David McAllister – Theatre Press

A mesmerising meander through arts, antiques and imagination

By Myron My

William Robert Johnston was a Melbourne-based antique dealer and a collector of beautiful things, and he wanted to share these unusual and visually arresting items with the public. Upon his death in 1986, the not-for-profit museum, The Johnston Collection was established. The Collection has had a rotation of guest curators including The Australian Ballet’s Artistic Director David McAllister, milliner Richard Nylon and design studio Hecker Guthrie, who were given the opportunity to explore, regard and share the curiosities within the collection.

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With its current exhibition, House of Dreams, guest curators Barking Spider Visual Theatre – a Melbourne-based multi-art form company – have spent the last 18 months designing the nine spaces to create a highly evocative and imaginative environment to be experienced. Led by Artistic Director Penelope Bartlau, the theatre company is known for its exemplary productions and varied methods of creating and sharing stories with audiences.

While we were advised to wander around the space and devise our own story based on what we saw and heard, I personally enjoyed learning about Johnston’s childhood and family from the highly knowledgeable volunteers, and being able to gain a deeper understanding of the symbolism and purpose that the various items being used held. The meticulous effort that Barking Spider has put into each room is evident. You could easily spend half an hour in the one location, discovering new pieces, seeing things from different perspectives and mulling over the effect a particular room or item has had on you.

House of Dreams is both joyful and saddening. It is filled with hope and also loneliness, but the story you choose to create is completely in your own hands. While I can still vividly recall so many of the striking items on display, the experience of walking through The Collection, and more specifically, doing so under Barking Spider’s curating, made it feel like a dream in itself – and one that I am keen to re-visit over the coming months.

The Johnston Collection runs daily tours of House of Dreams until 20 September.

For booking details please visit The Johnston Collection website.

Performances to entrance and transcend

By Narelle Wood

I’ve been a subscriber with the Australian Ballet for the last six years and each year I’m left wondering how exactly they will manage to top, or even equal, that year’s season. This was especially the case after the year’s Australian premiere of David McAllister’s Sleeping Beauty; one of the most exquisite and luxurious performances I’ve seen. The 2016 season plans to be just as exciting and enthralling, but for completely different reasons.

The five works have been selected because they in some way encapsulate the transformative nature of ballet, either through stretching the dancers, the audiences or the very idea what ballet should be. The Melbourne season begins with Vitesse, part of the contemporary mix, providing a selection of ballets ranging from the chic and sleek of “In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated”, to the the Edvard Munch-inspired “Forgotten Land” to the speedy and fabulous “Danse a Grande Vitesse”, the performance’s namesake. The 2016’s classical repertoire includes a reprise of Stephen Baynes’ 2012 Swan Lake, an Australian premiere of Stanton Welch’s Romeo and Juliet and the comedic and playful fun of Coppelia.
The showcase piece for the Australian Ballet’s 54th season is John Neumeier’s Nijinsky. It was apparently fourteen years ago artistic director David McAllister first broached the idea of staging this ballet, and in 2016 this finally becomes a reality. Described as ‘a biopic of a legend’, this ballet celebrates the accomplishments and mastery of Russian dancer Nijinsky and his ‘unprecedented on-stage intensity’.

While Coppelia may be the only ballet here with lightness at its heart, the program sounds every bit intriguing as it does transformative. There is no doubt that the Australian Ballet will once again exceed all expectations by taking the audience on a completely different, and at times, unexpected journey. As always, I find it hard to pick what I am looking forward to most; the opulent costumes and sets, the unparalleled athleticism, the stories and music, or the grace and elegance of the dancing. 2016 is promising to be another season of exquisite, and world-class, ballet.

Season: Melbourne season begins 11-21st March
Performance Details: Available at australianballet2016.com.au