New & Exciting Initiative For Region's Dancers
Newcastle has a long history of artistic excellence in the performing arts, and this is especially true for dance. The National College of Dance (NCD), located in Lambton, has been nurturing the talent of dancers and producing some of the best in the world for almost half a century.
The college has been under the leadership of former Australian Ballet Company member and Sydney Dance Company Associate Artistic Director Brett Morgan OAM since 2011 and is consistently rated in the top 3 schools in all national dance competitions in Classical, Contemporary and Jazz genres. More importantly, even when covid hit the industry hard, all graduates were successful in being offered placements in the industry across the world.
Brett and the team at the NCD have a strong commitment and a passion for providing opportunity, education and training for young dancers, particularly those in regional settings outside of metropolitan cities. Brett’s glittering career began with long commutes and a significant time and resource sacrifice from his parents. He has made it his mission to ensure that regional dancers or students receive the coaching, performance opportunities, and career mentoring that would typically be unattainable due to finances or distance. This commitment has led to the establishment of the National Youth Ballet Company (NYBC), a new and exciting initiative for the Hunter region that aims to provide young dancers with the opportunity to gain experience within a professional company environment.
Vicki Morgan, CEO of NCD and CEO and Business Development Manager of NYBC, believes that the new company is sorely needed as the industry copes with the fallout of the covid pandemic.
“The natural career pathways of our students were changed by covid,” said Vicki. “Our youth lost opportunities, and it’s important that we get back on track. We want to create a bridge for these students, a pathway to professional performance and experience that will help them launch their professional careers.
“NYBC was born from a vision to enrich the lives of young dancers and their communities by creating a platform to inspire artistic ambition, focusing on regional areas. The aim is to create a collaborative environment between professional composers, musicians, stage production and pre-professional dancers and provide them with the opportunity to be exposed to regional Australia.”
The youth company is a not-for-profit, steered by an incorporated body with a board of like-minded professionals, all sharing a passion for the arts, especially in the regions. Each member has strong ties to the Hunter, with most calling Newcastle their home. The committee includes Professor Mark Jones, UON Pro Vice-Chancellor Educational Innovation;
Jane Beverley, Managing Director of Evolution Financial Business Advisors; Louise Kipa, Director Persona Communications and Head of Creative; Alicia Brown, Professional Producer and Company Manager; Lara Bussey, HR Manager and Dance Creative Producer and Vicki Morgan.
“Company members will rehearse with choreographers on original pieces along with the chance to perform works by iconic choreographers that have been performed all over the world,” said Vicki. “Our collaborating creatives are icons in the industry, and we’re very proud that they believe in our mission and are only too happy to work with us. People like Graeme Murphy AO and Janet Vernon AM, who Brett worked with for 17 years at Sydney Dance Company, composer Michael Askill, singer and performer iOTA, choreographers Timothy Gordon, Jake Burden and Debbie Ellis Linnert, musician Bridget Bourne and composer and musician Cyrus Meurant, not to mention Brett himself.
“In fact, Cyrus Meurant is quickly becoming a key ballet composer in Australia. He actually composes while we choreograph new works. This level of collaboration in this professional environment is a priceless experience for young dancers. Janet and Graeme coach dancers through their works via zoom, providing in-depth detail around the conception of each piece – this is an exceptional opportunity for our young dancers that will provide them with a competitive advantage when seeking roles in companies around the world.”
The company’s debut show was a triple bill program, comprising three pieces. Piece One: Au Revoir Mon Ami was a newly composed and choreographed piece of work composed by Cyrus Meurant and choreographed in sections by Brett Morgan OAM, Timothy Gordon, Debbie Ellis Linnert, and Jake Burden. Piece Two: Banged and Tap from Synergy with Synergy. Created by Graeme Murphy AM and percussionist Michael Askill. Piece Three: Berlin Songs was a re-creation of three pieces performed by iOTA from the original work of Graeme Murphy’s Berlin. The triple bill program was staged at St Phillips College for one night only and at Gosford’s Laycock Theatre also for one night only in mid-August in order to create a showreel to attract potential sponsors, to highlight the extraordinary calibre of the dancers and to prepare for their official launch at the iconic Sydney Eisteddfod at Sydney Opera House, where they performed in front of a crowd of Australia’s most elite dancers, dance schools and industry professionals. Invited as the special guest artist, NYBC performed sections of the triple bill program, including selected works from Au Revoir Mon Ami and two pieces from Berlin Songs.
“The performance was incredibly successful and featured dancers who were all under the age of 17,” said Vicki.
“I was actually incredibly shocked, totally blown away by the calibre of the performances – they were super professional. We need to keep encouraging our talented young people. It’s easy for people to overlook the rich culture of performing arts that Newcastle enjoys.”
The company aims to produce a variety of works with two or three shows every year, touring regional NSW. Auditions are held for each show, and it is expected that there will be interest from dancers across all the geographic regions of the state. Expect to see a new audition notification posted to the website www.nationalyouthballetcompany.com.au soon with the intent for auditions to take place early in 2023 for next year’s productions. The company is also actively seeking sponsorship and investment with several packages available.
If you wish to support the work of this fledgling but critical youth company, you can do so easily by purchasing tickets to their shows when they become available – even if dance is an art form that challenges you – you may be very surprised at how much you enjoy these talented young people.
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