Interview with Colin Peasley:
You have been in the same company since it was founded in 1962. Did you ever get bored?
I have been apprehensive, nervous, exhausted, elated and sometimes very angry, but never bored! Partly because the Australian Ballet is full of dedicated, hard-working people who are a joy to work with and partly because I have had a variety of responsibilities over those 50 years which have always been both challenging and interesting – dancer, teacher, ballet master and educator.
What changes have you noticed over the years?
At every Olympic Games records are broken. The same happens in ballet. Our current dancers are technically superior to the dancers in 1962. They are also taller. Our top ballerinas during the early years were under 5 feet tall, today the tallest ballerina in the company is 5’10” tall and our tallest male dancer 6’4”. This has changed the “look” of ballet.
Another change that has made me very proud to be part of this company is the way we have used this breadth of movement and athletic approach to help define a uniquely “Australian style” that our Australian choreographers, designers and composers have been able to so successfully showcase both here and internationally.
You were most recently appointed the head of the AB’s Education Program. What was your own experience of learning to dance and how does it compare with today?
I discovered dance when it was still regarded as not a “respectable profession” for a male, so I came in through the back door! I started as a ballroom dancer, then moved into exhibition dancing, adagio dance, modern dance (with Gertrud Bodenwieser), as well as tap and acrobatic dance, before falling in love with classical ballet. All of these dance styles proved invaluable when I first became a professional dancer on television – black and white, direct-to-air television
in the 1950s!
It has been a great joy for me to see this prejudice against male dancers disappear and to be able to work with students who have started learning early enough for ballet training to be able to mould their bodies into the strong, expressive dancers that now populate our stages.
You must have hundreds of happy memories – can you share one with us?
I have always been inspired by the many exceptional dancers who have been part of this wonderful company, but the dancer who gave me the greatest pleasure was a guest dancer, Rudolf Nureyev. He and Margot Fonteyn first danced with the Australian Ballet in 1964 when they were both at the height of their fame and the friendship that grew between them and the company was to last for many years.
They headed the company’s first tour of Europe and Nureyev’s production of Don Quixote starring him and Lucette Aldous gave us the opportunity to tour the USA. Under the direction of Sol Hurok we embarked on a 17 city, 69 performances in 69 days bus tour from Los Angeles to New York to great critical and audience acclaim with Lucette as Kitri, Nureyev as Basilio, Sir Robert Helpmann as Don Quixote, Ray Powell as Sancho Panza and yours truly as Gamache. Ballet heaven!
At a recent farewell gathering, we hear you were given a very special present?
The Australian Ballet Society, which is our company’s Melbourne support group, presented me with a truly memorable award in recognition of my 50 years with the company. A male dance support (a jock strap!) which they had bronzed and mounted with the inscription: “In appreciation of 50 years with the Australian Ballet and as a symbol of your long term support of the Australian Ballet Society Inc – and your sense of humour!” What fun!
Very best wishes for a happy retirement from ‘Dance Australia’!