Former member of the Australian Ballet, Graeme Hudson, reports on the recent reunion of the company's alumni.
On Saturday 5 October 2013, Graeme Hudson and his partner David Armitage hosted a luncheon gathering for members of the Australian Ballet (First 10 Years) Alumni* at their home in the Blue Mountains. This was the second event for this group, the first being in December 2012 at the home of Sue and Frank Davidson in Sydney. Such a bunch of gorgeous "balletic seniors" has not been seen for some time. Given that there were cameras about, the front scrim was left down to preserve the dignity of all in attendance.
It was so good to have Robert Barlow and his partner Debbie from Milton Keynes (UK), Carmel Nolan from Queensland, Ramona (Ratas) Zakarevicius and husband Zak from the Central Coast, Meg Akerman from Newcastle and Cheryl (Mallinson) Barnett from Hobart. From Sydney and environs were Garth Welch, Jak Callick, Suzanne (Musitz) Davidson, Julia Cotton, Dell (Brady) Thompson, Olga Tamara, Bobby and Heather Olup and Bryan and Lyn (Lawrence) Palethorpe and, of course, Graeme Hudson and partner David Armitage.
There was so much said, by so few, in such a short time. Old stories, new stories and old stories with a new twist. Lots of memories renewed, lots of laughter - and I mean LOTS of laughter - such joy in old reminiscences.
The weather turned out as a fabulous Mountains day so everyone could be outside and enjoy the beautiful garden setting.
There was plenty of tasty food, prepared by David, and the chatter loosened up over a variety of tipples. Bryan had prepared four DVDs with movie footage of old tours and performances of the Australian Ballet and the Royal Ballet. These kept people transfixed in front of the television for some time. The shrieks and laughter signalled that there were a lot of recognisable people and events on that very old and fabulous film.
Cheryl had carried with her a rather heavy bag of old programs, which she refused to carry home again. Many of them were originally given to her by Michael Goodwin, former administrator of the Dance Company (NSW). People sorted through and found bits they valued - all were taken to new homes.
Email and Facebook delivered regrets from all around the world from many who could not attend. We missed them, we talked about them and they gave us excuses to toast our absent friends.
Cheryl has proposed her home, south of Hobart, for the next gathering, unless other members living in Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Singapore, New York, Orkney Islands, Bahamas, Buenos Aires, Netherlands, New Zealand, would like to make an offer we cannot refuse. Small or large, these gatherings are considered to be very important to the group and we invite any member to get us together. Our gathering was organised on the same weekend as the local Leura Garden Festival and some people stayed over and enjoyed some general Mountains hospitality before wending their way home.
- Graeme L Hudson
*Australian Ballet (First 10 Years) Alumni is not affiliated with the Australian Ballet. It has been formed and is run by ex-members of the Company. Membership is open to anyone who had connection to the AB during its formation and during its first ten years. Members of Australian dance companies prior to 1962, and for those next ten years, are also welcome. Anyone interested should contact Graeme at gmaecies@me.com or on Facebook.
Above: Top: Bobby Olup, Ramona (Ratas) Zakarevicius, Graeme Hudson, Jak Callick, Cheryl (Mallinson) Barnett, Bryan (Lawrence) Palethorpe, Garth Welch.
Centre: Julia Cotton, Suzanne (Musitz) Davidson, Dell (Brady) Thompson, Heather (Macrae) Olup.
Bottom: Olga Tamara, Robert Barlow, Meg Akerman, Carmel Nolan.
Above: Ramona (Ratas) Zakarevicius, Meg Akerman, Bryan (Lawrence) Palethorpe, Carmel Nolan.
Above: Graeme Hudson, Bobby Olup, Jak Callick.