Behind the Scenes of Graeme Murphy's Swan Lake

http://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/the-australian-ballet-behind-the-scenes-of-graeme-murphys-swan-lake/Under the intent eye of Steven Heathcote the Australian Ballet took us behind the scenes of this famous production. The curtain rose and Heathcote loomed out of the darkness and introduced himself. For many years a much loved principal dancer with the Company, he is now a ballet master. Casually dressed in tshirt and trousers, Heathcote explained the daily hard grind of class, rehearsal and performance that make up a dancer’s life. The fluorescent worklights were on and the barres had already been shifted but it must have been a bit awkward for the dancers as the large circular ‘pond’ from the production was left in place and took up quite a bit of space. What we were privileged to see was the second half of the class , ‘centrework ‘. Maestro Stuart Macklin was hidden up the back on the piano. This time for the ladies soft floaty floral skirts were very popular and some of the men sported jazzy headbands. Otherwise it was a very mixed bag of colours and individual styles. Stripleg warmers were sometimes included! What we saw began with tendu:-stretching the feet, checking balance and that everyone was warmed up properly enough to continue. The ladies had already all changed into their pointe shoes. Heathcote demonstrated and gave the combinations for the various enchainment and often repeated them and there was often busy ‘marking ‘by the dancers with their hands before starting . (For one enchainement Heathcote appeared a little muddled and gave several conflicting versions, correcting himself with much laughter). Fondus and turns practice followed, leading to echappe, glissade,assemble… Heathcote gave some general corrections at various points (for example- about holding the back correctly, using the shoulder a particular way). Individual personal corrections if necessary were quietly given in an aside. Sometimes the class split into several groups so that there was just enough space, culminating in fouettes practice for the ladies and showy jumps and turns for the men. The class concluded with small jumps to work the feet. Interestingly there was no cool down section as such, no ‘reverence’ or even applause from the dancers to mark the end of class but rather we went straight into a ‘ rehearsal’ – or rather a short masterclass with Lana Jones and Andrew Killian , principal dancers , and Heathcote. The masterclass featured intense discussion regarding the shapes, fluidity, physical accessibility, and various tricks of the trade (such as particular weight transfers or use of the arms) for the ‘white’ swan pas de deux from Murphy’s SWAN LAKE. Duncan Salter accompanied on piano for this. It was fascinating to watch. I was also keeping my eye on two other couples who were discreetly running through other pas de deux from the ballet up the back. All too soon the house lights rose, the curtain descended, and we had to leave and return to our humdrum lives. The Australian Ballet in Behind the Scenes Of Graeme Murphy’s ‘Swan Lake’ at the Capitol went for one hour and was a one-off event that took place on Thursday 26th February. The Company’s actual production, which is touring regionally, had two performances at the Capitol Theatre on Saturday 28th February. There will be a similar behind the scenes program that will take place in April at the Sydney Opera House for their upcoming production of Giselle. For more information, visit the Australian Ballet’s official website- http://www.australianballet.com.au