Pointe To Promenade

Newcastle Herald

Monday May 14, 2007

with Amy Edwards and Anita Beaumont

HUNTER Valley-raised dancer Robert Curran is pointing his ballet shoe into new territory.

The Australian Ballet principal artist will make his choreographic debut this month at the Sydney Theatre with a new work for the Australian Ballet program Bodytorque. Generations, which opens on May 23.

Curran, who studied ballet in Newcastle before becoming one of the country's hottest dancers, is renowned for his intense on-stage passion and excellent technique.

It's a far cry from his home life in Melbourne where he is happiest mucking around with his dog or getting out his toolkit.

For the past three years Curran has spent his spare time smashing walls, grouting and sanding while renovating the home he shares with his canine companion Gilly.

Curran prepared his chosen dancers for his new work Promenade (which is part of the Bodytorque program) in between rehearsing for his on-stage role in the current Australian Ballet production New Romantics.

Promenade is set at a train station and is about the feeling of anxiety before embarking on a journey to somewhere new and unexpected.

Curran claims he is sticking to familiar choreographic ground for the time being.

© 2007 Newcastle Herald

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