The statuesque Lisa Norman was too tall to be a ballet dancer, and became a Blue Bell dancer and then a performer on London's West End instead. She is featured in the current issue of 'Dance Australia' in an article titled Love your Body.

Peta Webb was a dancer before she became a performing arts agent.

Grant Dale began his career as a cast member in the original production of 'Evita'. He has the rare honour of receiving the Australian Gypsy Cloak twice - for 'A Chorus Line' in 1996, then again for his most recent engagement - in 2009 in 'Billy Elliot - the Musical'.

Nadezhda Bogdownova aka Australian dancer Christopher Lam, was recently in Australia on a tour with Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo.

Hofesh Shechter's 'Political Mother' has recently finished a run at the Melbourne Festival.

Timothy Brown has recently been appointed co-artistic director of the youth company, Ballet Theatre of Queensland. This interview was done earlier in his career when he was about to choreograph for Expressions Dance Theatre.

Juliette Barton has returned from overseas to join the new-look Sydney Dance Company.

Lee Christofis has had a wide and varied career in dance writing, criticism and lecturing in print, radio and television. Concurrently he has had a successful career in early childhood care and education, and more recently creating a multicultural arts marketing program, for which he received a Victorian Award for Excellence in Multicultural Affairs (2001). He is presently the Curator of Dance at the National Library of Australia.

Graham Maclean is one of Australia's most experienced and admired set designers who works frequently with the Queensland Ballet and has designed for numerous operas, musicals and plays. His most recent designs for the company were for Francois Klaus's new production of 'Swan Lake'.

Robert TEWSLEY is appearing as a guest artist in the Australian Ballet's Sydney season of 'Manon'.

Robert Curran has recently retired as a principal artist with the Australian Ballet.

Paul Lightfoot was born in England and trained at the Royal Ballet School before joining Netherlands Dance Theatre 2 in 1985. He joined the main company in 1987, where he met his wife and choreographic partner, Sol Leon. They were both appointed resident choreographers in 2002, and have created some 30 ballets for the company.

Lorraine Blackbourn is a teacher and Cecchetti senior examiner who ran the Heidelberg Dance Ensemble (with dance historian Edward Pask), in Melbourne from 1978 to 1988. She was awarded a medal of the Order of Australia in this year's Australia Day honours list.

John O'Connell is best known as the choreographer for the films 'Moulin Rouge', 'Shall we Dance?' and 'Strictly Ballroom'. Apart from his film career, he is constantly in demand as a choreographer for musicals, theatre, commercials and video clips, and this year choreographed for the Oscars awards in Hollywood. He is the choreographer of 'Keating, the Musical', which is in the middle of an Australian tour, and also of 'The Rocky Horror Show', presently playing at Star City in Sydney.

Carlos Acosta was born the youngest of 11 children into a very poor family in Havana, Cuba. His father enrolled him in a ballet school to curb his wild spirit. He went on to win the Prix de Lausanne international competition in 1990, which launched his career, beginning with English National Ballet, Cuban National Ballet, Houston Ballet and now the Royal Ballet. He is appearing as a guest artist with the Australian Ballet in the Melbourne season of 'Jerome Robbins - a celebration'.

Jolene Slater is one of the principal dancers at the Moulin Rouge in Paris.