Ondine Posted June 5, 2023 Share Posted June 5, 2023 (edited) New today (three minutes) costumes More content on the channel https://www.youtube.com/@australianballet Edited June 5, 2023 by Ondine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ondine Posted June 5, 2023 Share Posted June 5, 2023 Amanda Jennings asks The Australian Ballet’s artistic director about his new life off-stage and asks about his company’s forthcoming London season. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Posted June 5, 2023 Share Posted June 5, 2023 Just wanted to say the gala program is announced: 60th Anniversary Celebration: 145 mins / 1 Interval ACT 1 Harlequinade Larks (Including solos and coda) Alexei Ratmansky after Marius Petipa Concerto Pas de Deux Kenneth MacMillanLittle Atlas Alice ToppI New Then "Madame George" Johan Inger(World Première 23 February 2012, Lucent, The Hague, the Netherlands, Nederlands Dans Theater 2) Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux George Balanchine © The George Balanchine TrustACT II Everywhere We Go Funeral March/High Style/King’s Speech Justin PeckAnna Karenina Italy pas de deux Yuri PossokhovWatermark Pam TanowitzDon Quixote Fandango, Bridesmaids, Grand pas de deux Rudolf Nureyev, after Marius Petipa 8 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Posted June 5, 2023 Share Posted June 5, 2023 11 hours ago, Peanut68 said: Doesn't feel like that many minutes in total of dancing.....is this usual for Jewels? Almost feel like they could run Emeralds & Rubies together, then interval, then Diamonds & - if they must have a second interval - do another short one act ballet or a couple of items from the Sunday Gala.....I'm sure the UK audience have waited a long time for this visit so deserve a bit more stage time! I’m pretty sure they’ve rounded it down, as well as ROH has long curtain calls compared to other companies (I think) so I could only assume that’s why this is shorter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serenade Posted June 5, 2023 Share Posted June 5, 2023 9 hours ago, Benjamin said: Just wanted to say the gala program is announced: Thanks for posting- it looks like a great programme. Glad I booked 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scheherezade Posted June 6, 2023 Share Posted June 6, 2023 18 hours ago, serenade said: Thanks for posting- it looks like a great programme. Glad I booked And sorry I'll be out of the country. Only just able to make Jewels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serenade Posted June 6, 2023 Share Posted June 6, 2023 1 hour ago, Scheherezade said: And sorry I'll be out of the country. Only just able to make Jewels. Oh no that’s a shame. At least you’ll see Jewels! I’ve booked for both and could only go at the weekend- so a ballet packed weekend. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted June 8, 2023 Share Posted June 8, 2023 On 05/06/2023 at 20:42, serenade said: Thanks for posting- it looks like a great programme. Glad I booked agree … and guaranteed to see many of the dancers in featured roles. Looking forward to seeing them live. Very glad I booked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted June 8, 2023 Share Posted June 8, 2023 I don’t know whether others have read the article in today’s LINKS about Oz Ballet’s dancers threatening industrial action over their pay? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVWS Posted June 8, 2023 Share Posted June 8, 2023 It was going round on some of the Instagram accounts that I follow over the weekend (it was on stories, so can't share as they will have expired) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophoife Posted June 9, 2023 Share Posted June 9, 2023 It is an absolute disgrace what is happening. The dancers' pay agreement includes a clause that guarantees pay will keep pace with inflation, a guarantee that has been in place for more than 20 years, to recognise dancers’ comparatively short career span. Management is now refusing to include this clause in future agreements. The Reserve Bank of Australia has raised the cash rate 12 times in almost as many months, taking it to 4.1% on Tuesday, adversely affecting mortgages and other financial products. When Covid hit in 2020, AusBallet cut the dancers’ wages by 20% and then briefly by 50% to reflect the reduced workload. The company drew on the federal government’s JobKeeper scheme to pay workers. In 2021 the dancers returned to full pay, but agreed to a pay freeze for one year. In February this year the dancers received a 4.3% “catch-up” pay rise to meet the obligations of the CPI clause, after receiving just 2.5% in 2022 when inflation peaked at over 7%. They have been offered a pay rise of 1% this year. This is clearly not within the terms of the agreement. Private health insurance in Australia is individual and not contributed to by an employer. More than 60% of the company has cancelled private health insurance, as it is too expensive. Not every health issue a dancer has is strictly work-related. Annual premiums to "cover" hospital and extras run to about $3,200, it doesn't cover visits to a GP, specialist bills may be only partly covered whether in-rooms or inpatient... They typically work six days a week and spend about five months of the year touring. AusBallet is also not a company that typically retains dancers much past the age of 35. Those who do stay, such as Adam Bull, are rare. Unlike the Royal Ballet, they have no Character Artists, and God knows they need some! 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted June 9, 2023 Share Posted June 9, 2023 Does it seem likely that the dancers might go on strike soon & refuse to do the tour to the ROH? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted June 9, 2023 Share Posted June 9, 2023 21 minutes ago, Sophoife said: It is an absolute disgrace what is happening. The dancers' pay agreement includes a clause that guarantees pay will keep pace with inflation, a guarantee that has been in place for more than 20 years, to recognise dancers’ comparatively short career span. Management is now refusing to include this clause in future agreements. The Reserve Bank of Australia has raised the cash rate 12 times in almost as many months, taking it to 4.1% on Tuesday, adversely affecting mortgages and other financial products. When Covid hit in 2020, AusBallet cut the dancers’ wages by 20% and then briefly by 50% to reflect the reduced workload. The company drew on the federal government’s JobKeeper scheme to pay workers. In 2021 the dancers returned to full pay, but agreed to a pay freeze for one year. In February this year the dancers received a 4.3% “catch-up” pay rise to meet the obligations of the CPI clause, after receiving just 2.5% in 2022 when inflation peaked at over 7%. They have been offered a pay rise of 1% this year. This is clearly not within the terms of the agreement. Private health insurance in Australia is individual and not contributed to by an employer. More than 60% of the company has cancelled private health insurance, as it is too expensive. Not every health issue a dancer has is strictly work-related. Annual premiums to "cover" hospital and extras run to about $3,200, it doesn't cover visits to a GP, specialist bills may be only partly covered whether in-rooms or inpatient... They typically work six days a week and spend about five months of the year touring. AusBallet is also not a company that typically retains dancers much past the age of 35. Those who do stay, such as Adam Bull, are rare. Unlike the Royal Ballet, they have no Character Artists, and God knows they need some! I discovered the news article by chance while reading another Dance Link! Oh dear - fingers crossed they can sort it out. A pay rise of 1% is in effect a pay cut with inflation running much higher than that. The company needs to find the budget to increase the pay- otherwise the company could be faced with lots of good dancers leaving at the same time. They are good enough to be in demand all over the world [and offered better salaries]. 11 minutes ago, Dawnstar said: Does it seem likely that the dancers might go on strike soon & refuse to do the tour to the ROH? I did wonder about that, Dawnstar, and fingers crossed they can be offered improvements to their pay before it comes to July, let alone August. The comment about starving dancers surviving on tinned tuna was really sad. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophoife Posted June 9, 2023 Share Posted June 9, 2023 I really hope, @Emeralds and @Dawnstar, that they don't feel they have to go on strike. I remember the one in the 80s - I was in the theatre that night, on Special Cultural Leave from boarding school (they hated it, but the headmistress agreed with my mother), and I've still never seen that production of Hunchback! #firstworldproblems One of the issues with going on strike is that more than 60% of the company's revenue (as quoted in the article) comes from bums on seats. Government funding (made up of federal, Victorian state, NSW state, and some from SA and Queensland state governments) totals about 22.6% of revenue in a normal year. They've lost subscribers, too, as a result of Covid - people lack confidence that a season will go ahead (the company's communication with its subscriber base was not exactly either timely or 100% honest in 2020 and 2021). I had already, as usual, booked and paid for a hotel for all my subscription nights in 2020, for example, and the company didn't want to admit the performances wouldn't go ahead (which Blind Freddy would have known given the government-imposed restrictions at the time), so every damn time it was about a week before a season was supposed to start before they cancelled it. I mean, if the government says theatres are closed until further notice, which they did, just cancel the damn seasons! They wanted me to donate all my ticket costs to the company, which at the time I could not afford to do. I was super lucky as the hotel refunded me the whole year's worth immediately, without me even having to ask (imagine my surprise the day my bank account was about $1,500 better off than I had thought 😂) but kept my bookings in the system just in case the situation changed. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVWS Posted June 15, 2023 Share Posted June 15, 2023 On 08/06/2023 at 14:41, capybara said: I don’t know whether others have read the article in today’s LINKS about Oz Ballet’s dancers threatening industrial action over their pay? there’s also something similar at Dutch National Ballet which I’ve just been sent: https://petities.nl/petitions/support-the-voice-of-dutch-national-ballet-dancers?locale=en Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanda Liu Posted July 13, 2023 Share Posted July 13, 2023 Cast for Jewels is on the Australian ballet website. https://australianballet.com.au/performances/international-tour/jewels 6 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art_enthusiast Posted July 13, 2023 Share Posted July 13, 2023 Looks like I'm seeing the same cast for Diamonds on both the nights I'm going. Not that I mind! I'm really looking forward to seeing Jewels in full for the first time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted July 13, 2023 Share Posted July 13, 2023 21 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said: Looks like I'm seeing the same cast for Diamonds on both the nights I'm going. Not that I mind! I'm really looking forward to seeing Jewels in full for the first time. I'm thrilled to be seeing Benedicte Bemet and Joe Caley in Diamonds on opening night. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scheherezade Posted July 13, 2023 Share Posted July 13, 2023 Ah, I will be there on opening night too. Looking forward! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art_enthusiast Posted July 13, 2023 Share Posted July 13, 2023 5 hours ago, Sim said: I'm thrilled to be seeing Benedicte Bemet and Joe Caley in Diamonds on opening night. It wasn’t intended as a slight on them. I’m just curious about how they’re cast 2 consecutive nights in a row, after presumably very tiring travel and with the Anniversary Gala on Sunday. Regardless, I’m sure they’ll all be brilliant. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted July 13, 2023 Share Posted July 13, 2023 7 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said: I’m just curious about how they’re cast 2 consecutive nights in a row, after presumably very tiring travel and with the Anniversary Gala on Sunday. Regardless, I’m sure they’ll all be brilliant. But being a leading dancer in one part of Jewels or an element of a Gala isn’t the same as fronting a three-acter. Also, given that they are starting their run on a Wednesday suggests that they will be arriving well ahead of opening night with time for stage calls, recovering from jet lag etc. It will be very interesting to see Principals and Soloists I’ve never heard of (Joseph Caley excepted of course!). 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DD Driver Posted July 14, 2023 Share Posted July 14, 2023 (edited) 10 hours ago, Sim said: I'm thrilled to be seeing Benedicte Bemet and Joe Caley in Diamonds on opening night. We saw Benedicte Bemet & Joe Caley in Diamonds at the Sydney Opera House a couple of months ago. Loved it! Also, Dana Stephenson in Rubies was one of my favourites. Edited July 14, 2023 by DD Driver 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peanut68 Posted July 14, 2023 Share Posted July 14, 2023 Excited seeing the Jewels cast list (thanks Amanda Lui for posting link)& the programme for Sunday Gala....be great to see the cast list for this too & am sure will get to see additional dancers to those I see on the Saturday night! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sitter In Posted July 21, 2023 Share Posted July 21, 2023 The Australian Ballet – 2023 London Tour Orchestra: Royal Ballet Sinfonia Conductor: Jonathan Lo Jewels Wednesday 2 August 7:30PM Thursday 3 August 7:30PM Friday 4 August 7:30PM Saturday 5 August 1:30PM Saturday 5 August 7:30PM Tickets £4 – £115 Choreography George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust Music Emeralds Gabriele Fauré, extracts from “Pelléas et Mélisande” and “Shylock” Rubies Igor Stravinsky, “Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra” These performances of Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra by Igor Stravinsky are given by permission of Hal Leonard Australia Pty Ltd, exclusive agents for Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd. Diamonds Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky, “Symphony No. 3 in D Major, Op. 29” Staging Sandra Jennings Costume Design Barbara Karinska Costume Design Associate Carole Divet Set Design Peter Harvey Associate Scenic Designer John Carver Sullivan Lighting Design Perry Silvey Casting Wednesday 2 August 7:30PM Emeralds Pas de deux 1: Sharni Spencer, Callum Linnane Pas de deux 2: Rina Nemoto, Mason Lovegrove Rubies Pas de deux: Ako Kondo, Brett Chynoweth Diamonds Pas de deux: Benedicte Bemet, Joseph Caley Thursday 3 August 7:30PM Emeralds Pas de deux 1: Grace Carroll, Jarryd Madden Pas de deux 2: Imogen Chapman, Jake Mangakahia Rubies Pas de deux: Jill Ogai, Chengwu Guo Diamonds Pas de deux: Sharni Spencer, Callum Linnane Friday 4 August 7:30PM Emeralds Pas de deux 1: Grace Carroll, Jarryd Madden Pas de deux 2: Imogen Chapman, Jake Mangakahia Rubies Pas de deux: Ako Kondo, Brett Chynoweth Diamonds Pas de deux: Benedicte Bemet, Joseph Caley Saturday 5 August 1:30PM Emeralds Pas de deux 1: Grace Carroll, Jarryd Madden Pas de deux 2: Imogen Chapman, Jake Mangakahia Rubies Pas de deux: Jill Ogai, Chengwu Guo Diamonds Pas de deux: Sharni Spencer, Callum Linnane Saturday 5 August 7:30PM Emeralds Pas de deux 1: Sharni Spencer, Callum Linnane Pas de deux 2: Rina Nemoto, Mason Lovegrove Rubies Pas de deux: Ako Kondo, Brett Chynoweth Diamonds Pas de deux: Benedicte Bemet, Joseph Caley Premiere April 13, 1967, New York City Ballet, New York State Theater The performance of Jewels, a Balanchine® Ballet, is presented by arrangement with The George Balanchine Trust and has been produced in accordance with the Balanchine Style® and Balanchine Technique® Service standards established and provided by the Trust. 60th Anniversary Celebration Sunday 6 August 1:30PM Tickets £7 – £135 Casting Alexei Ratmansky, 'Larks' from Harlequinade Sharni Spencer, Marcus Morelli Kenneth Macmillan, Pas de deux from Concerto Amy Harris, Nathan Brook Johan Inger, I New Then excerpt George Balanchine, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux Ako Kondo, Chengwu Guo Justin Peck, Everywhere We Go Yuri Possokhov, Act Two Italian Pas de deux from Anna Karenina Amy Harris, Nathan Brook Pam Tanowitz, Except from Watermark Alice Topp, Little Atlas Dimity Azoury, Jarryd Madden, Jake Mangakahia Rudolf Nureyev, Act Three Grand Pas from Don Quixote Benedicte Bemet, Joseph Caley 6 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted July 21, 2023 Share Posted July 21, 2023 It's interesting that Joseph Caley appears to be their 'top man'. Good for him! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophoife Posted July 22, 2023 Share Posted July 22, 2023 22 hours ago, capybara said: It's interesting that Joseph Caley appears to be their 'top man'. Good for him! It's also interesting that the Tall Girl role in Rubies is not listed - what was the source of your post @The Sitter In? Because TAB's website does list Tall Girl, being Isobelle Dashwood for performances 1, 3 and 5, and Belle Urwin for performances 2 and 4. With regard to "top man", with the retirement of Adam Bull, there are now only four male principals at AusBallet: Caley (principal 2011), Guo Chengwu (principal 2013), Brett Chynoweth (principal 2018), and Callum Linnane (principal 2022). Caley clearly has more experience than any of the others. On stage, he also appears physically more robust! Chynoweth is relatively short, and Chen and Linnane are more tall and slim if you see what I mean. Nathan Brook is IMHO being groomed to be the next male principal. Tall, and a good partner. Marcus Morelli brilliant dancer, less good a partner, quite short. Jarryd Madden tallish, good partner, probably not principal material however much I personally like him. Jake Mangakahia tall, good partner, I don't see in him the spark that makes a principal. Mason Lovegrove I'm completely on the fence about. Rina Nemoto had the same Paris-based Japanese training as Yuhui Choe. Imogen Chapman has the potential. Jill Ōgai really really good at more contemporary stuff. Grace Carroll - she's a baby but clearly on a trajectory. Isobelle Dashwood is a wonderfully tall, elegant dancer, and Belle Urwin I did enjoy when I saw her as Tall Girl in Melbourne. Soloists named, in order of joining the company: Amy Harris - principal 2018 - joined 2002 (Mrs Jarryd Madden with two children) Sharni Spencer - principal 2022 - joined 2008 Jarryd Madden - senior artist 2017 - joined 2008 (Mr Amy Harris with two children) Guo Chengwu - principal 2013 - joined 2008 (Mr Ako Kondo with one baby) Dimity Azoury - principal 2019 - joined 2008 Brett Chynoweth - principal 2018 - joined 2009 Ako Kondo - principal 2015 - joined 2010 (Mrs Guo Chengwu with one baby) Rina Nemoto - senior artist 2022 - RB PdL 2009, TAB 2011 Imogen Chapman - senior artist 2022 - RBUS 2010, Scottish Ballet, TAB 2011 Jake Mangakahia - soloist 2018 - joined 2011 (took 2014-15 out to serve his Mormon mission) Benedicte Bemet (favourite of @Bluebird) - principal 2019 - joined 2012 Jill Ōgai - senior artist 2022 - joined 2012 Marcus Morelli - senior artist 2018 - joined 2014 Callum Linnane - principal 2022 - joined 2015 Nathan Brook - senior artist 2022 - joined 2016 after 1 year Qld Ballet young artist, 1 year QB corps Mason Lovegrove - soloist 2022 - joined 2016 Isobelle Dashwood - soloist 2021 - joined 2016 Belle Urwin - corps de ballet - joined 2020 Grace Carroll - corps de ballet - joined 2021 - daughter of surfing legend Tom Carroll No Amber Scott, currently the most experienced female principal (joined 2001, principal 2011). No Robyn Hendricks (joined 2005, principal 2016) - baby is 5-6 months old, I am told she hopes to be back for Swan Lake. 7 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DD Driver Posted July 22, 2023 Share Posted July 22, 2023 Benedicte Bemet and Joseph Caley are in my opinion a great partnership based on their Romeo & Juliet and Diamonds 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sitter In Posted July 22, 2023 Share Posted July 22, 2023 what was the source of your post @The Sitter In? Press release. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophoife Posted July 22, 2023 Share Posted July 22, 2023 1 hour ago, The Sitter In said: what was the source of your post @The Sitter In? Press release. Typical then! For once the website casting has some detail 😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted July 23, 2023 Share Posted July 23, 2023 Very sad that Amber Scott, Robyn Hendricks and Adam Bull will not be coming on this tour (belated congratulations to Robyn though!) but glad to see a bigger cast for the mixed bill. I think I would have scheduled at least two performances for the mixed bill eg Friday and Sunday. Seems a waste to make principals like Amy Harris and Dimity Azoury fly all the way here just for one show. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophoife Posted July 24, 2023 Share Posted July 24, 2023 23 hours ago, Emeralds said: Seems a waste to make principals like Amy Harris and Dimity Azoury fly all the way here just for one show. Well, injury/illness cover for Jewels, too 😉 This would, unless the company tours overseas again next year, almost certainly be Amy Harris' last tour. Dimity Azoury, as did Amy, definitely danced in Jewels in Melbourne - oh, I've just remembered, she did Emeralds with Chris Rodgers-Wilson, who has of course retired. Chris said to me after the show (which started at 6:30pm), "Never touched her in my life until 6:30 tonight!" 🤣 I think he was scheduled to have danced that show with Amber Scott. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DD Driver Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 (edited) On 24/07/2023 at 03:27, Emeralds said: Seems a waste to make principals like Amy Harris and Dimity Azoury fly all the way here just for one show. I think they all get 1 week's holiday after the London run so probably happy to get a moment to holiday in the UK and Europe Edited July 25, 2023 by DD Driver 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 (edited) Isn’t it more standard company practice for senior principals (eg Harris and Azoury) to be among the scheduled casts while artists/corps de ballet and senior artists (Australian Ballet’s equivalent of first soloists) cover for principals instead of the other way around? I was expecting to see Harris and Azoury on the opening night cast or at least second night cast with Chapman and Carroll perhaps in a third cast. That could be a factor for sales being quite sluggish, especially for the weekday performances, while the Carlos Acosta shows the week before were sold out some time ago (the only tickets left for his shows are mostly random single tickets being returned/resold). I’d certainly have bought more tickets if Harris and Azoury were on the scheduled cast/s. I’ve already booked their sole scheduled performance (the mixed bill). The mixed bill has also sold better than Jewels, possibly because there’s only one show of it versus five shows of Jewels with only (de facto) two casts. A little disappointed though, that we’re not getting a pas de deux or excerpt from The Merry Widow (one of the company’s original creations and greatest successes in their 60-year history) instead of another Tanowitz work again. That said, at the end of the day, I’m just glad they’re coming, even if missing a few of my favourites. Edited July 25, 2023 by Emeralds 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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