“There's so much talent in Australia. That is so exciting. To retain that talent in Australia, to support dance and the future of ballet in Australia, that is at the core of what I want to do.”
So says Lisa Pavane, the new artistic director of the Australian Ballet School.
I am talking to her in the Australian Ballet canteen, a no-frills room where the lattes are strictly non-fat milk only. It is a room with which she is well familiar. Like her predecessor, Marilyn Rowe, Pavane has a long association with this organisation. She is an alumnus of the school (studying from 1978-1980), and was a dancer with the Australian Ballet from 1981 to 1994, as a principal dancer from 1986. Following her retirement from dancing, she returned to the School as a teacher. Since 2012 she has been Rowe's deputy. “She has always been my mentor,” Pavane says of Rowe, “right through my career. She has done an incredible job here and I will miss her very much.”
Like her mentor, Pavane has a glittering international career behind her. She and her then husband, Greg Horsman, were a much-praised and loved partnership with the Australian Ballet, standing out for the poetry of their dancing and calm, classical refinement. They both joined English National Ballet in 1994, Pavane as senior principal ballerina. She has travelled the world as a guest artist with different companies and as a freelance teacher. She has been an examiner and adjudicator at some of the world's top ballet competitions, and was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2012 for a study tour of leading international ballet schools. She is therefore well acquainted with international standards.
What she has seen has convinced her that she is taking charge of one of the best classical dance institutions in the world. She therefore sees her role as one of continuation, building on the aim carefully pursued by Rowe – the pursuit of excellence.
“I believe the school is doing a a great job. Of course the school can evolve but I don't want to make changes for the sake of change.”
This is an extract from an article by Karen van Ulzen in the current (Feb/Mar) issue of the magazine. Buy your copy from your favourite retail outlet or purchase online via our app - available for download here!