The Armidale Summer Schools

THE ARMIDALE SUMMER SCHOOLS Michelle Potter tells how the University of New England's summer schools of the 1960s and 1970s helped shape the direction of Australian dance The University of New England is schools organised by UNE and held widely acknowledged as having made a on its Armidale campus in 1967, significant, pioneering contribution to 1969, 1974 and 1976. James's clearly dance education in Australia. This has written and important account been achieved by a series of residential captures little, however, of the activities held as part of the University's excitement generated by the Armidale Summer Schools programmes in the summer schools, where creativity was arts-a salient feature of the adult fostered, where some of Australia's education activities conducted by its most prominent artists made the summer schools. Van Praagh was, Department of Continuing Education. contributions, and where the talents at the time of the inaugural school, of aspiring choreographers, dancers, co-artistic director with Robert writers and historians-some, such Helpmann of the Australian Ballet. his rather formal statement as Graeme Murphy, now with an She was the artistic force behind that appeared in an article entitled international. reputation-were first school and much of the T'Ballet at the University of nurtured. subsequent development of the New England 1966-1976' in the A little of the history of the summer programs. McKechnie, a Journal and Proceedings of the Armidale summer schools is dance educator who would go on to Armidale and District Historical documented in two collections of play an instrumental role in the Society in January 1977. Written by personal papers held by the National establishment of dance as a subject of Bernard James, director of the Library of Australia-the papers of tertiary study in Australia and who is continuing education program at the Peggy van Praagh (MS 7223) and now a professorial fellow at the University of New England (UNE) at Shirley McKechnie (MS 9553). Both Victorian College of the Arts, took the time, the article outlines the van Praagh and McKechnie played a major role. in the two schools of history of four momentous summer seminal roles in the development of the 1970s. The summer schools of the 1960s manifestations'. In both schools of the much an academic one, with a small were conceptually quite different 1960s there was a strong emphasis on number of dancers being made from those of the 1970s. The first audience development, on giving available to demonstrate the points school, held in 1967, was strongly status and credibility to dance within made by lecturers, already the mix of oriented towards classical ballet. Its the wider community, and on disciplines that was to be a feature of press releasestated its aim was 'to give international movements in the the schools of the 1970s was in place. to those who attend it insights into dance world. While van Praagh was clearly a ballet as an art form and, by so doing, Both the summers schools of leading light in the proceedings, to create an informed public for ballet the 1960s also largely followed a lecturers at the 1967 school included in Australia'. The second, presented lecture/discussion format with leading Eric Thacker from the Department of under the tide The Development of roles on both occasions being taken Fine Arts, University of Melbourne Dance in the Twentieth Century', by van Praagh. In 1967 she lectured and Eric Westbrook, director of the looked at seminal figures and on topics such as the history of ballet, National Gallery of Victoria. movements after 1900 and analysed the great dance schools of the world, Participants at the 1969 school heard modern dance as an art form in its the training of the dancer and the art lectures from musicologist Wendy own right as well as for the influence of the choreographer, and in 1969 Pomroy on contemporary music in it had on classical ballet. The press on classical ballet of the Diaghilev classicalballet and modern dance and releasefor this school stated: The aim era, the influence of Diaghilev, visual artist George Baldessin on of the school basically is to broaden interactions between classical and modern painting, in particular people's knowledge of dance in the modern dance, and postwar classical German expressionism. 20th Century and to introduce ballet. Nevertheless, while the format With the first 1970s summer modern dance in its varied for the schools of the 1960s was very school, however, the focus changed quite dramatically. In 1974 the school was billed as a choreographic workshop/dance school. Participation in the workshop was by invitation and the 12 invited choreographers included several still working in the field today including Ian Spink now working in the United Kingdom, John Meehan currently working in New York and directing American Ballet Theatre's second company, and Jacqui Carroll and Norman Hall still actively choreographing in Australia. The focus was on exploration and experiment and the interchange of ideas between tutors and choreographers. Classes in various dance techniques were given in the morning and participants in the dance school were available for' choreographers to work with in afternoon workshop sessions. The emphasis had become practical and creative rather than academic and audience-oriented and links were established with tutors, including visual artists John Olsen and Andrew Sibley and poet Tom Shapcott, in summer schools being held on other parts of the UNE campus. By 1976 the 1960s stream had merged with the processes of 1974 and the fourth summer school consisted of a choreographic workshop with tutors from Australia, London and New York and, running parallel but with considerable crossover, a seminar/lecture series on the history of dance, dance aesthetics and dance criticism led by Peter Brinson, British dance activist, critic and intellectual, and founder of the Royal Ballet's dance in education program, Ballet for All. Among the choreographers participating in the workshop in 1976 was a 25-year-old Graeme Murphy then freelancing and still to take on the directorship of Sydney Dance Company. His muse and partner Janet Vernon, of whom Murphy still says 'she is always there for me', was also a participant-one of 30 dancers who worked with the choreographers. Murphy's choreographic talent was already obvious as was the strength of the inspiration he derived from Vernon's dancing, which was clear in a luminous solo he created for her at the summer school. At least one videotape remains from the 1976 an outstanding success and school. Recorded on obsolete expressing the pleasure that UNE felt equipment it was transferred to a in having instigated the venture. But currently accessible format by by 1976, in a detailed report and ScreenSound as part of the Keep acquittal to the Theatre Board of the Dancing! project in 1999 and shows Australia Council, James reported Peter Brinson's production for those that the fourth seminar/workshop taking his course of Your Problems ended with a deficit and that the Answered. A ballet commentary in the University could not in the future style of Ballet for ALLA brief history of commit itself to the planning, ballet, spoken by two narrators with organisation and running of such an movements and poses demonstrated event without an unconditional by course members to authentic guarantee from a funding body to music of the period, its highlight was cover any loss. There was never the conclusion-a short piece another Armidale summer school choreographed by Murphy on those after 1976 and it was perhaps not (of diverse talents and shapes) who until the Green Mill Dance Project, were taking Brinson's seminar course. whose records are also held by the N one of the material in the van National Library at MS 9370, held its Praagh and McKechnie papers first conference in 1993 that so many provides a complete indication of dance people came together in the how the summer schools, especially kind of creative environment that was the early ones, were funded although characteristic of the Armidale schools. the schools of the seventies both Participants at the Armidale schools rural peace. Yet what is certain, is that received substantial support from the were sent a variety of information from the creative and cross- Australia Council and from the prior to their arrival in Armidale- disciplinary environment of the UNE Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, maps, schedules, lists of tutors and summer schools there emerged some Lisbon, with which Peter Brinson was participants, reading lists and so on. of Australia's strongest dance talents. closely connected as director of its In 1967 that information included a United Kingdom and British description of UNE as 'the only MICHELLE POTTER is Curator of Commonwealth branch. Support for university in Australia with such a Dance at the National Library. She is the 1976 school also came from the rural setting ... red deer, kangaroos co-producer of Boro's Ballet, an Myer Foundation, the Australian and wallabies roam in a small award-winning video about the -American Educational Foundation deer park below Booloominbah Borovansky Ballet that draws on and the British Council. At the end of the administrative centre of the material from the collections of the the first summer school, Bernard U niversi ty'. The summer school National Library and ScreenSound James wrote to Dr D.H. Coombs at schedules were always so full, it is Australia, and the au thor of the the Australian Elizabethan Theatre hard to imagine that participants National Library publication A Trust reporting that the school was would have had time to enjoy the Passionfor Dance..

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