Australia Dancing - Taylor, Jonathan (1941

Taylor, Jonathan (1941 - )

Jonathan Taylor began dancing at an early age in his home town of Manchester. He studied the syllabus of the Royal Academy of Dancing for several years and won the Academy's Adeline Genee medal. Taylor continued his dance training in London with Andrew Hardie and Stanislaw Idzikowski and joined Leonide Massine's Ballet European di Nervi in 1959. The following year he danced with the Dutch National Ballet before joing Ballet Rambert. He began his choreographic career with the Rambert company in 1965 when he created Diversities. 'Tis Goodly Sport followed in 1970 along with Listen to the Music in 1972.

Taylor began a career as a freelance choreographer and director in 1973. He staged plays, ballets and musicals for English televsion and for the stage and choreographed a work for Netherlands Dans Theater. He came to Australia in 1975 to choreograph Star's End for Ballet Victoria.

In 1976 Taylor was invited to reform Australian Dance Theatre and the revitalised company under his direction gave its first performances in 1977. The first appearance by the company was at Come Out '77 in Adelaide in May, which was followed by a season at Her Majesty's Theatre in June and a tour of country areas of Victoria and South Australia in July and August. During his directorship of Australian Dance Theatre Taylor introduced not only many new works of his own creation but many by English colleagues who had also worked with the Rambert company, in particular Christopher Bruce (Wings and Weekend both staged for Australian Dance Theatre in 1977) and Norman Morrice (Seven Songs and Solo both in 1977). Taylor also produced the work of Julia Blaikie, the company's ballet mistress, and Joseph Scoglio, Taylor's assistant director. Taylor was artistic director of Australian Dance Theatre until 1985. In 1988 he was appointed Dean of Dance at the Victorian College of the Arts and worked at the College until 1997.

Research Materials

Ephemera | Moving picture | Oral history | Picture | All

Other resources

Find more about Taylor, Jonathan in:

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