Australia Dancing - Nolan, Sidney (1917

Nolan, Sidney (1917 - 1992)

Mitelman, Jacqueline: Portrait of Sir Sidney Nolan, 1988

Sidney Nolan's engagement with the theatre, and with dance in particular, began in 1940 when he was commissioned to design Serge Lifar's Icare for the Original Ballet Russe then on tour in Australia. Icare as seen in Australia was a restaging of a work that Lifar had originally produced in Paris in 1935. The new Australian staging premiered on 16 February 1940 at the Theatre Royal in Sydney. Lifar took the role of Icarus, Dimitri Rostoff that of Daedalus.

Nolan's designs for Icare underwent various changes during the lead up to the opening and the eventual set design provoked some controversy. One contemporary reviewer wrote: 'The much discussed scenery consists of a red and blue drop in the middle of which was a black scrawl, a simplicity in which only the extremely 'arty' can see any significance'.

Nolan subsequently designed two other significant works for dance: Kenneth Macmillan's Rite of Spring for the Royal Ballet in 1962, and Robert Helpmann's Display for the Australian Ballet in 1964. With The Display Nolan worked in collaboration with Robert Helpmann, who choreographed the piece, and Malcolm Williamson, who composed the music.

Bibliography:

Michelle Potter, 'Spatial boundaries: Sidney Nolan's ballet designs', Brolga 3 (December 1995), pp. 53-67.

Research Materials

Dupain, Max: David Lichine in 'L'Apres-midi d'un faune', Original Ballet Russe, 1940

[Ballets Russes Compilation], 1936-1940 (Moving picture): Cast: Tatiana Riabouchinska, Algeranoff, Nina Verchinina and artists of the Ballets Russes; 16 mm film, shot by Dr Joseph Ringland Anderson; black and white and colour, no sound, 44 mins; Excerpts from Cotillon, La Concurrence, Danses slaves et tziganes, Icare (with designs by Sidney Nolan), L'apres-midi d'un faune, Pavane and divertissements from a performance given in aid of the Polish Relief Fund in Sydney in 1940. The Polish Relief Fund performance includes brief excerpts from Algeranoff's Japanese Dance and Nina Verchinina's work Etude Choreographique.

Ringland Anderson Ballet Films; Ballets Russes Australian tours ; Algeranoff ; Riabouchinska, Tatiana ; Icare ; Pavane ; Cotillon ; Danses slaves et tziganes ; Concurrence, La ; Verchinina, Nina; Location:; The Keep Dancing! Collection; National Film and Sound Archive; Title no: 450466

[Ballets Russes: Choreartium, Coq d'or, Prodigal Son, Firebird, Aurora's Wedding, Good Humoured Ladies, Icare], 1938-1940 (Moving picture): Cast: Irina Baronova, Tamara Grigorieva, Vera Nelidova, Tatiana Riabouchinska, Tamara Toumanova, Anna Volkova, David Lichine, Paul Petroff and artists of the Ballets Russes companies.; 16 mm film, shot by Dr Joseph Ringland Anderson; black and white and colour, no sound, 27 mins; A compilation of excerpts from the repertoire of the Covent Garden Russian Ballet and the Original Ballet Russe as performed in Australia between 1938 and 1940. The footage includes excerpts from the new Australian staging of Serge Lifar's Icare with designs by Sidney Nolan.

Ringland Anderson Ballet Films; Ballets Russes Australian tours ; Baronova, Irina ; Lichine, David ; Toumanova, Tamara ; Riabouchinska, Tatiana ; Petroff, Paul ; Volkova, Anna ; Coq d'or, Le ; Firebird, The ; Icare ; Aurora's Wedding ; Prodigal Son, The ; Choreartium; Location:; The Keep Dancing! Collection; National Film and Sound Archive; Title no: 483646

Research Materials Top

Other resources

Find more about Nolan, Sidney in:

Collection - OzLife
Internet - Google
Articles - New York Public Library Dance Collection
Pictures - Picture Australia