Australia Dancing - Lawrence, Bryan (1936

Lawrence, Bryan (1936 - )

Stringer, Walter: Bryan Lawrence in 'Les Sylphides', the Australian Ballet, 1964

Bryan Lawrence was born Brian Lawrence Palethorpe in Birmingham, England, where he began his dance training from an early age, later training at the Sadler?s Wells Ballet School, later the Royal Ballet School, from the age of thirteen. At the age of seventeen, after moving from the Junior to the Senior School, Lawrence began performing in walk on parts with the Sadler?s Wells Opera and Ballet, with his first dancing part in Tchernicheva?s Firebird. Lawrence joined Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet in 1954 and was promoted to soloist in 1955.

Following a period of national service he joined the Royal Ballet in 1959 and became a soloist in 1961. In 1964 he was invited by Peggy van Praagh to join the Australian Ballet as a principal.

Lawrence, along with fellow Australian Ballet principal Janet Karin, founded the Bryan Lawrence School of Ballet in Dickson, ACT, in 1968. The School?s performance group, The Bryan Lawrence Performing Group, performed their first classical piece, excerpts from Coppelia, to Canberra audiences in 1970, and their first full-length ballet, Giselle, in 1974. The School was renamed the National Capital Ballet School in 1987 and the associated performing company became the National Capital Dancers.

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Stringer, Walter: Bryan Lawrence and Marilyn Jones in 'Giselle' Act I, the Australian Ballet, 1964

Stringer, Walter: Bryan Lawrence and Marilyn Jones in 'Giselle' Act I, the Australian Ballet, 1964 (Picture): Jones, Marilyn ; Giselle ; Australian Ballet, The ; Stringer, Walter; Location:; National Library of Australia; PIC P554/AB/161, Album 912/18
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Stringer, Walter: Bryan Lawrence and partner in 'Les Sylphides', the Australian Ballet, 1964

Stringer, Walter: Bryan Lawrence and partner in 'Les Sylphides', the Australian Ballet, 1964 (Picture): Sylphides, Les ; Australian Ballet, The ; Stringer, Walter; Location:; National Library of Australia; PIC/6558/3383, Album 1016/11
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Stringer, Walter: Bryan Lawrence as the Leader and Kathleen Gorham as the Girl in Robert Helpmann's 'The Display', the Australian Ballet, 1964

Stringer, Walter: Bryan Lawrence as the Leader and Kathleen Gorham as the Girl in Robert Helpmann's 'The Display', the Australian Ballet, 1964 (Picture): Display, The ; Gorham, Kathleen ; Helpmann, Robert ; Australian Ballet, The ; Stringer, Walter; Location:; National Library of Australia; PIC/6558/1530, Album 1016/6
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Australian Information Service: Bryan Lawrence in 'Le conservatoire', the Australian Ballet , 1965

Australian Information Service: Bryan Lawrence in 'Le conservatoire', the Australian Ballet , 1965 (Picture): Australian Ballet, The ; Conservatoire, Le; Location:; National Library of Australia; PIC/9053
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Hyams, Estella: Peggy van Praagh as a child dancer

Dame Peggy van Praagh collection, 1916-1990 (Picture): 157 photographs : some col. ; 30.5 x 25 cm. and smaller + 36 colour slides Summary: Photographs include portraits of Peggy van Praagh (PvP): as a child, 1912-1920; teaching in Margaret Craske's studio, 1940; in ENSA uniform for Sadler's Wells tour of Germany, 1945; Cecchetti Farewell dinner, 1960; Sydney, 1962; teaching in Singapore, 1961; portraits dated 1942, 1958, 1960, 1963, 1980, 1982; at the conferring of Doctor of Letters, University of New England, 1974, and Doctor of Laws, University of Melbourne, 1981; in her Parkville flat. PvP in various roles: with Therese Langfield and Charlotte Bidmead at the Player's Theatre, Covent Garden, [1937-45?]; in an Hungarian dance, and Contre Danse, 1930s, with Molly Lake's Marilyn Dancers; as The Woman in his Past in Jardin aux Lilas, 1936; as Bolero in Soiree Musicale, [1938]; with Hugh Laing in The gods go a'begging, 1938; with Agnes de Mille, Anthony Tudor, Hugh Laing and Margaret Braithwaite in Gallant Assembly, 1938; as Mortal born under Neptune in The planets, 1939; as the Russian ballerina in Gala performance, 1939; in Dark Elegies, 1939; as Swanhilda, Coppelia, 1940; as Vivandiere in Cap over Mill, 1940. PvP photographed with: Franz Baur [1956]; Lia Schubert, Boris Kniaseff, and Victor Gsovsky [1957?]; Michael Frostick and Charles Mackerras, 1958; Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev at Chequers [1964]; Dr Coombs, 1969; Agnes de Mille and Martin Finestein, 1972; Ray Powell; Peter Brinson, 1975; Kelvin Coe; Peter Brinson and Warren Lett, 1977; Christopher Sexton and Shirley McKechnie; Chris Sexton, Kelvin Coe, Modesta Gentile [?], Shirley McKechnie and Noel Pelly [?]; Dame Margaret Scott and others 1981; Betty Pounder on This is your life; Ursula Moreton and G.B. Wilson. Also portraits of : John Cranko [with poster for Sea change, 1949]; PvP's mother Ethel van Praagh; Bryan Lawrence and Elaine Fifield; Sir Frank Tait; Anne Ludmilla [?]; PvP and others appearing on Danny Angle's This is your Life, 1958. Also 16 photographs of PvP's production of The Rake's Progress, Munich, 1956. Also various colour slides including Dame Margot Fonteyn and Garth Welch rehearsing for Swan Lake in Canberra; van Praagh, Peggy ; Dieux mendiants, Les ; Coppelia ; Fonteyn, Margot ; Nureyev, Rudolf ; Powell, Ray ; Coe, Kelvin ; McKechnie, Shirley ; Pelly, Noel ; Fifield, Elaine ; Welch, Garth ; Swan Lake; Location:; National Library of Australia; PIC/3132/1-193 LOC Box PIC/3132; PIC LOC Nitrate Store Box 44
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Encounters with Robert Helpmann, 1964 (Moving picture): 16 mm film, recorded by Channel 7; black and white, sound, 27 mins; Richard Croll interviews Robert Helpmann as part of a television public affairs program. Helpmann discusses aspects of his career, the characteristics of Australian dancers and his ballet The Display inspired by the mating ritual of the male lyrebird. Brief extracts from a rehearsal for The Display are shown. This footage features Kathleen Gorham, Garth Welch and Bryan Lawrence.; Helpmann, Robert ; Welch, Garth ; Display, The ; Gorham, Kathleen; Location:; National Film and Sound Archive; Title no: 19339

Interview with Bryan Lawrence, 1986 (Oral history): Interviewer: Bill Stephens; Interviewee: Lawrence, Bryan; Audiotape; 240 mins; Bryan Lawrence begins this interview with a discussion of his family background and his early dance training in London at the Sadler's Wells (later Royal) Ballet School. He goes on to discuss his encounters with Peggy van Praagh and Robert Helpmann and his work with the Royal Ballet before speaking about coming to Australia to dance with the Australian Ballet. He discusses his decision to start teaching in Canberra, gives his thoughts on Rudolf Nureyev, speaks about his wife, Janet Karin, and gives his thoughts on his future.; Karin, Janet ; van Praagh, Peggy ; Helpmann, Robert ; Australian Ballet, The ; Nureyev, Rudolf; Location:; National Library of Australia; TRC 2118
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Photographs of Peggy van Praagh, 1916 - 1990 (Picture): This collection of 157 photographs and slides, in colour and black and white, documents van Praagh's family and career in Australia and around the world. It includes photographs of van Praagh herself as well as material relating to the productions with which she was involved and the artists who were her colleagues. Some of her colleagues represented in the collection are Peter Brinson, Kelvin Coe, Elane Fifield, Margot Fonteyn, Bryan Lawrence, Shirley McKechnie, Noel Pelly, Ray Powell, Rudolf Nureyev and Margaret Scott.; van Praagh, Peggy ; Coe, Kelvin ; Fifield, Elaine ; Fonteyn, Margot ; McKechnie, Shirley ; Pelly, Noel ; Scott, Margaret ; Powell, Ray ; Nureyev, Rudolf ; Brinson, Peter; Location:; Dame Peggy van Praagh Collection; National Library of Australia; PIC 3132/1-157
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[Raymonda : The Australian Ballet], 1966 (Moving picture): 16 mm film; black and white, no sound, 1 min; Excerpts from the Hungarian dance from Raymonda. Dancers include (possibly) Marilyn Jones, Bryan Lawrence, Lucette Aldous and Alan Alder.; Australian Ballet, The ; Alder, Alan ; Jones, Marilyn ; Aldous, Lucette ; Raymonda; Location:; National Film and Sound Archive; Title no: 474472

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Find more about Lawrence, Bryan in:

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