Australia Dancing - Moreland, Barry (1940

Moreland, Barry (1940 - )

Stringer, Walter: Portrait of Barry Moreland in make-up for an unidentified production, 1970s

Barry Moreland was born in Melbourne, where he studied at the Box Hill Technical School, before beginning his career at J. C. Williamson Ltd., at age fourteen, as an office boy for Frank Tait. After taking drama and movement classes with Gertrude Johnson at the National Theatre, Moreland began his dance training at the Borovansky Ballet Academy.

Moreland's first professional engagement as a dancer was with the Borovansky Ballet in 1960 under Peggy van Praagh. He subsequently joined the Ballet Guild for a season touring country Victoria, before joining the Australian Ballet as a foundation member in 1962. In 1964 Moreland travelled to London, where he performed in a number of West End musicals, including Hello Dolly with Gar Champion and Fiddler on the Roof with Jerome Robbins. He also studied drama with George Devine at the Royal Court Theatre. Moreland launched his choreographic career with his first work, based on Anton Chekov's Three Sisters, at the London Contemporary Dance School. Later Moreland became a foundation member of this company, which was renamed the London Contemporary Dance Theatre. Moreland choreographed a number of works for the company include Nocturnal Dances to a commissioned score by Maxwell Davies. After leaving the company, Moreland was invited by Glen Tetley to perform in Circles, for the Hamburg Opera Ballet in 1971.

Later in the 1970s Moreland joined the London Festival Ballet under Beryl Grey, initially as a soloist, before developing his choreographic career with the company. Choreographic works by Moreland during this period included Summer Solstice, lit by John B. Reid, In Nomine, designed by Nadine Bayliss, to the music of Peter Maxwell Davies, Dark Voyage designed by Moreland to music by Erik Satie, and Prodigal Son (in Ragtime) (1974) to music by Scott Joplin and Hossack, which Moreland toured to Australia with the company in 1975.

In 1976 he began a freelance career as a choreographer in England, Europe and the United States, returning periodically to Australia to create works such as Sacred Space and Trocadero (1979) for the Australian Ballet, and Dialogues (1980) for Sydney Dance Company.

Moreland returned to live in Australia during 1982 and worked with Sydney Dance Company for whom he choreographed Daisy Bates. He was appointed artistic director of West Australian Ballet in 1983 and directed that company until 1997. As director of West Australian Ballet he commissioned work from many Australian choreographers, composers and designers including Jacqui Carroll, Elizabeth Hill, Carl Morrow, Chrissie Parrott, Edmund Stripe, and Garth Welch. Moreland also made a significant opus of works himself for West Australian Ballet including Spindrift (1983), Alice in Wonderland (1984), Romeo and Juliet (1985), Afternoon of a Faun (1985), Seven Deadly Sins (1987), Orpheus (1987), Celestial Mirror (1988), Lady of the Camellias (1989), A Midsummer Nights Dream (1991), and Hamlet (1993). Since 1997 Moreland has worked as a freelance choreographer.

Bibliography:

Extracts from Barry Moreland's oral history interview for the National Library are published as 'Brief thoughts' in Brolga 16 (June 2002), pp. 45-48.

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