For an evening of dance that’s casual, intimate and illuminative all in one, a visit to the popular Queensland Ballet Vis-à-vis Studio Series is a winner. I recently enjoyed my first visit to the Queensland Ballet’s home, their studio at the Thomas Dixon Centre in West End.
Walking upstairs into the studio (although there is a lift for those with mobility issues), we instantly became part of the dancers’ world. The dancers of the company stood beside movable barres, rehearsing with a teacher quietly directing their moves. With graceful plies and coordinated movements they recreated the atmosphere of sheer hard work and practice that is part of a ballerina’s job description. How different from an everyday 9-to-5 job, but a job nevertheless.
The Vis-à-vis studio series allows you to sit within the studio environment, very close to the action. There’s no formality or large theatre here and it’s ballet that’s intimate, real and raw. There’s no hiding behind lavish sets and lighting displays for the performers. Instead, the audience of approximately 150 people is treated to a front row seat of performances that are dynamic and organic. You never quite know what you’ll see and nor do the dancers know entirely what they’ll do as François Klaus, the Artistic Director of Queensland Ballet, takes the opportunity to do some impromptu choreography to explain a concept of dance.
Of course, there is a program of dances, with recorded music and it’s not all off-the-cuff. On the evening I attended we were treated to a variety of works in progress, some performed in black dancewear as costumes were not yet complete. For ballet fans, it’s a wonderful way to get a sneak peek at new works and some of François’ explanation of the motivation behind the choreography. There were also a couple of dances that had been part of past, popular shows, performed in costume. I also enjoyed the experimental choreographed work by a student that was too good not to be seen by this larger audience.
The small snippets of dance, interspersed with François Klaus’ descriptive and passionate comments, meant the evening passed very quickly. The Queensland Ballet has performed the Studio Series for 11 years now. The shows are almost always sold-out and they are a prime vehicle for the Queensland Ballet to make the art form more accessible, personal and understandable to many audiences.
The brief interval wasn’t long enough to enjoy a glass of well-priced wine but it was fun to see a few of the dancers staying warm with a game of table tennis in the foyer! This sight, so different to anything you’ll see at a more formal night at the ballet, summed up the Studio Series for me. The beauty here isn’t in the sets, elaborate costumes or rich live music accompaniment. Instead, it’s in the reality of a dancers’ life. You can imagine daily rehearsals, see how hard the dancers work as they sweat and pant and hear the thud of hard pointe shoes on the floor. I realised they are human beings after all, not flying swans or sleeping beauties. For me, that makes their extraordinary physical displays all the more amazing.
The Queensland Ballet’s Studio Series is a must-do for anyone who enjoys seeing people doing incredible things.
