A rare opportunity to see dancers and musicians on the cusp of their national and international careers comes to Wollongong next Sunday.
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Another unique feature of the the Sydney City Youth Ballet and the Sydney Youth Orchestras performance together is that many ballet dancers never get to perform on stage with live musicians.
The triple bill coming to Wollongong from 2pm next Sunday is part of a tour that started in Port Macquarie to rave reviews a week ago.
The program features the power and the passion of Paquita, Maina Gielgud’s production of Giselle Act II and new choreographic work by Lucas Jervies to music by Australian composer Graeme Koehne.
The show at Illawarra Performing Arts Centre (IPAC) on Sunday will bring the beauty of music and classical and contemporary ballet together. The 60 piece SYO Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Brian Buggy OAM will perform in harmony with the artists of the Sydney City Youth Ballet under the watchful eye of artistic director Lucinda Dunn.
Jervies has set his new work called POWERHOUSE on the Sydney City Youth Ballet dancers after recently choreographing Spartacus which will be premiered by the Australian Ballet in November.
Dunn said Wollongong is getting a chance to watch Australia’s ballet and musical stars of the future
She said Sydney Festival Ballet used to do regional areas and "we are now trying to regenerate this".
“The first show in Port Macquarie really went well. We had a wonderful reception. Regional areas are so supportive,” Dunn said.
"This is such a wonderful experience and opportunity for everyone involved. Some of the students never been on the stage before. It was really exciting to see how it all came together. It is exciting to have so many performances. It is great to see the students get to grow and evolve.
"You can’t replicate that experience they get on stage in a studio”.
On Sunday there will be 35 performers on stage at any one time during three different ballets.
"I have tried to develop a program that is diverse for the students and the audience,” Dunn said.
The youth ballet and orchestra worked for the first time together last year and grew exponentially on stage together.
“Some ballet dances never get to work with a live orchestra ,” Dunn said.
“So it is a wonderful experience. We feel very proud and privileged top be able to perform in Wollongong at the IPAC. Many of the dancers and musicians are on the brink of their professional careers.”
Tickets available from http://merrigong.com.au/
Dunn received her early training in Sydney with Janece Graham and Tanya Pearson before going on to win a Prix de Lausanne scholarship to study at The Royal Ballet School, London.
While in London she performed with Birmingham Royal Ballet.
In 1991 she joined The Australian Ballet and was promoted to Principal Artist in 2002.
She has won many awards including Australian Dance Award for Outstanding Performance 2008, Helpmann Award nomination for Dance Performer of the Year 2007 and 2004, Mo Award nomination for Dance Performer of the Year 2006, 2005 and 2001, Green Room Award for Best Female Dancer 2005 and Helpmann Award nominations for Best Female Dancer 2011, 2010.