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30 September 2011
60 years of ballet magic. West Australian Ballet celebrates its diamond anniversary with an array of stunning ‘jewels’.
To celebrate West Australian Ballet’s diamond anniversary season, artistic director Ivan Cavallari is polishing up some world renowned jewels, resetting others and adding a few new brilliants, just for good measure!
Season highlights include a major new story ballet – Pinocchio – from Cavallari and Edoardo Sanchi (creators of the acclaimed 2008 production of The Nutcracker) with a new musical score from Enricho Melozzi.
A new ballet combining the talents of two acclaimed Australian artists: choreographer Terence Kohler and composer Carl Vine, who’s thrilling Percussion Symphony No 5 will provide an expansive musical landscape for Kohler’s much-anticipated choreography.
The Australian premiere of John Cranko’s ravishing Poème de l'extase (created for Margot Fonteyn) and his quirky Jeu de Carte, which has become a mainstay of the international ballet repertoire, but not seen in Australia for decades.
The great George Balanchine – Father of American ballet - will appear in the company’s repertoire for the first time, with Serenade presented in the Quarry season.
And some extra icing on the diamond jubilee cake: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune – one of the company’s heirloom jewels – from former WAB artistic director Barry Moreland, and Cavallari’s The Nutcracker, which drew excited gasps from rapturous audiences back in 2008…who would have thought that giant washing machines could become the leitmotif for this family ballet classic…and succeed so brilliantly!
Says Ivan Cavallari
“I am very honoured to be leading West Australian Ballet during its 60th diamond anniversary season. It is a significant milestone for the company, and provides us with a chance not only to reflect on the past but also to look forward to the future. We particularly honour Madame Kira Bousloff, for her foresight and courage in establishing a ballet company in the world’s most isolated city.
The 2012 anniversary season provides a platform to showcase a variety of repertoire & styles, indeed some ‘diamonds’ from world renowned choreographers such as John Cranko and George Balanchine, introduce the talented young, Munich-based Australian choreographer, Terence Kohler, recognise a past WAB director, Barry Moreland and work with world star, former principal dancer, Margaret Illmann. I look forward to the opportunity to create a new story ballet “Pinocchio”, with an exceptional creative team of Edoardo Sanchi (designer) and Enrico Melozzi (composer), and to restage my first major work created for WAB “The Nutcracker”.
We are also very happy to be moving the company into our new home in Maylands. A place which will allow the company to grow not only in size, but also continue to grow in stature. I hope 2012 will be a wonderful year of ballet for our WA audiences.” Ivan Cavallari, Artistic Director
Monday Vernissage
With the company’s move to the new West Australian Ballet Centre, Cavallari will host a series of ‘Monday Vernissages’ during 2012. The first two events include an homage to John Cranko, and a preview of a new story ballet and its score with WAYJO.
Gala Ball
A glamorous black tie ball will be held in August of its diamond anniversary year, to raise important funds for West Australian Ballet’s future and its new premises.
SEASON 2012
BALLET AT THE QUARRY
10 February > 3 March 2012
The Quarry Amphitheatre, City Beach
DIAMONDS
11 > 26 May 2012
His Majesty’s Theatre, with WASO
PINOCCHIO – Ivan Cavallari
15 > 29 September 2012
His Majesty’s Theatre with WASO
THE NUTCRACKER
23 November > 9 December 2012
His Majesty’s Theatre, with WA Philharmonic Orchestra
How to book
Season 2012 subscriptions go on sale 7 October 2011 through BOCS Ticketing 08 9484 1144. Single tickets on sale from 14 November 2011. Ballet at the Quarry on sale through Ticketmaster. Diamonds, Pinocchio and The Nutcracker on sale through BOCS Ticketing 08 9484 1133 or www.bocsticketing.com.au
For further information please contact:
Rosita Stangl, Publicist
West Australian Ballet
Ph: 9367 8884 or
Email: rositapr@iinet.net.au
www.waballet.com.au
Further details following:
Season 2012 – repertoire details/ WAB celebrates 60 years/ Artist biographies
SEASON 2012 REPERTOIRE
BALLET AT THE QUARRY
10 February > 3 March 2012
The Quarry Amphitheatre, City Beach
Serenade – George Balanchine
George Balanchine was one of the seminal choreographers of the 20th century. At New York City Ballet, his creative home from 1948-83, he was a guiding force and helped to define an American ballet style. Inspired by Tchaikovsky’s music (Serenade for Strings), Serenade is the first ballet created by Balanchine in America. He created it for the School of American Ballet in 1934. It has its origins as a lesson in stage technique. Balanchine famously worked unexpected rehearsal events into the choreography; when one dancer fell, he incorporated it. Another day, a dancer arrived late, and this too became part of his acclaimed ballet. Performed by 28 dancers, it has become a signature work for the New York City Ballet.
Strings 32 – Ivan Cavallari World Premiere
Ivan Cavallari’s new work for the Quarry has taken its inspiration from ‘strings’ – how they intersect our lives, create music, define allusive parameters and connect us visibly and intangibly. Set to the exquisite strains of Paganini and Kreisler, this work is sure to be another season highlight.
New work – Terence Kohler World Premiere
Australian born Terrence Kohler, currently resident choreographer at State Theatre in Munich is quickly gaining a sought after reputation in Europe, for his inventive and imaginative choreographies. He returns home to make his Australian debut with West Australian Ballet, creating a major new work on Carl Vine’s Percussion Symphony No. 5.
The Sixth Borough – Reed Luplau
Imagine a city inhabited without our knowledge. One where possibilities are endless, turbulence is second nature and survival is a battle. Rising star Reed Luplau’s latest choreography is inspired by a New York urban legend and performed to music by Daft Punk and Maroon 5.
DIAMONDS
11 > 26 May 2012
His Majesty’s Theatre, with WASO
Poème de l'extase – John Cranko Australian Premiere
Originally created by John Cranko for Margot Fonteyn, Poème de l'extase tells the story of a famous actress recalling her past. Flattered at first by the attentions of a much younger man who falls in love with her, she then recalls her former loves and realising that this part of her life has already been fulfilled, rejects the hapless young man. Scriabin’s music, with its accumulating torrents of emotion, coupled with opulent designs from Pablo Nunez, beautifully evoke the Belle Époque period. West Australian Ballet is only the third company in the world to perform this beautiful ballet.
Jeu de carte – John Cranko
One of his most adored and enduring works, Jeu de carte, a ‘poker game in three deals’, revels in Cranko’s playful tenacity. The protagonist is the clown-faced, red-wigged Joker, whose disruptive, chameleonic presence determines the outcome of the game. Set to Stravinsky’s dazzling score, this ballet has been a hit with audiences the world over.
Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune – Barry Moreland
& Dying Swan – Michel Fokine, restaged by Margaret Illmann
Brought back especially for the company’s 60th anniversary, Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune was choreographed by Barry Moreland in 1985 for former West Australian Ballet star Ronnie Van den Bergh. The work brilliantly captures the languid imagery from Stephane Mallarme, on whose poem Debussy based his famous composition. The final diamond on this program of exquisite gems is Michel Fokine’s Dying Swan, created for luminary Anna Pavlova in 1905 and restaged in 2012 by Perth’s own world-star Margaret Illmann.
PINOCCHIO – Ivan Cavallari World premiere
15 > 29 September 2012
His Majesty’s Theatre with WASO
Since it was first published in 1883, Carlo Collodi’s Pinocchio has captivated and influenced generations of young people with its moral tale about a little wooden puppet who is naughty, mischievous and daring, and faces many challenges along the road towards becoming human.
Pinocchio is fashioned in the workshop of the craftsman Gepetto. When Pinocchio lies, his nose grows. Along the way to becoming a real boy he has many great adventures: he is suckered by a scheming fox and cat, led to a seductive toy land where boys are turned into donkeys, befriended by the blue fairy and swallowed by an enormous shark. It takes an act of great courage and selflessness to finally fulfill Pinocchio’s greatest wish, to become a real boy.
There is a strong tradition of artists giving Collodi’s heartwarming story new life. It was a huge success in 1883 and this bold interpretation by Ivan Cavallari and Edoardo Sanchi, and with a new musical score by Enrico Melozzi, will captivate a new generation of youngsters – and the not so young!
THE NUTCRACKER
23 November > 9 December 2012
His Majesty’s Theatre, with WA Philharmonic Orchestra
Ivan Cavallari made his Australian choreographic debut in 2008, breathing new life into the traditional family favourite, The Nutcracker. His new version is the story of two students, Clara and Peter, in their final year of school. Under the watchful eye of the strict Mme Drosselmeyer and the college Headmaster, Clara and Peter struggle through exams leading up to their graduation, with Peter all the while harbouring a secret love for Clara. Too shy and awkward to reveal his true feelings, Peter courts Clara anonymously in an internet chat room using the name ‘Nutcracker’. Together they make the journey towards first love, as Peter tries everything to win Clara’s heart before the graduation ball.
Ivan Cavallari has combined traditional Nutcracker themes – Christmas, the nut, the great battle, dances from around the world, fight of the rats and mice (now a computer virus) – with engaging new plots and characters set against an Australian summer backdrop. What remains constant from Petipa’s original version, however, are the emotional experiences of love, hate, fear and magic. These feelings remain at the centre of this production, which is a rite-of-passage tale about two young people exploring a world in transition.
A visually stunning set by Edoardo Sanchi and haute-couture costumes by Christina Smith combine with Cavallari’s superb choreography to create a truly visionary ballet that remains as enchanting as the original.
‘An enchanting experience, this Nutcracker is an invitation into the realm of imagination and wonder…’ The West Australian, 2008
WEST AUSTRALIAN BALLET CELEBRATES 60 YEARS
- The birth of a ballet company and high seas rescue of Aden Gazelle
‘When the Maloja docked in Fremantle on Tuesday 20th September 1938 bringing Colonel de Basil’s famous Ballets Russes to Australia, three of the passengers were Kira Abricossova, Irina Baronova (both principal dancers with the company) and Aden Gazelle. Aden who? Once through the Suez Canal the company took a shore break when the boat docked in Aden, Yemen. Irina and Kira (best remembered as Madame Bousloff) went for a walk along the wharf where they rescued a small gazelle, its legs trussed, from two boys dragging it along the ground, and smuggled it aboard. When at sea, they told the captain of what they had done. He was unimpressed but feminine charm cooled his anger and they were allowed to keep it, caged below deck.
The captain radioed ahead to Australian Quarantine and the Perth Zoo. When the Maloja birthed, according to Irina in her autobiography, a zoo van was waiting to take Aden Gazelle to his new home—the Perth Zoo. In fact, this appears not to have been the case. The company’s visit is given extensive coverage in the West Australian but there is no mention of the Antilopini incident. Contemporary Eastern States papers record that Aden was found a home at the Melbourne Zoo.’ [David Hough, Ballet News Spring 2009]
After completing her touring commitment with de Basil’s company, Kira remained in Australia. She returned to Western Australia in September 1952. She had fallen in love with Perth, declaring that the beautiful coastline reminded her of the French Riviera. “This is where I am going to live, and this is where I am going to die,” she said. “This is my place.”
It was this sense of adventure, her pioneering spirit and determination to plant a rose in the desert and watch it grow, that led to the establishment of the West Australian Ballet Company in 1952 – the oldest ballet company still in existence in Australasia (ten years older than The Australian Ballet, in fact). In 1970 the company was proclaimed a ‘State’ company.
In 2012 West Australia Ballet heads into a new era with an augmented company and a new $12 million professional ballet centre for training and production – a centre of excellence and a focus for dance in Western Australia for the next 60 years.
BIOGRAPHIES
John Cranko
South Africa’s John Cranko began his career dancing with Sadler’s Wells Theatre Ballet and Sadler’s Wells Ballet at Covent Garden. At only 23 years of age, he began his choreographic career, creating many ballets for Sadler’s Wells and the Royal Ballet. Cranko accepted an invitation to become director of the Stuttgart Ballet in 1961, and turned the provincial German company into one of the world’s leading ensembles, with a team of superb dancers – such as Haydée, Barra, and Cragun.
His early death from a heart attack was a tremendous loss to the international ballet world, as well as to Stuttgart. As a choreographer, he was one of the few in the late 20th century to create creditable full-length story ballets. He could handle comedy, tragedy, and romance equally well, and his productions of Romeo and Juliet, Onegin, and The Taming of the Shrew have become mainstays of the international repertoire.
George Balanchine
Balanchine was one of the seminal choreographers of the 20th century and shaped American ballet for almost four decades. He began to choreograph while still in his teens, creating his first work as early as 1920. In 1924 with the departure of Bronislava Nijinska from the Ballets Russes, Diaghilev named Balanchine as ballet master (principal choreographer) to replace her. During his time with the Ballets Russes, Balanchine created eleven ballets. By 1946, he was working in New York creating for subscription-only audiences, and in 1948 the New York City Ballet was born, where he served as ballet master and principle choreographer until his death in 1983. Ivan Cavallari
Ivan Cavallari was born in Bolzano, Italy. He was trained at the Teatro alla Scala Ballet School in Milan and the Bolshoi Ballet School in Moscow. From 1984 to 1985 he danced with the Teatro alla Scala Ballet. In 1986 he joined the Stuttgart Ballet and became a soloist in 1991, advancing to a principal dancer in 1994. Ivan has restaged many of John Cranko’s ballets for companies such as the Royal Ballet, Hungarian National Ballet, La Scala and Royal Swedish Ballet, and has been commissioned to choreograph works for a number of prestigious ballet companies worldwide. Ivan joined West Australian Ballet as Artistic Director in February 2007 and has since choreographed several works for the company, including his acclaimed The Nutcracker in 2008.
Terence Kohler
Australian born Terence Kohler moved to Germany in 2002 on a scholarship from the prestigious Tanzstiftung Birgit Keil in Stuttgart. In 2004 he was engaged as both dancer and resident choreographer of the State Theatre of Baden in Karlsruhe and in 2007 was awarded the German Dance Prize ‘Future’ award for choreography. He has created works for many major companies and since 2009 has held the position of Choreographer in Residence at the Bavarian State Ballet in Munich.
Barry Moreland
Barry Moreland began his choreographic career in the early Seventies in the U.K. where he was Company Choreographer to both London Contemporary Dance Company and London Festival Ballet. Subsequently he created works for companies in the UK, Europe and the USA. Returning to Australia in 1983 Moreland was Artistic Director of West Australian Ballet until 1997, making him the second longest serving artistic director after founder Mme Kira Bousloff. He created numerous full length and one act works for the company. His latest work in 2011, HELIX, was created for Daryl Brandwood. Reed Luplau
Currently based in New York City, young dancer and choreographer, Reed Luplau, is aiming his sights high, having already received coveted invitations to dance in companies in Australia and the United States. His short work for The Australian Ballet, Bleecker, was nominated for ‘Outstanding Achievement in Choreography’ in the 2010 Australian Dance Awards. His latest creation, The Sixth Borough, was premiered with wide acclaim in Neon Lights in 2011.
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