Jump to content
This Site Uses Cookies. If You Want to Disable Cookies, Please See Your Browser Documentation. ×

Introducing myself


Recommended Posts

Hello everyone!

I'm very pleased to be a member of Ballet Alert!

A bit about me by way of introduction.

I did my training at the Australian Dance Theatre School in Adelaide with Rex Reid as my main teacher. Rex had gone to London as a prodigy, like Robert Helpmann, but in the 1950's. After dancing with Festival Ballet and Ballet Rambert, Rex formed a company in South Africa with Princess Natasha Watchinadze, a Georgian who had fled the USSR with George Balanchine and Alexandra Danilova in the 1920's, and later married a sometime Diaghilev designer to become Natasha Kirsta. Rex and Natasha formed Ballet Kirsta, which performed, among venues, at the Winter Garten in New York. They finally moved to Australia to direct and run the ADT school.

Rex Reid came from the old school of dance instruction where, with a rapier slashing tongue, the pedagogue would bully students into progress. I recall him once correcting my port de bras - 'looks as though you are wearing earrings' - the shoulders were too lifted up and tense.

In my early twenties my life took a new direction - into academia.

I've lived in different parts of the world: London for five years, Paris for a year and the Peoples' Republic of China for a year, to mention a few.

I worked till retirement at the University of New South Wales, lecturing on Semiotic Theory on a Masters Degree program.

I still have a passionate interest in dance and hope to be able to participate usefully in the forums and other aspects of the Ballet Alert! site.

Cheers everyone!

Link to comment

It's a pleasure to welcome you publicly, Nick. I share Cristian's gratitude for your clips.

Your background is very impressive. I'm sure you have valuable insights to contribute to some of our ongoing discussions. And of course, we'd love to hear about the ballet scene "Down Under" from one who's there.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...