We are very proud of Level 7 student, Hannah O’Neill, who recently won the Gold Medal in the Senior Women’s section of the Youth America Grand Prix in New York. Hannah entered this competition by invitation from the Artistic Director/Founder, Larissa Saveliev, who saw her dance at the Prix de Lausanne, which she won in 2009. Hannah was also invited to dance in the Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow Gala, at City Centre. This much anticipated annual gala included stars such as Marcelo Gomez, from American Ballet Theatre; Polina Seminova, Berlin State Opera Ballet and Yuri Smekalov and Yevgenia Obraztova from the Mariinsky.

The School enjoyed great success with performances in the Morning Melodies series at Hamer Hall and Musical Matinees in Frankston. The programme, which included Balanchine’s Divertimento No 15, Time, a new work by Leigh Rowles and Paul Knobloch’s Valetta, was one of great diversity, showcasing students in Levels 6, 7 and 8.

All our attention is now focussed on preparations for the School’s involvement in The Australian Ballet’s Peggy programme, which will celebrate the amazing legacy of the Company’s Founding Artistic Director, Dame Peggy van Praagh. The School and the Company will come together in Mark Annear’s Birthday Celebration, premiered during the School’s 40th Anniversary season in 2004. This work showcases Peggy’s vision: the need to found a national school to train dancers for the Company; it illustrates the journey of the dancer, from young student to graduate, to principal dancer and the importance and strength of the relationship between school and company. Peggy, I am sure, would be proud to see the realisation of her dream.
 

The School Captains for 2010 are Bronte Kelly and Jake Mangakahia, and the School Vice Captains are Polly Hilton and Cameron Hunter.

The School’s annual Swimming Sports took place at Caulfield Grammar School on the 20 of March, with Gorham taking home the trophy.

Students in Levels 6, 7 and 8 performed beautifully at Hamer Hall and Frankston Arts Centre as part of the Morning Melodies programme, at the beginning of May.

Janet Karin OAM has been invited to speak at the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science 20th Annual Meeting in Birmingham this September to present her paper, titled: Movement skill improves qualitatively after training pelvic motion through mental imagery but can the improvement be quantified?

The Australian Ballet has secured a sponsorship agreement with piano manufacturer, Kawai. Under this generous agreement, Kawai will supply and maintain brand new pianos for each of the studios at the Ballet Centre. In eighteen months time, a public auction of these instruments will be held at the Primrose Potter Australian Ballet Centre, with a completely new set of pianos being installed to replace them. The School would like to take this opportunity to thank Nicolette Fraillon, Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Australian Ballet, who generously included the School in this exciting initiative. Thanks are also due to the AB’s Corporate Partnerships Manager, Sophie Webster, who was responsible for co-ordinating the process.

Tickets for the 2010 Graduate Exhibition will be on sale through the Arts Centre from mid-July. www.theartscentre.com.au 
 

The School is delighted to announce that, in March, Level 7 student Hannah O’Neill won first prize in the Senior Women’s Section of the Youth America Grand Prix in New York. 17-year-old Hannah danced Grand Pas Classique (choreographed by Gsovsky and music by Auber) for her classical variation, and Flame (choreographed by our very own Margaret Wilson, with music by our very own Neil McNeill) for her contemporary piece.

This YAGP win follows Hannah’s first prize in the 2009 Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland.

Congratulations, Hannah!
 

One of the many highlights of Parents’ Access Week took place on Tuesday 20 April. Guests certainly enjoyed the unique opportunity of sharing the experience of a ballet barre taught and inspired by Irina Konstantinova. Many of the participants were parents of our students and were at first reluctant to join in. However, under a watchful, caring eye, they were instantly captivated and left the studio asking: “when can we do this again?”

The Dancers’ Deli was transformed for the evening into a gallery to launch classical teacher Sergey Konstantinov’s Photographic Exhibition, which highlighted his talent, knowledge and experience in beautiful dance, portrait and still-life shots.

Guests were invited to view a short Character programme from four Level 1 female students, delightful dancers performing for the very first time as students of The Australian Ballet School. This was directly followed by the Level 7 students performing with distinction, a Suite of Moldavian Dancers, which was most warmly received.

Spot prizes and Lucky Door Prizes were drawn at the end of the evening. Congratulations to the winners; Mr and Mrs McCormack (parents of Cameron, Level 6) who won two tickets to a School performance, and Graham Clarke won the Mantra Accommodation Voucher.

Graham sent a lovely email to the School, thanking us for the event:

Thank you, so much for a great event!

It's such an honour to be given an insight into our national training school. It struck me that it's developed into such a renowned school not only because of the considerable experience and technical skill of the staff, but because of the wonderful, warm qualities that each of you expresses.
Class was enough of a prize in itself (the striking demonstration, the eagle eye, the quick wit) but to have left with such a bonus made me feel like I could have promenaded all the way home without a tram! A huge "thank you" to the organisers of the prize...

A great woman once said (Josie Woodgate), "We need the arts because they allow our souls to feel love." I'm so happy to have given a little towards the support of that goal.

The second School Friends viewing is planned for July and again prior to the end of the year. More information will be forwarded to members shortly.

Christine Howard
 

Step Up to the Barre is an exciting new addition to The Australian Ballet School’s Up Close programme. This series of classes is comprised of a creative dance/ ballet lesson, and a folkloric dance lesson, and is for children between the ages of 6 and 9 years who are interested in discovering the joy of dance. The programme has been created to enhance and stimulate the young students interest in ballet and dance and is under the masterful eye of Megan Connelly for Creative Ballet and Christine Vavladallis for Folkloric (Character). The lessons enable individuals to develop co-ordination, self esteem and social skills, and give them the security and confidence to explore the world through movement, music, play, learning and discovery. The programme is designed to both complement lessons already being taken, or to introduce children to dance for the first time.

Step Up to the Barre participants have the added bonus of becoming a ‘buddy’ of a Level 7 student from the School, as part of the Little Buddies programme. Little Buddies is designed to enhance the learning experience of the young students participating in Step Up to the Barre and provide the unique experience of meeting with a senior student of The Australian Ballet School.

The first season of eight lessons commenced on Saturday 17 April, with an eager group of young students buzzing around Studio 2 in anticipation of the first lesson. Our young participants have certainly brought an unencumbered sense of expectation and love of dance to the programme. Bookings are currently open for season two of Step Up to the Barre, which commences on Saturday 17 July. Further details and an application form are available on our website at http://www.australianballetschool.com.au/content/upclose/stepup

Mark Annear
 

At the beginning of April, the School welcomed 90 gifted female students from interstate and overseas, as part of the Interstate/International Training Programme (ITP)’s Intensive Training Session. This intensive five days of training included classes in classical, character, contemporary and performance as well as allied components of the specialised vocational training for dancers, and discussion sessions providing theoretical support to the physical programme.

The ITP is a sector of the School providing training opportunities at Levels 1-4 (approximately 9-14yrs) for gifted interstate and international students. It is of great benefit to these students, as they work in a class of only high aptitude peers, with teachers of high renown. Aside from the training and social experiences gained, involvement in the ITP introduces students to the School’s culture and its unique training programme. The ITP serves as the most advantageous preparation for possible study in the School’s Full-Time Programme commencing at the age of approximately 13/14 (Level 4).

The ITP has been in operation since 2000 and since that time, there have been a significant number of ITP students who have joined the Full-Time Programme and subsequently gained contracts with The Australian Ballet and other ballet companies in Australia and around the world.
 
ITP entry is by audition only. Please visit http://www.australianballetschool.com.au/content/programme/international for more information.

What is your role with the School?
I have recently been appointed Head of Philanthropy at the School. I have been a professional fundraiser for 17 years now – starting with The Australian Ballet’s bequest programme in 1993 where I stayed for three years. It was not easy to leave the Company – I loved my job but knew I needed to develop experience in order to raise funds for organisations that I care about. I have now raised funds for health, family welfare, homeless, children and animals, working with the National Heart Foundation, Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Zoo’s Victoria, Alzheimer’s Victoria, Very Special Kids and most recently at St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne where I was responsible for a major capital campaign for a new Cancer Centre. This project won the most outstanding project at the Fundraising Institute of Australia Awards in February 2010 and raised $12.6m. The total project will cost $14.8m and the remaining funds should be realised by the end of 2010.

How did you get to be in this role?
I am a certified fundraising executive (CFRE) – an international accreditation that demonstrates my fundraising knowledge and experience, funds raised, and commitment to Philanthropy and continued education. There are just 16 CFRE’s in Victoria. I also volunteer at a homeless shelter called Briar Terrace, and am a Board Member of the Peace Scholarship Program.

Why The Australian Ballet School?
My true love is dance – having trained as a classical dancer to the age of 16, after a short time teaching dance with Kathleen Gorham (my teacher and mentor), I then moved into musical theatre working in shows around the world – Disney on Parade, A Chorus Line, West Side Story, My Fair Lady, to name a few.

What do you have planned for the School?
My aim in taking on this challenging position is to help the School to become financially secure by encouraging support and telling our story. That’s where you come in. Why do you love the School? And if you are a supporter what is it that motivates you to give? I’d love to hear your stories and suggestions – my email is troath@australianballetschool.com.au. Or, please feel free to call me on 03 9669 2810 if you’d like to organise a time to meet and share your thoughts.
I look forward to meeting you, working with you, and developing support for the School to secure its future.
 

The end of year awards system began in 2005 with its aim being to subsidise fees for the following year of those being given an Award of Excellence in Levels 2 to 7. Congratulations to the following students on their 2009 Award of Excellence.

Level 2 Award of Excellence ($1,500 each)
Anna Patomaki and Asja Petrovski

Level 3 Award of Excellence ($2,500 each)
Elise Jacques and Jacinta De Agrela

Level 4 Award of Excellence ($3,000 each)
Isabella Elordi and Nathan Brook

Level 5 Award of Excellence ($4,000 each)
Hayley Donnison and Simon Plant

Level 6 Award of Excellence ($5,000 each)
Benedicte Bemet and Joel Distefano

Level 7 Award of Excellence ($5,000 each)
Sakura Sakamoto and Timothy Harford

Awards for Excellence kindly supported by

The Australian Ballet Society $13,000 through The Australian Ballet Society Scholarships $3000 & $5000, and* The James & Pamela Mills Scholarship $5000
Alan Holgate $5,000
B J Sutton Scholarship $6,000
The Jacob Bloch Memorial Award $6,000
Friends of The Australian Ballet (NSW) Scholarship $3,000
Lady Potter AC $5,000 through the Primrose Potter Achievement Award,
Gailene Stock Achievement Award, Gary Norman Achievement Award
and the Noel Pelly Special Achievement Award
Limelighters Scholarship $1,500
Olive & Don McAllister Award for Excellence $1,000
Rosemary Barr $1000
Leigh Johns $750 through the Russell Sutton Scholarship
Kelvin Coe Memorial Scholarship $750
Beta Sigma Phi Scholarship $500
Betty Amsden Award for Excellence $500
Caroline Poon $1,000 through the Caroline Poon Scholarship and
Jasmin Goldberg Scholarship
Melbourne’s Child Scholarship $500
Norma Drew $500

Perpetual Bursary and Scholarship Funds
Betty Amsden Student Scholarship
Betty Amsden Perpetual Scholarship*
Laurie Cowled Perpetual Scholarship*
Dame Peggy van Praagh Memorial Scholarship*
Dick Seddon Memorial Scholarship*
Elizabeth McDonald Memorial Scholarship*
Geoffrey Rothwell Scholarship*
Keith Christensen Memorial Scholarship*
Leon Kellaway Memorial Scholarship*
Lionel Phillips Scholarship*
Ray Powell Memorial Scholarship*
The Estate of Lady Nathan Scholarship*
The George Garratt Awards*


Please contact Trish Roath, Head of Philanthropy, if you are interested in supporting the School. troath@australianballetschool.com.au
03 9669 2810
 

*perpetual fund administered by the School

Just under two years ago I was told the news no dancer wants to hear: “I’m sorry, the damage to your foot and ankle is so great that you are going to encounter difficulty in day to day life… you can’t dance.”

With that, and a series of painful operations, all the years of hard work and sacrifice brought to end my short dancing career. It’s not something I would wish upon any dancer. Behind closed doors I grieved like I had lost a loved one. Through the pain and tears my parents and my sister Amber (a dancer herself) showered me in the love and support I would need to start again.

I always had a dream of flight during my time at The Australian Ballet School, and whilst there I accumulated 30 hours of flight time and passed several Aerodynamic courses. I always found that the School encouraged its students to develop themselves to their full potential. To become a character in a ballet and convincingly convey a story to an audience one must first have had life experience. When my classmates and I arrived at the School we were all young ballet students ready to develop ourselves to become great artists; but through the nurturing and holistic approach that The Australian Ballet School adopts, I became a more complete human being and was taught that the real strength in life lies within.

The tools The Australian Ballet School gave me include a professional work ethic, discipline, determination, and focus. In combination with the high level of priority placed on becoming not only a “dancer”, but an educated one, has seen me complete Aeronautical Mathematics and Physics with honours. After commencing the Commercial Pilots’ Licence degree with RMIT University, I applied early last year for a place in Regional Express’ Cadetship program. 3500 young men and women such as myself applied and went through the aptitude testing and selection process. Out of those 3500 applicants only ten places were to be offered. I was one of them.

The Australian Ballet School encourages its students to be the best they can be through striving for excellence and demanding its students take pride in their work. Everything I learnt during my time at the School has allowed me to achieve great success in not only one, but two careers. On April 14th I became a Commercial Pilot. Since then I have been placed as a First Officer for REX flying their SAAB 340 aircraft which carries up to 38 passengers. I thank The Australian Ballet School for making me into a man who can rise to a challenge or obstacle and succeed. It is comforting to know that the present and future students of the School will be able to tackle anything that life may throw at them; because you never know what lies ahead on the journey of life.

Glyn Scott