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

Other resources

Find more about Helpmann, Robert in:

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