Friends of the Australian Ballet Talk 18th Sept

Friends of the Australian Ballet present Insights and stories from both sides of the ballet footlights - canapés, wine and a talk by Leo Schofield AM and Andris Toppe Wednesday 18 September at 7pm Trawler & Heritage Rooms, Waterfront Restaurant, Circular Quay West Join the Friends of the Australian Ballet at a talk by two acclaimed theatre workers – from both sides of the ballet footlights, An evening with Leo Schofield AM and Andris Toppe. Leo Schofield AM - How I got over Opera and learned to love Dance. Leo Schofield is renowned as one of the great arts practitioners in this country. Leo was born in a small town called Brewarrina, literally back of Bourke. The first live theatre he ever saw was a production of Princess Ida at the old Theatre Royal. Leo was hooked. Although he saw performances by the Borovansky Ballet, opera was his major passion, but gradually he came to enjoy dance. As he moved on from Verdi to Wagner and Strauss he also moved from the occasional Royal Ballet performance (most notably Bronislaw Nijinska's re-staging of Les Biches) to a deeper involvement presenting some of the great companies for the first time in Australia. Leo has co produced the first tours to Australia by The Paris Opera Ballet, The National Ballet of Cuba, the Hamburg Ballet, Opera and Symphony Orchestra, and the first full tour by the Bolshoi Ballet. He has just announced the first ever tour to Australia by American Ballet Theatre. Leo has been director of Festivals across Australia including the Melbourne Festival and the Sydney 2000 Olympic Arts Festival. Leo is an highly entertaining speaker. Andris Toppe – Variations on a Career in Dance Andris Toppe, a dancer, choreographer and teacher. He has travelled the world in a career encompassing classical ballet, contemporary dance, cabaret films, opera, puppetry, television, theatre and ice skating. Andris was the personal coach of Torvill and Dean, working on all their world tours between 1985 and 1998, and Ballet Master and Company Manager for various ballet companies. Date Wednesday 18 September at 7pm Venue Trawler & Heritage Rooms, Waterfront Restaurant Circular Quay West to join the Friends of The Australian Ballet – www.fab.org.au or (02) 9252 7322 Price $50 per head Bookings & Enquiries www.fab.org.au/events.aspx or Friends of the Australian Ballet (02) 9252 7322 or marketing@fab.org.au Media Enquiries Bruce Pollack, 9331 5276 or bruce@pollackconsulting.com