From Mikhail Baryshnikov to Fred Astaire, Rudolf Nureyev to Michael Jackson, the twentieth century has been peppered with legendary male dancers. Whatever the genre, these stars have blended charisma with athleticism, grace with sensuality to win the hearts of audiences around the world.
In the October/November 2016 issue of Dance Australia we celebrated the male dancer with a series of profiles of some of our favourites from across the genres. Here is Nina Levy's interview with the Australian Ballet's Kevin Jackson.
In his thirteen years with the Australian Ballet, Kevin Jackson has taken stellar roles, including Albrecht opposite Madeleine Eastoe’s Giselle and Des Grieux in Kenneth Macmillan’s Manon. He is a favourite with our critics; Susan Bendall describes him as “elegant and assured” while Irina Kuzminsky notes the “technical assurance and emotional coherence” of his dancing. In the 2015 “Dance Australia Critics Survey”, both Deborah Jones and Alan Brissenden named Jackson “Most Outstanding Dancer” for his rendition of Albrecht, Brissenden describing him as “innately noble, dramatically convincing and a superb partner for Eastoe.”
Now Jackson is taking on the role of Nijinsky in the Australian Ballet’s production of John Neumeier’s Nijinsky, about that legendary dancer and choreographer. Jackson is one of seven male dancers who portray different aspects of Nijinsky’s personality, and also the poster boy for the production.
At the time of writing, the Nijinsky season has not yet begun and Jackson has just returned with the company from its London tour. Jet-lag doesn’t dampen his enthusiasm about the upcoming role. “This Nijinsky is going to be one of the most incredible and enriching experiences, I hope, in the rehearsal period and on stage because there are so many intense and rich human raw emotions to draw from. That is carried through not just physically but also emotionally,” he remarks. It’s human emotion that moves Jackson as a performer. “[I am drawn] to roles where I can totally invest emotionally within myself and also with my partner,” he reflects. “Things like Des Grieux in Manon, Albrecht in Giselle... the Graeme Murphy Swan Lake is still up there.”
While Jackson’s own emotional life has been dominated by the discipline of his profession, he had a spell of rebellion as an 18 year old. Having left his Perth home to train at the Australian Ballet School at just 15, Jackson had always been focused on his training. Now he began to see a life outside the studio. “My focus changed and I was looking for more life experiences. My focus was not the studio, it was the things on the weekend, the parties, the social gatherings... all that kind of stuff that you do at 18, that you don’t get to do as a dancer.”
With hindsight, Jackson believes that break away from the mindset of a professional dancer was an important part of shaping him as an artist.“It gave me a chance to live life without just focusing on dance," he explains. "It’s given me emotions to draw on and life experiences to draw on within my artform.” That said, he feels fortunate that he managed to return to the fold. “I thank God that David [McAllister] and the ballet staff pulled my head in and said, 'Look you have the talent to go there but you’re going to have to work harder than you’re doing.' At the end of the day it was me who pulled myself together but I needed that gentle push.”
Promoted to principal dancer in 2010, Jackson has proven that he was well worth pushing and can reflect back on a career of many special performances. “Dancing with American Ballet Theatre [in the role of Des Grieux, as a special guest] in Manon was just incredible and dancing with Madeleine Eastoe in her last show as Giselle was just something that will be in my memory for ever. I still get emotional thinking about it. And then Graeme’s Swan Lake, taking that to New York, LA, taking it to London, dancing on these international stages and taking the Australian Ballet banner with us… these are incredible enriching moments to hold in my heart forever.”
Did you know?
In 2014 Kevin Jackson was invited to guest star with American Ballet Theatre in New York. Jackson played the role of Des Grieux in the company’s production of Kenneth Macmillan’s Manon. It wad the first time in more than 20 years that a dancer of the AB had performed with ABT and Jackson was only the second AB company member to receive such an invitation.
Top photo by Lisa Tomasetti - click on image for caption.
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