Australia Dancing - Helpmann, Robert (1909

Helpmann, Robert (1909 - 1986)

McMurdo, Don: Robert Helpmann as the Red King in Ninette de Valois' 'Checkmate', the Australian Ballet, 1986

Robert Helpmann, born in Mount Gambier, South Australia, pursued a singular career as an actor, dancer, choreographer and director beginning at an early age and continuing until just two months before his death. After taking ballet lessons in Australia from a variety of teachers, including Anna Pavlova during her Australian tours, he left for London in 1932 and over the next thirty or so years secured engagements in dance, theatre and film. His partnership with Margot Fonteyn was a major highlight of his early career in dance. He returned to Australia to perform on various occasions from 1955 onwards. He became joint artistic director of the Australian Ballet in 1965, sharing the position with Peggy van Praagh until 1974. He directed the company alone during 1975.

Helpmann made his first choreography for a dance company in 1942 when he created Comus for the Vic-Wells, later Sadler's Wells, Ballet. For the Australian Ballet he made his iconic Display in 1964, the Japanese-inspired Yugen in 1965, Sun Music in 1968 and Perisynthyon in 1974. During his co-artistic directorship of the Australian Ballet he directed, with Rudolf Nureyev, a film of Nureyev's version of the ballet Don Quixote and while sole artistic director introduced into the Australian Ballet's repertoire a successful and popular version of The Merry Widow. The works he choreographed and/or directed were always based on his philosophy that all art should be entertaining.

For more about Helpmann's career as reflected in the collections of the National Library of Australia see 'A dash of Helpmann', National Library of Australia News, October 2002.

Bibliography:

A list of Helpmann's choreography can be found in Martha Bremser (ed.), International Dictionary of Ballet, Volume 1 (Detroit: St James Press, 1993), p. 657. See also Caryl Brahms, Robert Helpmann: choreographer (London: B.T. Batsford, [1943]).

Research Materials

Address by Peggy van Praagh, 1985 (Oral history): Interviewee: van Praagh, Peggy; Audiotape, 60 mins; Address to the National Press Club, Canberra; This address was given to coincide with the publication of van Praagh's biography A Life of Dance by Christopher Sexton. Van Praagh talks about the differences between the words 'ballet' and 'dance' and discusses a number of key moments in her career including her arrival in Australia to direct the Borovansky Ballet, her involvement with the establishment of a national company and her associations with Robert Helpmann. She answers a variety of questions from the floor relating to funding for dance, choreography and her aims for dance.; van Praagh, Peggy ; Borovansky Ballet; Location:; National Library of Australia; TRC 1789

Eulogy for Edouard Borovansky and Robert Helpmann, 1988 (Oral history): Interviewer: William (Bill), Akers; Interviewee: Helpmann, Robert (Eulogy); Interviewee: Borovansky, Edouard (Eulogy); This recording consists of two eulogies delivered by Bill Akers at memorial services for Edouard Borovansky and Robert Helpmann. The recording was assembled by Akers from originals in his possession.; Akers, William (Bill) ; Borovansky, Edouard; Location:; National Library of Australia; TRC 4844
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Interview with Alan Alder, 1999 (Oral history): Interviewee: Alder, Alan; Interviewer: Michelle Potter; Audiotape; 230 mins; Alan Alder begins by speaking of his early dance training and aspirations. He goes on to describe going to London to study at the Royal Ballet School and his experiences in London, especially with the Covent Garden Opera Ballet. He then speaks about coming to Australia on tour with the Royal Ballet; some of his roles in England especially Alain in La Fille mal gardee; working with Frederick Ashton, Kenneth MacMillan and John Cranko; and Pineapple Poll. Alder goes on to describe his return to Australia to join the Australian Ballet, his first impressions of the Australian Ballet and its repertoire; returning to England for the Commonwealth Arts Festival; his thoughts on the administration of the Australian Ballet during his career with the company; and working with John Butler on Threshold. He then relates his impressions of Nureyev; touring to America; filming Nureyev's production of Don Quixote, playing the role of Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty, and his roles Cranko's Romeo and Juliet, Fool on the Hill, Billy the Kid, and Spartacus. Alder speaks about his injuries; working with Massine; studying in Leningrad; working in the Kirov system; and leaving the Australian Ballet. He then talks about the beginnings of the Western Australian Academy for the Performing Arts (WAAPA), applying for the position of head of the school of dance; the early days of the WAAPA; some of the problems of tertiary dance training; how he was not reappointed to his position in the dance school; and his aspirations for the future.; Australian Ballet, The ; Alder, Alan ; Don Quixote ; Nureyev, Rudolf ; Fool on the Hill ; Massine, Leonide ; Fille mal gardee, La ; Sleeping Beauty, The ; Pineapple Poll ; Spartacus; Location:; The Keep Dancing! Oral History Project; National Library of Australia; TRC 3827
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Interview with Barry Kitcher, 1994 (Oral history): Interviewee: Kitcher, Barry; Interviewer: Michelle Potter; Audiotape, 90 mins; Barry Kitcher discusses his career as a dancer with the Borovansky and the Australian Ballets. He begins with an account of the reunions of ex-Borovansky dancers that he has organised and goes on to talk about his early dancing experiences. He discusses his career with the Borovansky Ballet and gives his recollections of Xenia and Edouard Borovansky. He talks at length about touring witht he Borovansky Ballet and mentions some of the leading dancers including especially Kathleen Gorham. He speaks about Borovansky's death and the nature of the company after that event. He then discusses his career with the Australian Ballet speaking in particular about his role as the Lyrebird Robert Helpmann's ballet The Display and about the company's first artistic director, Peggy van Praagh.; Borovansky Ballet ; Australian Ballet, The ; Borovansky, Edouard ; van Praagh, Peggy ; Gorham, Kathleen ; Borovansky, Xenia; Location:; National Library of Australia; TRC 3102
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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.; Lawrence, Bryan ; Karin, Janet ; van Praagh, Peggy ; Australian Ballet, The ; Nureyev, Rudolf; Location:; National Library of Australia; TRC 2118
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Interview with Colin Peasley, 2000 (Oral history): Interviewee: Peasley, Colin; Interviewer: Bill Stephens; Audiotape; 590 mins; Colin Peasley discusses his early dance experiences in Sydney including his training as a ballroom dancer, his work with Gertrud Bodenwieser and Valrene Tweedie and his experiences as a dancer on television in the 1960s. He continues with an account of the early days of the Australian Ballet, the company's structure and its touring schedules. He speaks about Rudolf Nureyev and Erik Bruhn and their connections with the Australian Ballet and discusses at length the various artistic directors of the company including Peggy van Praagh, Robert Helpmann, Anne Woolliams, Marilyn Jones and Maina Gielgud. He also discusses his own career with the company as a teacher on the ballet staff, as ballet master, as regisseur general and as director of education. Other Australian Ballet personnel he talks about over the course of the interview include Margot Fonteyn, Garth Welch, Alan Alder, Ray Powell, Peter Bahen and Kelvin Coe.

Some of the topics and issues that Peasley discusses during the interview are the early financial difficulties faced by the Australian Ballet, Australian Ballet contracts over the years, the establishment of the Australian Ballet School, the company's tours especially the Commonwealth Festival tour of 1965-1966, the importance of Helpmann's ballet The Display, the foundation and importance of the Dancers Company, the dancers' strike of 1981, the dismissal of van Praagh, Helpmann and Gielgud from their positions and the nature of his own move from the ballet staff to director of education and his ideas about the company's education program. Anecdotes include stories about Raymonda, The Merry Widow and Don Quixote and Nureyev's last tour.; Australian Ballet, The ; Bodenwieser, Gertrud ; Gielgud, Maina ; Peasley, Colin ; Tweedie, Valrene ; van Praagh, Peggy ; Woolliams, Anne ; Jones, Marilyn ; Nureyev, Rudolf ; Fonteyn, Margot ; Powell, Ray ; Alder, Alan ; Coe, Kelvin ; Welch, Garth ; Display, The ; Don Quixote ; Merry Widow, The ; Raymonda; Location:; National Library of Australia; TRC 4559
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Stringer, Walter: Lucette Aldous and Gary Norman in 'Don Quixote', the Australian Ballet, 1972

Interview with Lucette Aldous, 1999 (Oral history): Interviewee: Aldous, Lucette; Interviewer: Michelle Potter; Audiotape, 270 mins; Lucette Aldous discusses her career as a dancer in Australia and overseas. She talks at length about her career with the Australian Ballet as both a guest artist and permanent member of the company. She devotes some time to a discussion of her role in Don Quixote and to the filming of that ballet with Rudolf Nureyev, Robert Helpmann and the Australian Ballet. A significant part of the interview also focuses on her teaching career with emphasis on the Boris Kniaseff system of training and her development of its floor barre for her own students .; Australian Ballet, The ; Aldous, Lucette ; Don Quixote ; Nureyev, Rudolf; Location:; The Keep Dancing! Oral History Project; National Library of Australia; TRC 3826
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Interview with Peggy van Praagh, 1973

Interview with Peggy van Praagh, 1973 (Oral history): Interviewee: van Praagh, Peggy; Interviewer: Hazel de Berg; Audiotape; 40 mins; Van Praagh discusses her arrival in Australia to direct the Borovansky Ballet, the foundation of the Australian Ballet, the role in this endeavour of the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust and the J. C. Williamson organisation, the early overseas tours by the Australian Ballet and some of the company's early productions including Robert Helpmann's work The Display. A significant part of the interview focuses on van Praagh's career before her arrival in Australia including her childhood experiences learning to dance and her professional career in London.; van Praagh, Peggy ; Borovansky Ballet ; Australian Ballet, The ; J. C. Williamson Ltd.; Location:; National Library of Australia; ORAL TRC 1/681
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Interview with Ray Powell, 1993

Interview with Ray Powell, 1993 (Oral history): Interviewee: Powell, Ray; Interviewer: Bill Stephens; Audiotape; 240 mins; Ray Powell reflects on his career in dance in both the United Kingdom and in Australia after his arrival in the 1960s to help Peggy van Praagh with the establishment of the Australian Ballet. He talks about many of the artists and teachers with whom he worked, including Ninette de Valois, Robert Helpmann, Peggy van Praagh, Frederick Ashton, Margot Fonteyn, Rudolf Nureyev and Kelvin Coe. He also talks at length about many aspects of the founding and development of the Australian Ballet including the artistic directors with whom he worked, some specific productions including Giselle and Don Quixote, the guest appearances by Fonteyn and Nureyev, and the development of an Australian dance style.; Coe, Kelvin ; Australian Ballet, The ; van Praagh, Peggy ; Fonteyn, Margot ; Powell, Ray ; Don Quixote ; Nureyev, Rudolf; Location:; National Library of Australia; TRC 2941
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Interview with Robert Helpmann, 1964

Interview with Robert Helpmann, 1964 (Oral history): Interviewee: Helpmann, Robert; Interviewer: Hazel de Berg; Audiotape; 2 mins; Helpmann speaks about his ballet The Display in particular about its Australian content and its collaborators who included Sidney Nolan and Malcolm Williamson.; Display, The ; Nolan, Sidney; Location:; National Library of Australia; deB 47
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Interview with Robert Helpmann, 1974

Interview with Robert Helpmann, 1974 (Oral history): Interviewee: Helpmann, Robert; Interviewer: Hazel de Berg; Audiotape, 66 mins; Helpmann discusses a number of ballets he mounted or choreographed for the Australian Ballet. He concentrates especially on his own works Perisynthyon, The Display and Yugen, on his staging of The Sleeping Beauty and on the production of the film Don Quixote. The interview also contains material relating to Helpmann's early life and career and his associations with a number of artists including Katharine Hepburn, Margot Fonteyn, Ninette de Valois and Peggy van Praagh. It includes with a brief statement of Helpmann's philosophy of life.

An audio extract from this interview, in which Helpmann talks about his early connection with Anna Pavlova, is contained in the National Library of Australia's online exhibition Dance people dance. See 'Early touring companies (Item 1)'.; Yugen ; Perisynthyon ; Australian Ballet, The ; Fonteyn, Margot ; van Praagh, Peggy ; Display, The ; Don Quixote ; Pavlova, Anna ; Sleeping Beauty, The; Location:; National Library of Australia; deB 773
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Interview with Romola Hanstein, 1973 (Oral history): Interviewee: Hanstein, Romola; Interviewer: Suzanne Walker; Audiotape; Hanstein begins by talking about her early life and childhood, family background and father, and her early singing training. She goes on to discuss her experiences in a touring company in the productions Wildflower and Desert Song, and travelling in New Zealand. Hanstein then talks about J. C. Williamson Ltd., the production New Moon, Gus Bluett and fellow actors, George Hyland, and Robert Helpmann. She closes the interview by discussing how she came to leave the theatre.; J. C. Williamson Ltd.; Location:; National Library of Australia; TRC 217
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Interview with William (Bill) Akers, 2002 (Oral history): Interviewer: Michelle Potter; Interviewee: Akers, Bill; Audiotape; 245 mins; In this interview Bill Akers begins by speaking of his family background and his early interest and work in the theatre. He talks in particular about working at the Rathbone Academy of Dramatic Art and joining the John Alden Shakespeare Company as actor and choreographer, his education and his first interest in dance. He goes on to give his recollections of performing in radio serials. Throughout the interview he discusses the dance companies with which he has been involved including the National Theatre Ballet, the Borovansky Ballet and the Australian Ballet and some of the artists and artistic directors with whom he has worked including Edouard Borovansky, Peggy van Praagh, Maina Gielgud, Robert Helpmann, Leon Kellaway, Rudolf Nureyev, Erik Bruhn, Kathleen Geldard, Kenneth Rowell, Anne Woolliams, John Cranko, Glen Tetley, Ross Stretton and David McAllister. Some of the dance productions he refers to, often in relation to his lighting of them, Yugen, Sun Music and The Display by Robert Helpmann, Madame Butterfly by Stanton Welch and Aurora's Wedding and The Sleeping Beauty from the classical repertoire. He concludes with a discussion of his exhibition Tutu Gorgeous and of his aspirations both for his own future and that of the Australian Ballet.; Corroboree [Dance work made to the score of John Antill] ; Kellaway, Leon ; Nureyev, Rudolf ; Akers, William (Bill) ; Australian Ballet, The ; Borovansky Ballet ; National Theatre Ballet ; Borovansky, Edouard ; van Praagh, Peggy ; Gielgud, Maina ; Woolliams, Anne ; Stretton, Ross ; Reid, Rex ; Welch, Stanton ; Display, The ; McAllister, David ; Yugen ; Madame Butterfly ; Sun Music ; Sleeping Beauty, The ; Rowell, Kenneth ; Aurora's Wedding ; Geldard, Kathleen; Location:; National Library of Australia; TRC 4839
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Research Materials Top

Other resources

Find more about Helpmann, Robert in:

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