The Australian Ballet takes you to Infinity

The Australian Ballet turns 50 this year and the celebrations start with a triple birthday treat of dances in a world premiere choreographed by the trailblazers Graeme Murphy, Stephen Page and Gideon Obarzanek.

Murphy conjures an abstract work called The Narrative of Nothing; Obarzanek gives a post-modern twist to There’s Definitely a Prince Involved; and Page finds new frontiers of storytelling in Warumuk – in the dark night. Specially commissioned for the golden anniversary year, they are collected under the title Infinity. The choreographers are called trailblazers for the literal reason that they are the first in the company’s history to present a trio of original Australian works. You could add a fourth to that list if you include the newly commissioned score by Brett Dean, whose recent triumph was Bliss for Opera Australia.

The man guiding The Australian Ballet through its milestone year is David McAllister, Artistic Director of the Company for over a decade now. He explains: “We’ve worked incredibly hard over five decades to champion not only Australian ballet, but dance of all forms. To feature three premiere works by all Australian choreographers says loudly and proudly that this country is producing outstanding local dance that is exciting, relevant and of an international standard.”

“All three choreographers have strong ties with the company as either former students of The Australian Ballet School, dancers with the company or past choreographic collaborators – in some cases all of the above – so it’s a privilege to be premiering their works. It’s an amazing way to start our 50th anniversary celebrations!”

ArtsHub broke into McAllister’s pressed schedule with some questions that he answered with great passion and good humour:

Q. This is like having Superman, Batman and Spider-Man combining forces. That alone must be exciting. Were there any difficulties with such busy and committed choreographers to find time to be at the one place together?

A. It will certainly be a ‘Marvel’ and everyone is really exerting their ‘super-powers’ since they have been in the studio! We started talking about this program a while ago and while it is never easy to get the stars to align we managed to make this happen with much flexibility on everyone’s account.

Q. Did the occasion of the Australian Ballet's golden anniversary prompt you to look ahead rather than look back?

A. I really wanted to make sure that we had our sights set both ways: one eye on the past and the other on the future. I guess though I really wanted the first program to be focused on today and how the ability of ballet, which is a 300-year-old technique, continues to be used to create surprising new works.

Q. I am curious about the title. They are three very different works. How do you draw them together under one theme and with such an open-ended meaning?

A. There was a little inspiration from the Buzz Lightyear catchphrase “To Infinity and Beyond”. I liked the way ‘Infinity’ as a word had a very forward momentum to it but also that the infinity sign is continuous, never ending, which is what I hope will be the future of this company. It also encompasses what makes ballet so addictive; the fact that you are always striving as there is never an end point, only more possibilities for improvement.

Q. It's a very bold idea to commission these works. How did it come about with Danilo Radojevic, Fiona Tonkin, Mark Kay and the others on your team?

A. We all believe in our motto, which is Caring for Tradition, Daring to be Different, and this program certainly fits into the latter category. We have a number of programs that enable us to celebrate our heritage and so this was our opportunity to take some risks.

Q. How did the commission happen? Did your artistic staff imagine the kind of program you wanted and approached the choreographers, or did you approach the choreographers to see what they were interested in doing?

A. Each of these choreographers has been part of our company at some point. Graeme Murphy began his career with us and has had a long and distinguished record of producing benchmark works for our various celebratory years. Likewise this is the fourth work Stephen Page has created for us, three of those partnering with his wonderful company Bangarra Dance Theatre, which we have toured around the world. I think this is a unique combination in the world and one that reflects the respect that we have for our shared Australian culture both original and imported. Gideon Obarzanek trained at The Australian Ballet School and created Sand Siren for us back in 1992. Since then his work has evolved and I felt it was the perfect time to have him create a new work for our 50th celebrations and loved the ideas he came up with about delving into the imagery and common perceptions of ballet.

Q. Again, about commissions, the score. How did you approach Brett Dean and what was his brief?

A. Graeme [Murphy] had worked with existing music of Brett Dean’s in a previous work for a ballet in Shanghai. He was also a composer that Music Director Nicolette Fraillon has long admired, so we were all very keen to commission a new work for this season. Luckily Brett was able to fit it into his incredible schedule. The brief was very broad and the piece is amazing!

Q. I understand that the program is still being developed. There is no final form for the three dances quite as yet. That means that the audience will be seeing works that are almost fresh from the oven, so to speak. This must be exciting but also a little bit daunting. Is this an unusual way to create a dance program so close to opening night?

A. It is the way we have decided to do this program as we wanted it to be a bold and exciting start to our celebrations. We could have played it safe and done one or two existing works but I think in your 50th year you should live a little dangerously!

Q. I can see all manner of efforts to make ballet more accessible. The post-performance talk with you and Stephen Page and Gideon Obarzanek is one example, but your education program is another. Do you see more interest in dance and ballet in particular since you became Artistic Director in July 2001?

A. We have worked hard to make sure that we build interest in the company and the art form by welcoming everyone to be a part of what we are doing. Some people feel you need to know about something to enjoy it more fully so we have been trying to find ways to facilitate that enquiry. It is important to tell stories both through the context that you program work in and also by offering information that supports the journey you want the audience to take with you.

That is one of the reasons why we have been building toward these 50th anniversary celebrations since 2010, building the context for this season in our two previous years. It is important for us to keep in mind that dance is a community art form. While what we are doing is at the top end of achievement, every week around Australia in some of the most surprising and remote places, hundreds of thousands of Australians are dancing and doing it really well. We are in the perfect position to encourage and nurture those endeavours and we want to celebrate that at every level. Australia is a dancing nation!

Q. Finally, how do you see The Australian Ballet reaching out more to the digital world? I see The Australian Ballet site has a beautiful clip taken from Graeme Murphy's Romeo & Juliet like a movie trailer. Do you see the internet as a further platform or stage for your company?

A. We have really embraced new media and have a wonderful team that communicates daily with our supporters around Australia and across the world via our blog, Facebook page, Twitter and company website. So many of our audience members live in this new technology space. I think the company has done a fantastic job at cultivating the digital world not only to sell tickets but, more importantly, to spread the word about how amazing our art form is, the uniqueness of our company and the talent of our dancers. I believe this is a great achievement and we have big ambitions to grow our digital presence.

DATES Melbourne: 24 February – 6 March (13 performances) Arts Centre Melbourne, State Theatre, with Orchestra Victoria Sydney: 5 – 25 April (21 performances) Opera Theatre, Sydney Opera House, with Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra Meet the Choreographers Monday 27 February post performance Join Artistic Director David McAllister and two of the choreographers of the Infinity program, Stephen Page and Gideon Obarzanek, as they discuss their views on choreography and dance, and then take questions from the audience. Venue: Arts Centre Melbourne, State Theatre Price: free to patrons who have purchased a ticket to the performance. Bookings: australianballet.com.au or 1300 369 741