The triple bill of ballet rolling towards Wollongong is a study in contrasts – from a mass of tiptoeing tutus, to a slapstick comedy rumble, then finally the intense control and serenity of Swan Lake.
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The Dancers Company will visit Wollongong this week and, true to the style of the Australian Ballet’s regional touring arm, will bring a medley of three different ballets.
Comprised of senior students from the Australian Ballet School, and guest dancers from the top-level Australian Ballet, the Dancers Company has a mission to take ballet to smaller towns that the larger productions cannot reach.
They please ballet fans in further-flung country areas, but they also stimulate interest in the art form, helping to inspire the next generation of home-grown dancers.
But the distance to travel, and the sheer size of our country, means a Dancers Company tour is not for the faint-hearted. Their present tour involves 26 performances in just under five weeks, between Wangaratta, Dubbo and Parramatta – often with two shows on one day.
Wollongong has three shows – one on Friday and two on Saturday. It’s a seriously physically demanding occupation for the dancers, who could keep in peak physical fitness just by performing.
Cristiano Martino, an Australian Ballet artist travelling with the Dancers Company on this tour, said dancing is the easy bit – it’s the travel that poses a challenge.
Sometimes they move so much, some dancers might forget what state they’re in.
‘‘It’s pretty physically taxing, but we know how to look after ourselves,’’ said Martino, 22. ‘‘Sitting still on the bus is harder for myself.’’
He said the triple bill was a ‘‘great teaser for rural audiences’’, showing three diverse types of dance. First up is an intricate tutu spectacular from the ballet Paquita.
Second is a comedy: Rimbombo, Italian for rumble, which shows off the male dancers’ athleticism. Finally, the third act from Swan Lake, which features the virtuosic and challenging Black Swan pas de deux, performed by Martino and Australian Ballet colleague Benedicte Bemet.
‘‘There’s a lot of different elements that go into making it look effortless, which is what it should look like,’’ Martino said.
He said he enjoyed touring with the Dancers Company and was convinced he had the best job in the world. When the office consists of performing the art form you love most, for a living, and getting to see the world while you’re doing it, who could say he is wrong?
‘‘It’s a good challenge doing some harder repertoire that we wouldn’t otherwise get a chance to do,’’ he said. ‘‘And for the students it’s a fantastic opportunity to get a real taste of what company life is like. It’s a real adrenaline rush, with nerves before the show. It’s fun — it keeps you on your toes, literally.’’