Barre Helps Dunn Get To The Pointe

Sydney Morning Herald

Friday January 16, 2009

Elissa Blake

Rigorous Pilates and strengthening each layer of muscles from the inside out helped a ballerina get in shape after giving birth five months ago, writes Elissa Blake.

Her waist-length dark hair, soft, glittering make-up and tiny, compact body make Australian Ballet star Lucinda Dunn look more like the teenage girl next door than a 35-year-old woman who gave birth just five months ago.

"I've been on a rigorous rehabilitation program with lots of Pilates and ballet class," she explains. "You can always walk along the beach or go to the gym, but for a classical ballet dancer, nothing prepares you for ballet more than ballet class."

Her first child, Claudia, was born last August. Dunn was back in the studio three weeks later. All through the pregnancy, right up to the day before she gave birth, she was at the barre doing class.

"It wasn't an easy birth. It was natural but it was horrendous," she says with a grimace. "But to have this little baby at the end of it all was incredible. I'm so fascinated with her and it's hard to be away from her. But I always knew I wanted to return to dancing and had no thoughts of retiring."

Dunn is now in rehearsals with Morphoses, the critically acclaimed contemporary ballet company led by Christopher Wheeldon, the British ballet star and choreographer hailed by some critics as the "saviour of classical ballet".

The company, all "kickass dancers" according to Wheeldon, is made up of 15 performers from around the world, including five on loan from the Australian Ballet (Dunn, Robert Curran, Andrew Killian, Leanne Stojmenov and Stephanie Williams) and former AB star Matt Trent.

They have been rehearsing at CarriageWorks in Eveleigh for their short Sydney Festival season for the past 10 days. Dunn dances in two of the company's four works. Commedia is a new piece, choreographed by Wheeldon to Stravinsky's Pulcinella Suite as a salute to the 100th anniversary of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes.

The second work, Distant Cries, is a duet choreographed by the New York City Ballet soloist Edwaard Liang to music by the 18th century Italian composer Tomaso Albinoni.

Dunn will dance it with fellow Australian Ballet principal Robert Curran. "The duet is so beautiful. As a dancer, this is why I dance. The music is beautiful, the dance is lovely to watch but it has such emotion and feeling and quality in it. I think it's going to be really special to perform," she says.

Dunn and Wheeldon are old friends. The pair first met as 16-year-old students at the Royal Ballet School in London. They were pas de deux partners and performed together in their graduation performance. How was he as a partner?

She takes a long pause and smiles. "Fine!" she says, somewhat unconvincingly. Then she lets out a long laugh, too discreet to mention that they once had a hair-raising moment when Wheeldon dropped her from an overhead pose. "We were young and still working things out," she says.

"He'll kill me for saying this but he really hasn't changed at all since then. He's just as energetic and happy and positive. He's very up and jovial. And he was a beautiful dancer, really very special."

Dunn has danced in all three of the works choreographed by Wheeldon in the Australian Ballet's repertoire: After The Rain (2007); Continuum (2004) and Mercurial Manoeuvres (2002). But this is the first time she has danced as a guest member of his company, which is making its Australian debut. She says his choreography is modern but maintains a very pure sense of classical ballet.

"The steps are contemporary but we're on pointe and the lines have to be very beautiful and correct. The technique is very classical, but even more rigorous. He's also very quirky and incredibly musical," she says.

Already three months pregnant when asked by Wheeldon to perform with Morphoses, Dunn wasn't sure if she'd be able to return to the stage in time.

"I needed to see how I was and how the baby was, it was all so unknown then. And it would be after a 12-month break from the stage, the longest break I've ever had. But I talked to Christopher and he was happy to wait and see what happened," she says.

"I ended up coming back to class fairly soon after the birth but it was gentle. After having this big belly, I just wanted to move and bend back and lie on my tummy and really stretch out. I had to strengthen my muscles again from the inside out. "You don't realise how much you go through in pregnancy and childbirth until you start trying to piece it back together. You just have to take it layer by layer.

Leaving Claudia at five months old has been a difficult decision. "Being away from her is hard. I pine for her during the day but when I get home, my husband says 'Mummy's home' and she turns her head and reaches for me. That is so beautiful."

Dunn returns to the Australian Ballet full-time next month to start work on the premiere of Graeme Murphy's Firebird. She is one of four principals playing the lead role set to Stravinsky's score. Dunn says her husband, former dancer (and the AB's current associate artistic director) Danilo Radojevic, and two grandmothers will be on hand to care for Claudia.

"I don't want to miss a thing with Claudia growing up so I'm not at all flippant about my return to work. The work has to be important to me," she says.

"For me it's what happens in the studio, creating the work and perfecting it that excites me. That's why I dance. I love working with beautiful dancers and choreographers and coaches. It's more than the three hours on stage, it's the whole journey of collaboration."

Lucinda Dunn will perform with Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company from January 22 at the Theatre Royal. The Australian Ballet's Firebird And Other Legends opens on April 2 at the Sydney Opera House.

© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald

Back to News Index | Back to Home