Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School
Malthouse, Melbourne, September 24
The centrepiece of this year’s end of year performance by the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School (VCASS) was an unusual twist on the traditional story of Carmen. Called Carmen and Jose, the one-act ballet was choreographed by Tim Harbour, the former Australian Ballet dancer turned choreographer who is a staff member at the school. He set the tale in the terrifying domain of a high school (hopefully with no resemblance to VCASS!), where Carmen is a bitchy ring leader and object of lust for the boys and Jose is a new boy who is hopelessly infatuated with her.
The ballet was ideal for the cast of Year 11 and 12 students, providing a familiar subject as well as strong character parts for the leads and plenty of fun for the ensemble. Costumed in school uniforms with stylish red berets for the girls, the students performed their parts with relish, demonstrating such good acting and stage craft that the audience could just sit back and enjoy the unfolding of the story. On this Saturday matinee all lead roles were performed capably - Y11 student Latisha Sparks as Carmen; Y12 student Michael Ramsay as Jose; Samantha Vottari (Y12) as the bespectacled Michaela; and Jesse Homes (Y12) as Emilio. Year 12 student Genevieve O’Keefe and Y11 student Anthony Rinaldi had a ball with their caricature roles of Mrs and Mr Teacher, whose secret mutual attraction becomes the butt of Carmen’s cruel humour.
This classically-based, narrative ballet was supported by a full program of various works that showed off all levels of students and their range of training, including contemporary, tap and acrobatics. Particularly commendable among all the students was a lovely, natural dance quality – especially enjoyable in Matthew Thomson’s nicely designed Tutti, a classical ensemble piece combining years 7 to 9. The students seemed to instinctively dance with their whole bodies – following through their movements from their feet right through to their port de bras with little of the awkwardness students can show at this level of training. The tumbling skills of the students were impressive in Barbara Warren Smith’s entertaining The Energy Never Dies, which made effective use of the scaffolding set at the back of the stage. The students performed with verve and energy without being too brassy.
The VCASS boasts a large contingent of boys – almost as many as girls. It’s fantastic to see a performance where the boys play an equal part with the girls and dance with equal skill and pleasure.
- KAREN VAN ULZEN