Dame Lucette Aldous, a global icon of Classical Ballet, presented two masterclasses on Sunday 18th March at Studio 53 Mackay in support of a new production being created by New York Choreographer Ken Ludden with an original score composed by local Mackay Composer, David Pyke.
The students not only had the opportunity to learn from one of the most famous dancers to come from Australia but also auditioned to take part in the World Premiere of of a major portion of the Ballet “Ne:Roi” (Born:King) as a featured presentation of the Mackay Arts Festival 30th Anniversary at the Mackay Entertainment and Convention Centre on July 26th.
Just shy of 50 lucky students out of 74 were selected by Ken Ludden and Dame Lucette Aldous on the weekend and will learn their specific choreography in a 2 week Choreographic Workshop right here in Mackay. During this time it is promising to be a hub of international professional dancers (ie; Rainer Krenstetter of the Miami Ballet) and selected students from all over Australia.
We owe all of this excitement to local composer David Pyke who has composed the music for the new Ballet. Many of his pieces have been inspired by places such as the rainforests of Eungella and the vegetation, sands and water of our abundant local coastline. His music has heralded much international acclaim and the music score for the new production has been recorded with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra.
Another Mackay local involved in the ballet is Fiona Flohr. She is a natural fibre artist …Earth Design by Fi, who has designed and will be making costumes for a section of the ballet production.
Both Fiona and David are wonderful, down to earth individuals who like to support the local community in any way they can. With this production they are helping to put our city of Mackay on the map and introduce the wonderful artistic talents of our young dancers to the wider world.
The Studio 53 mackay family wishes the students all the best…enjoy!!!!
