Kristian Fredrikson: Designer is a book by Michelle Potter, that examines the life and career of the acclaimed designer.
New Zealand-born Fredrikson (1940-2005), began working as a designer for a small, amateur operetta company in Wellington, before heading to Australia, to establish a career as a designer for dance, opera, theatre, film and television that would span five decades.
Fredrikson met the then-emerging choreographer Graeme Murphy in the 1970s, and made his first work for Murphy’s Sydney Dance Company, Shéhérazade, in 1979. It was during the 1970s that he began working with The Australian Ballet, an association that lasted until the year of his death. During the 1980s he was enticed back to New Zealand to design works for the Royal New Zealand Ballet.
Fredrikson was the recipient of many prestigious design awards over the course of his career, including Erik Design, Penguin, AFI, Green Room, and Helpmann Awards. He also received an Australian Dance Award for Services to Dance.
Kristian Fredrikson: Designer is written by renowned dance writer, curator and historian Michelle Potter and will be available from July 2020. You can pre-order your copy at Melbourne Books.
Pictured top: Kirsty Martin as Clara the Ballerina in 'Nutcracker: The Story of Clara'. The Australian Ballet, 2000. Photo: © Branco Gaica. Courtesy of the Australian Ballet.
