Matthew Lawrence, former principal dancer with the Birmingham Royal Ballet, is about to commence work with Queensland Ballet. Readers may remember Lawrence, who is also a former principal artist of the Australian Ballet.
Growing up in New Zealand, Lawrence started his training at Patricia Rowley’s School of Dance. “I was seven when I naively attended ballet class at Patricia Rowley’s School of Dance in New Zealand, thinking this was some weird form of gymnastics,” he recalls. It was the showmanship of ballet that eventually won him over. “Ballet didn’t take hold until years later, when performing Fritz (the brother of Clara) in the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker. Something about the theatre – I think it was the chance to show-off in front of thousands of people – grabbed me.”
Lawrence went on to train at the Australian Ballet School, joining the Australian Ballet on his graduation. In 2008 he left Australia for the Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB). “My wife (Gaylene Cummerfield) and I had been with The Australian Ballet for 11 years, and had reached a point where we wanted new repertoire, new challenges,” he explains. “I’ll sound a bit like an advert here, but Birmingham Royal Ballet, formerly Sadlers Wells Royal Ballet, offered a huge heritage of established Sir Peter Wright classics, with modern-day masterpieces from David Bintley.”
Lawrence relished his time at BRB. “Being able to form a dance partnership with my wife was a highlight,” he says. "Another highlight was working with some legends of dance, like the formerly mentioned Sir Peter and David, Anthony Dowell, Antoinette Sibley and Patrice Bart, to name a few. Performing in London, the heart of theatre, was also special, as was being invited to choreograph a routine for an Olympic rhythmic gymnast. Speaking at a Dance UK conference at the intimidating Royal Society of Medicine in London, and discussing with industry heads the complicated subject of eating disorders suffered by dancers was another high point for me.”
It sounds like Lawrence’s time with BRB was incredibly rewarding… so what drew him back to Australia and Queensland Ballet? “I always said if Li took over a company, I’d be there in a flash,” he says warmly. “I’ve got huge respect for Li and his wife Mary, and having Greg Horsman as Ballet Master on the Artistic team is the cherry on the Queensland Ballet pie. Also, from a personal perspective, with our little addition, having family and an outdoors lifestyle close by is a huge plus.”
To find out when you can catch Matthew Lawrence in action, go to the Queensland Ballet website.
Matthew Lawrence as Albrecht in Giselle. Photo: Andy Ross.
Matthew Lawrence and Gaylene Cummerfield in The Nutcracker. Photo: Bill Cooper.