Australian Ballet School 40th birthday gala
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Reviewer Hilary Crampton
September 28, 2004
State Theatre, September 24-25

The Arts Centre foyer was awash with nostalgia on Friday night as former students, staff and friends gathered to celebrate the Australian Ballet School's 40th birthday. The pre-performance chatter was pushed up many decibels, punctuated by squeals as long-lost colleagues discovered each other in the throng.

The Australian Ballet School is little more than an infant when compared with countries such as France, Denmark and Russia, where their national ballet schools date from the 17th and 18th centuries, but in its life it has achieved great things. The gala performance was a blend of symbolism, sentimentality and exuberance with the official formalities kept to a minimum - this was a night for partying.

The first item, ab et ad, devised by Leigh Rowles, represented both homage and history as the school's founding director, Dame Margaret Scott, symbolically passed the baton on to Marilyn Rowe, one of the school's first students, a well-loved principal of the Australian Ballet Company and now the school's director.

She in turn passed the baton on to David McAllister, also a student under Dame Margaret, a star of the company and now artistic director of that company.

The symbol of the baton continued in Mark Annear's Birthday Celebration, an extravagance of tutus featuring all the students ushered forward by graduate and long-serving company principal Steven Heathcote.

The suite of dances prioritised charm and grace above fireworks, displaying the students' pedigree - pure unmannered classicism featuring a high level of technical accomplishment, expansive and assured style and a delightful musicality. The climax came with the entrance of company members. About 95 per cent of the Australian Ballet Company's dancers have passed through the school.

Leigh Rowles' Ascension followed, bringing together Amber Scott from the company and a corps of four male students, including her young brother - the baton symbolism again - followed by Natalie Weir's gymnastically challenging Jabula.

The piece de resistance however was Aurora's Wedding, a confection constructed from Marius Petipa's Sleeping Beauty. This is a test piece of the classical repertoire that will reveal any weaknesses in style or technique. The senior students danced with such accomplishment that it left many in the audience gasping.

In her address Marilyn Rowe acknowledged the work of the school's two preceding directors, Dame Margaret (1964-1989) and Gailene Stock (1990-1998), now the director of England's Royal Ballet School.

She also stressed the importance of Dame Peggy van Praagh's vision. As founding artistic director of the Australian Ballet Company van Praagh had a five-point plan, which included the establishment of a national school.

From its small beginnings the school's students now successfully compete on the world stage, impressing with their distinctive style and willingness to try just about anything, all ample justification for celebration.

From
The Age