Queensland Ballet
The Queensland Ballet, founded in 1960 by Charles Lisner OBE, is the premier ballet company of Queensland, Australia and is based in Brisbane. Queensland Ballet is one of only three full-time, professional classical ballet companies in Australia.
| Queensland Ballet | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Name | Queensland Ballet |
| Previous names | Lisner Ballet Company |
| Year founded | 1960 |
| Founders | Charles Lisner, OBE |
| Principal venue | Thomas Dixon Centre, West End, Brisbane, Australia |
| Website | queenslandballet.com.au |
| Senior staff | |
| Executive Director | Dilshani Weerasinghe |
| Artistic staff | |
| Artistic Director | Li Cunxin |
| Ballet Mistress | Janette Mulligan Mary Li |
| Music Director | Nigel Gaynor |
| Chief Ballet master | Greg Horsman |
| Other | |
| Associated schools | Queensland Ballet Academy |
| Formation | Principal Artist Senior Soloist Soloist First Company Artist Company Artist Company apprentice Young Artist |
Performances
With 60 dancers, Queensland Ballet is a company which presents a varied repertoire of dance works. In addition to performing in Brisbane, the company tours each year to centres large and small in regional Queensland, as well as making interstate and overseas visits.
Under the artistic direction of French-born François Klaus since 1998, the company presented approximately 100 performances each year. Its repertoire ranged from popular classics and full-length story ballets to new works in a variety of dance styles by reputed Australian and international choreographers, as well as emerging local talents. Works such as The Little Mermaid, which are designed especially to appeal to children and families, are another feature of the annual program.
The company’s home is the historic Thomas Dixon Centre for Dance in Brisbane's West End. Celebrating its centenary in 2008, the building was first built as a shoe factory in 1908. It now contains four large dance studios, one of which, the Charles Lisner Studio, can be adapted as a performance venue. These facilities enable the company to offer a full range of training and community access programs.
Until the end of 2012 (when Francois Klaus and Robyn (White) Klaus left the Company, Queensland Ballet offered ballet students from as young as 11 years training in the Junior Extension and Professional Year Programs, as well as in the Queensland Dance School of Excellence (a program offered in partnership with Education Queensland).
History
Lisner trained with Edouard Borovansky and danced with the Borovansky Australian Ballet prior to travelling to London to continue his dance studies and education with the Sadlers Wells Ballet School. He later joined the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden. In 1953, Lisner returned to Australia to open the Lisner Ballet Academy, and in 1960, the Lisner Ballet Company.
The company was renamed Queensland Ballet in 1962 and became the first ballet ensemble in Australia to tour to regional centres throughout Australia.[1] In 1974, Charles Lisner resigned as artistic director and chief executive officer of Queensland Ballet, to be succeeded by Harry Haythorne. Following Haythorne's departure in 1978, founding company member and principal dancer, Harold Collins, was appointed artistic director. Collins led the company until his retirement in 1997, maintaining Lisner's commitment to the creation of uniquely Australian dance, and to forging a strong, independent, original, and visually intriguing company.
Collins was succeeded in 1998 by François Klaus, a respected and experienced European dancer, teacher and choreographer. Under Klaus's artistic stewardship, Queensland Ballet continued to expand, retaining and remaining a significant force in the Australian cultural landscape. In 1981, Roma Egan retired from the Australian Ballet, in order to take up the position as assistant artistic director for the Queensland Ballet. In July 2012, renowned Chinese dancer Li Cunxin was named as artistic director of the Queensland Ballet.[1]
Dancers
Dancers of the Queensland Ballet, as of 2021.[2]
Principal Artists
| Name | Nationality | Training | Other companies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Victor Estévez | Cuba | Arts School of Camagüey Cuban National Ballet School |
National Ballet of Cuba |
| Lucy Green | Australia | Victorian College of the Arts | Royal New Zealand Ballet |
| Camilo Ramos | Cuba | Elementary School of Ballet Alejo Carpentier Cuban National Ballet School |
National Ballet of Cuba |
| Yanela Piñera | Cuba | Center Pro-Danza Provincial School of Ballet Cuban National Ballet School |
National Ballet of Cuba |
Senior Soloists
- Mia Heathcote
- Neneka Yoshida
- Kohei Iwamoto
- Alexander Idaszak
- Joel Woellner
Soloists
- Vito Bernasconi
- Lina Kim
- Georgia Swan
- Patricio Revé
Character Artists
- Paul Boyd
- Christian Tátchev
- Greg Horsman
- Mary Li
- Janette Mulligan
- Zenia Tátcheva
- Rachael Walsh
First Company Artists
- Serena Green
- Vanessa Morelli
- Sophie Zoricic
- Joseph Chapman
- Zhi Fang
- Liam Geck
- David Power
- Rian Thompson
Company Artists
- Lucy Christodoulou
- Talia Fidra
- Renee Freeman
- Chiara Gonzaelz
- Alyssa Kelty
- Eriko Nakajima
- Libby-Rose Niederer
- Brooke Ray
- Paige Rochester
- Lou Spichtig
- Isabella Swietlicki
- Hayley Thompson
- Laura Tosar
- D'Arcy Brazier
- Mali Comlekci
- Shaun Curtis
- Oscar Delbao
- Luke Dimattina
- Clayton Forsyth
- Daniel Kempson
- Dylan Lackey
- John Paul Lowe
- Samuel Packer
- Edward Pope
- Charlie Slater
- Ari Thompson
Company apprentices
- Shaun Curtis
- Noah Dunlop
Jette Parker Young Artists
- Heidi Freeman
- Ines Hargreaves
- Bronte Kielly-Coleman
- Briana McAllen
- Yuka Nojo
- Kaya Van Den Bogert
- Kieren Bofinger
- Lewis Formby
- Callum Mackie
- Lachlan Mair
- Isaac McLean
- Louis Ramsay
References
- "History". Queensland Ballet. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
- "Dancers- Queensland Ballet". Queensland Ballet. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
