Australia Dancing - Coe, Kelvin (1946

Coe, Kelvin (1946 - 1992)

Stringer, Walter: Kelvin Coe in 'Giselle' Act I, the Australian Ballet, 1976

Kelvin Coe was the first male artist to rise through the ranks of the Australian Ballet from most junior dancer to principal artist. Coe joined the Australian Ballet as an apprentice in 1962 and was promoted to soloist in 1965 and principal dancer in 1969. Early in his career he was cast by Rudolf Nureyev in Raymonda and Robert Helpmann in Sun Music. With Marilyn Rowe he won a silver medal at the 1973 Moscow International Ballet Competition, which firmly established the Rowe-Coe partnership. Coe also had highly regarded stage partnerships with Kathleen Geldard and Lucette Aldous and he partnered many internationally acclaimed ballerinas, including Carla Fracci and Galina Samsova, in guest appearances with the Australian Ballet.

Coe spent 1974 dancing with London's Festival Ballet and guesting with several companies in the United States. He returned to the Australian Ballet and continued to carve out a strong career but resigned from the company in 1981 as a result of the now-infamous dancers' strike in which, as the company's most senior artist, he was deeply involved. He subsequently worked with Sydney Dance Company scoring particular success in works such as Homelands (1982) created especially for him by Graeme Murphy. From 1983 onwards he returned to the Australian Ballet on a number of occasions as a guest artist. His performances, however, were rare after 1988 when he danced in the Australian Ballet's bicentennial gala season at Covent Garden. In 1985 Coe joined the faculty of the Australian Ballet School and taught there until 1991. He died of an AIDS-related illness in 1992.

Bibliography:

Lee Christofis (ed), 'Just a tap dancing kid: an interview with Kelvin Coe recorded by Michelle Potter in 1992', Brolga, 2 (June 1995), pp. 30-53

Research Materials

Other resources

Find more about Coe, Kelvin in:

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