with the region. The company worked with diplomatic missions, trade representatives and commercial corporations to deliver a cultural ambassadorship that displayed some of the best attributes Australia has to offer – energy, enthusiasm and a resource of talent.
“The Australian Ballet is one of Australia’s foremost cultural ambassadors, having built a strong international reputation over the past 30 years.” Then Prime Minister of Australia, Paul Keating
“The return tour of China by The Australian Ballet has brought to the Chinese people not only consummate artistry but also profound friendship… It is my firm belief that the repertoire for this visit will certainly be enjoyed and welcomed by the Chinese audience, thus making new contributions to cultural exchanges between China and Australia.” Then Deputy Minister, Ministry of Culture, The People’s Republic of China, Liu Deyou
1996 LOCATION Beijing, Shanghai
PERFORMANCES 5
SUPPORTED BY Australia-China Council Australian National Line (ANL) ANZ Bank BP Australia Colonial Mutual Group Faulding ‘K’ Line Queensland Sugar Corporation Sydney Myer Fund Myer Foundation
By 1996, The Australian Ballet had truly cemented its relationship with China. As then General Manager Ian McRae stated, “we are now regarded as old friends and were welcomed by audiences and officials in Beijing and Shanghai”.
“The company’s … tour of Asia … reinforces its reputation as one of Australia’s premier cultural ambassadors.” Then Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard
“The Australian Ballet’s enduring reputation as one of the world’s finest and most innovative dance companies reinforces the necessity for the company to tour the globe. It is essential for the dancers and the people who see them perform.” Then Acting Chairman of The Australia-China Council, Stuart Simson
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1999 LOCATION Shanghai
PERFORMANCES 4
PRESENTED BY Shanghai Grand Theatre
SUPPORTED BY Australia-China Council CMG Asia The Hour Glass Limited ‘K’ Line RMIT
2001 LOCATION Nanjing, Shanghai, Beijing
PERFORMANCES 7
PRESENTED BY Shanghai Grand Theatre (Shanghai) China Performing Arts Agency (Beijing)
SUPPORTED BY The Australia-China Council Telstra China-Eastern Air BHP Australia LNG ‘K’ Line
The Australian Ballet performed in Shanghai’s new Grand Theatre for the first time in 1999.
2001 marked the first visit by The Australian Ballet to Nanjing.
“As [Australia and China] approach the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1972, the cultural relationship may be characterised as richer and more varied than ever. The Australian Ballet, of course, is one of the jewels in the celebration of the cultural relationship.” Then Australian Ambassador in China, David Irvine
THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET AND CHINA: A TIMELINE
2013
2012 SUPPORTED BY Australia-China Council Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Joan & Peter Clemenger Trust
COLLABORATIONS NATIONAL BALLET OF CHINA: The Australian Ballet celebrated its 50th Anniversary with a major gala season in Melbourne full of international ballet stars. Zhu Yan and Sun Ruichen from the National Ballet of China performed the Act II pas de deux from Giselle to critical acclaim.
COLLABORATIONS CCTV: Artistic Director of The Australian Ballet David McAllister was invited to judge a major ballet competition for the national Chinese broadcaster CCTV in Beijing.
NATIONAL BALLET OF CHINA: Australian Ballet principal artists Amber Scott and Adam Bull performed in Beijing with the National Ballet of China in celebration of the 60th anniversary of Tianqiao Theatre.
2006 LOCATION Shanghai
PERFORMANCES 3
PRESENTED BY Renaissance Hotels and Resorts and Shanghai Grand Theatre
SUPPORTED BY Victorian Government Australia-China Council BHP Billiton China ‘K’ Line Telstra Janz Tasmania
The Australian Ballet employed Chinese-born and trained concertmaster Sun Yi as part of the 2006 tour to Shanghai, providing valuable translation and cultural knowledge in the orchestra pit.
2004 COLLABORATIONS SHANGHAI BALLET: Principal Artist with the Shanghai Ballet Fan Xiaofeng performed as a guest artist with The Australian Ballet in a tribute season to George Balanchine.
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Artist of The Australian Ballet Chengwu Guo.
STRONG LINKS ON THE STAGE
The Australia Ballet prides itself on showcasing the truly multicultural make-up of our country with many different nationalities – including Chinese – within our dancer ranks.
CHENGWU GUO The Australian Ballet’s youngest principal artist, Chengwu Guo, grew up in China and trained at the Beijing Dance Academy. He received a full scholarship to complete his ballet training at the prestigious Prix de Lausanne Competition in Switzerland. He chose to take up the scholarship at The Australian Ballet School and was accepted into The Australian Ballet in 2008. In 2009 he starred in the movie Mao’s Last Dancer, playing the teenage Li Cunxin and in the same year he returned to China and won the Chinese version of the popular TV series So You Think You Can Dance. He was the first male dancer to win both the Telstra Ballet Dancer Award and People’s Choice Award in 2011 and was promoted to principal artist in 2013.
LI CUNXIN Former principal artist Li Cunxin grew up in China before moving to America to dance with Houston Ballet. He joined The Australian Ballet as a principal artist in 1995 and retired in 1999. Li’s ballet journey was portrayed in the movie Mao’s Last Dancer, directed by Bruce Beresford.
JIA YIN DU Former Coryphée Jai Yin Du trained with Liao Lin in China before joining the Australian Ballet School. He joined The Australian Ballet in 2000 and now owns his own ballet school in Melbourne.
CHENGWU GUO LI CUNXIN JIA YIN DU
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Artists of The Australian Ballet in Alexei Ratmansky’s acclaimed Cinderella.
THE FUTURE
The Australian Ballet is proud of its strong history with China, built up over 34 years of collaborations.
Our future relationship is an exciting one and we look forward to consolidating and expanding these connections with our partners
in China when we return with this major tour to Beijing and Shanghai in October 2015.
Artist of The Australian Ballet Vivienne Wong.
CONTACT
PRUE VERCOEPublic Relations Manager
T/F: 03 9669 2778 M: 0428 135 546
