West Australian Ballet is ready to rock the Quarry Amphitheatre as they open their highly anticipated 70th anniversary year with Platinum: Ballet at the Quarry. Featuring four scintillating contemporary ballet works set to iconic sounds such as Radiohead and Mendelssohn, are set to echo around the iconic former limestone quarry.
Aptly named ‘Platinum’ in celebration of West Australian Ballet’s platinum 70th anniversary, Artistic Director Aurélien Scannella has brought four works, three of which are World or Australian Premieres, to this year’s edition of Ballet at the Quarry.
“There is no better West Australian experience than a picnic under the stars on a warm summer’s night, the incredible silver lining that Ballet at the Quarry provides is the raw, emotive live dance that takes place on-stage,” said Scannella.
“We have four scintillating, emotive works, with Choreographer’s Robert Bondara and Daniela Cardim joining us from Europe. We will also see our own talent shine with Principal dancer Matthew Lehmann and a collaboration led by Artistic Associate Sandy Delasalle, bringing moving contemporary ballet works to life.”
Award-winning Polish Choreographer Robert Bondara, who also is the Ballet Director of the Poznan Opera Ballet, brings his breathtaking Take Me With You to Perth for its Australian Premiere.
The work, which has over 4.5 million views on YouTube, was originally choreographed as a duet in 2016, before being expanded in 2021 to a 31-dancer piece. Set to the restless beat of Radiohead, including their hit track Reckoner, Bondara uses uninhibited pointe work and searingly honest body language to explore the connection of social relationships and inner feelings.
Up-and-coming Brazilian-British Choreographer Daniela Cardim comes to West Australian Ballet to create a new piece which will feature 10 of the Company’s world-class dancers. Cardim will look into the feelings of ‘auto-pilot’ and monotony that people can feel when life becomes cyclical, and how a certain actions can bring change and freedom.
Named Reset, expect to see bold colours and shining pointe work, all set to music from Gabriel Prokofiev, an award winning composer who is the grandson of iconic Classical composer Sergei Prokofiev. Gabriel Prokofiev’s work mixes modern electronic beats with Classical verses.
Complementing an already esteemed 13-year career at West Australian Ballet, Principal dancer Matthew Lehmann steps to the other side of the studio as he expands on his moving duet that looks deeply into the perception of truth in a romantic relationship.
His work, Truth, received applause when premiered at West Australian Ballet’s creative workshop, Genesis, in 2020, and will see beautiful fluid movements take the stage to Ludovico Einaudi’s award-winning composition, Experience.
Bringing creativity and collaboration to the quarry stage, four of West Australian Ballet’s dancers along with Artistic Associate Sandy Delasalle, will premiere a lockdown-inspired project created by Delasalle.
Nikki Blain, Chihiro Nomura, Kiki Saito and Claire Voss have combined to bring a sassy yet elegant, energetic yet strong work that was created while working from home in the first COVID-19 lockdown.
Concerto Impertinente! uses Mendelssohn’s final concerto to reflect the many sides of the group’s identity which came through when originally choreographed individually by each dancer for the CoVid Lab project in 2020. Melding their works together and expanding on individual ideas, the piece is an ode to female empowerment.
Platinum: Ballet at the Quarry
Quarry Amphitheatre, 1 Waldron Drive, City Beach (Perth)
Season: 11 February – 5 March 2022
Bookings: www.perthfestival.com.au
For more information, visit: www.waballet.com.au for details.
Image: Ludovico Di Ubaldo in Matthew Lehmann’s Truth – photo by Bradbury Photography