dancing – Michmutters

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Australia

Thrifty school-formal theme as students borrow, swap and op shop for outfits in name of sustainable fashion

Two young women dressed beautifully for their formal

Can you imagine wearing the same suit your dad wore for his 21st birthday to your formal school?

In regional Victoria, some students have borrowed, swapped and op-shopped to make a statement about fast fashion and climate change.

After missing out on many school-age rites of passage through the pandemic, one school put on a dance with a difference.

Year 11 Emmanuel College students trawled through op shops, their parents’ and grandparents’ wardrobes, and swapped outfits for their first-ever Recycled Dance.

The thrifty theme invented by the students was also about tackling fast fashion, a growing threat to the environment.

A group of girls dressed well in formal gear, from recycled shops.
Students trawled through op shops and their parents’ wardrobes, and swapped outfits.(Supplied)

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Categories
Entertainment

Gary Lang’s Waŋa dance collaboration explores ancient and modern beliefs about death

A man and a woman in ceremonial dress on stage.

The performance of Waŋa — which means spirit — starts behind a thin veil, with a glimpse of the “in-between world” and an ancient Yolŋu funeral ceremony.

Telling the story of a spirit’s journey after death, Larrakia choreographer Gary Lang has worked with Rirratjŋu lore man and ceremonial advisor Banula Marika to create the performance.

“This performance is called Spirit and it’s the spirit of the Dhuwa clans,” Mr Marika said in Yolŋu Matha, with assistance from an interpreter.

“When I pass, my spirit will travel back to my homeland, the homeland that we’re telling this story about.”

A group of dancers surrounded by smoke on stage.
The spirit world is said to be joyful about a spirit’s return after death.(Supplied: Paz Tassone)
Two dancers perform the spirit's journey.
Waŋa is set to music by Darwin Symphony Orchestra.(Supplied: Paz Tassone)

“This is also my other home and place where my spirit comes from and my clan.”

The collaboration between the NT Dance Company, MIKU Performing Arts and Darwin Symphony Orchestra attempts to capture the pain and the relief of a spirit’s passing.

Mr Lang said his late grandmother also taught him about the spirit world.

“She said ‘what happens Gary, in the spirit world, when that spirit has to come to the physical world, there’s tears of sadness there because it’s a loss and there’s tears of joy in the physical world’,” Mr Lang said.

A portrait of two men in front of a stage.
The performance is a collaboration between Gary Lang and Banula Marika.(ABC News: Felicity James)

“and [after death] it works in reverse, there’s tears of sadness because there’s a loss and there’s tears of joy because it’s going back home.”

He said the performance tried to represent the process of passing through a veil from the physical world into an “in-between world”.

“We don’t know that in-between world,” he said.

“Between that veil and before you actually step into the heavens, I think that’s where all the ceremony happens in culture.

Waa 3
Gary Lang describes his works as ‘Indigenous ballet’.(Supplied: Paz Tassone)

“That it helps you to leave all the physical attachments behind and then you step into the world of wonder.”

Funeral ceremonies can last for days, weeks or months in Yolŋu culture, including in Mr Marika’s community of Yirrkala.

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Categories
Australia

Townsville teen dancer secures coveted spot at English National Ballet School

A young man dances on an empty stage

A Townsville teenager has beaten thousands of international dancers to take up a position at one of the world’s most prestigious ballet academies.

Zai Calliste, 17, has been accepted into the English National Ballet School, following in the footsteps of his dancer mother.

“Everything I had been working hard for sort of just came into fruition and it was the most amazing feeling and I felt so proud,” Zai says.

The application process began in December 2021 via video, with the teenager later invited to London for the final round of intense and “nerve-wracking” auditions.

A young man stands in front of a sign reading 'English National Ballet School'
Zai Calliste in London auditioning for the English National Ballet School.(Supplied: Nikki Robinson)

As a male dancer of Caribbean heritage, achieving his dream has had its challenges — especially in a regional city.

“There are many things that come with being a male dancer and a male dancer of culture. [It] hasn’t always been the easiest,” Zai says.

His mother, Nikki Robinson, is also no stranger to the world stage, with a dance career spanning over 21 years.

Ms Robinson was the key reason behind her son entering the dance studio 11 years ago.

“I knew he had a bit of a performance bug and, even way back when he was little, he had a really endearing quality that he was able to communicate to the audience,” she says.

“It’s been really wonderful to watch him bloom and progress and, of course, I’m super proud of how he’s adapted to everything he’s faced over the years dancing.”

A young man does the splits in the air in front of the water
In Sydney, Zai Calliste gained further experience through classes offered by the Sydney Dance Company.(Supplied: Nikki Robinson)

Zai started dancing at the age of six when he was sitting in one of his mother’s ballet classes.

“I decided I wanted to try it and she said she would give me a week and after that if I still wanted to do it, she would get me sorted,” he says.

“I lasted the week and I’ve been dancing ever since.”

Now that he has secured his spot in the school, Zai has his sights set on joining the world-renowned English National Ballet Company.

Dance teacher and co-director of the Ann Roberts School of Dancing Jane Pirani says there continues to be a stigma around male dancers, despite their talents.

“I’ve lost quite a few boys [from the dance school] because they were being ostracized at school or out in the community for [dancing],” she says.

Ms Pirani says for many young male creatives, dance is a safe place to express themselves.

A young dancer holds himself up on one hand while performing on stage
Growing up in Townsville, Zai was a frequent performer in regional dancing competitions.(Supplied: Nikki Robinson)

The English National Ballet School has been operating since 1988 and is held in high regard as a feeder academy into the company.

“The English National Ballet Company is now in alignment with the likes of the Royal Ballet and the Paris Opera Ballet,” Ms Pirani says.

Zai is due to move to London later this year.

“This is the stepping stone now, where it is make or break and he will have the opportunity to be offered a contract with [the English National Ballet] or audition for other companies,” Ms Pirani says.

She says it is incredibly rare for a regional dancer to make it on an international stage but believes once Zai secures his first job, he is going to be huge.

“Townsville is behind him; it’s been his dream from a little boy, and he really deserves everything he gets because he is a natural performer and that’s something you cannot teach people,” she says.

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Categories
Technology

Riddells Creek’s James McDonell prepares to tour with Australian Ballet

Close up of a chiseled jaw young man wearing stage makeup.

Not every young farm roustabout dreams of gracing the stage of Australia Ballet’s famed productions performing to scores by musical geniuses such as Tchaikovsky.

A young man dressed in ballet shorts in full flight mid-air of his dance routine.
James McDonell in full flight at The Australian Ballet.(Supplied: The Australian Ballet)

But for James McDonell it’s becoming a reality as he prepares to perform across regional Australia for the next few weeks, taking him from the family farm in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges to the center of the troupe’s Swan Lake Variations, choreographed by the Australian Ballet’s former artistic director David McAllister.

McDonell, 19, grew up in the country surrounded by dogs, cats, some pet sheep, and alpacas, and started dancing at the age of nine at a local dance school in Riddells Creek.

Speaking to ABC Central Victoria, McDonell said he loved the feeling of being on stage and being able to use his body to express emotion and make people feel something.

“I kind of realized that it suited my body,” he said.

“And I just loved the way it felt. And as the years went on, it really resonated with me in my body and how the lines that you can make with your body and shapes and how movement can be created with your body.

“I love the aesthetic of it, really, the way of transforming your body to make stunning shapes, and then being able to show that to an audience as well. I think that’s the pinnacle thing for me.”

An alert dog sits on grass in the autumn sun of a farm with an alpaca in the distance.
James McDonell relaxes from his busy ballet schedule on the farm with his dog and alpaca in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges.(Supplied: James McDonnell)

A great teacher matters

A young man in ballet tights in full stretch as he dances ballet.
James McDonell dancing with The Australian Ballet.(Supplied: The Australian Ballet)

It was under the guidance of his first dance tutor, Val Sparshot, that McDonell began to find his love of ballet after trying his hand at tap and jazz.

“She kind of pushed me to do ballet because it wasn’t really the top of my list. I started doing jazz and tap and for two years straight she would say, ‘Do ballet, do ballet’. And I was like, ‘ Nah, not really me’,” he said.

“And then she finally convinced me, and I started ballet, and then from there, I was like, ‘Oh, this isn’t actually too bad. I kind of like this’.”

In 2015, he moved to The Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School at the age of 12 where he stayed for five years before joining The Australian Ballet School in 2020.

Selfie of a relaxed young man with a sheep.
At home on the farm with friends.(Supplied: James McDonell)

pinnacle of dance

Swan Lake Variations is a classical piece celebrating the joy of dance and the beauty of Tchaikovsky’s famous score. This will be the second time McDonell takes to the stage across regional towns after performing with the company last year.

“I have had to sacrifice, I guess you could say, a normal life,” McDonell said.

“I trained six days a week, 8:30am until 6pm. So that comes with sacrificing things most people my age would be going out or doing. But I can’t afford to be doing that as much as others.”

Regional audiences will also get the opportunity to see dancers perform the exciting Flames of Paris Pas de Deux and the dramatic dance sequence Pas d’Action from La Bayadère.

McDonell will join the Australian Ballet’s regional tour as it stops over in Bendigo on August 5 and 6 for three performances at the Ullumbarra Theater and a youth masterclass.

“I know my parents are coming, but I’m sure others might accompany them as well,” he said.

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