DOCUMENTARY ABOUT Ella Havelka – The first Aboriginal Ballerina IN THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET
I just saw this movie on Amazon Prime and was totally fascinated of the outstanding artist, ballerina, choreographer and role model Ella Havelka.
‚I think my heritage gives me a unique understanding of the way movement works and the way in which it resonates within my body,‚ she said in a report by NITV.
Ella Havelka made history in 2013 by becoming the first Indigenous dancer at the 50-year-old Australian Ballet. A descendant of the Wiradjuri people, Ella charts her inspiring journey from growing up in modest circumstances as the only child of a single mother in rural Australia to gaining entry to National Ballet School, then spending formative years with the acclaimed Bangarra Dance Theatre before accepting the invitation of The Australian Ballet’s artistic director David McAllister to join one of the world’s foremost ballet companies. – Text by themoviedb.org/movie.
„Ballerina“ ON AMAZON PRIME
Watch this fascinating story of a woman finding herself as a dancer. Documentary of first Aboriginal dancer in Australian Nat’l Ballet, her four years off pointe in a dance group that taught her a totally different style, closer to where her roots lie. Then the difficult journey back to being able to dance en pointe. – source https://www.amazon.com/Ballerina-Ella-Havelka/dp/B078XMTWT1
screenqld Ella Havelka is Australia’s first Indigenous dancer in the Australian ballet. … Ella Havelka knows that she’s not the conventional ballerina. … The proud Wiradjuri woman made Australian history in 2012 by becoming the first Aboriginal dancer in the Australian Ballet’s 50 year history.
Ella Havelka with Bangarra Dance Theatre
This is the television advertisement that I edited for the show Bangarra Terrain. The show was performed in QPAC in 2012 and it featured the dancer Ella Havelka, who went on to make history that year by becoming the first indigenous dancer to join the Australian Ballet.
Ella Havelka, Ballerina and CHOREOGRAPHER with the Australian Ballet
This week we are excited to share a brand new piece of work from dancer and choreographer Ella Havelka, with music composed by Eric Avery. Mists explores the themes of NAIDOC Week through original dance and music.
INTRODUCING ELLA
Ella is a descendant of the Wiradjuri people and in 2013 became the first Aboriginal woman to join The Australian Ballet. Born in Dubbo, Ella graduated from The Australian Ballet School in 2007 and made her first appearance with Bangarra Dance Theatre in Fire – A Retrospective in 2009. She danced with Bangarra until 2012, appearing in Mathinna, of earth & sky, Belong, Spirit and Terrain. In 2012, Ella performed in Australia and New York with Bangarra and The Australian Ballet in Warumuk – in the dark night, a collaborative work created by Stephen Page for The Australian Ballet’s 50th anniversary celebrations. She joined The Australian Ballet in 2013.
In 2016, Ella was the subject of an eponymously titled documentary centring on her dance journey, which was released at the Melbourne International Film Festival. In 2019 Ella guested with Bangarra for its 30th anniversary program; she was named most outstanding dancer in Dance Australia Magazine for her performance in Jiří Kylián’s Stamping Ground, part of that program.
REPERTOIRE HIGHLIGHTS
Grand Matron in Ronald Hynd’s The Merry Widow 2018
Peasant Pas de deux and Lead Wili in Giselle (Regional Tour) 2017, 2016
Pink Pas de deux in Jiří Kylián’s Forgotten Land 2016
Spanish Dancer in Stephen Baynes‘ Swan Lake 2016
Stomper in Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room 2015
Lead Hungarian in Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake 2015
Eclipse in Stephen Page’s Waramuk – In the Dark Night 2012.
YOU MAY NOT KNOW
Ella won a Deadly award in 2012 and a Woman of Style award in 2017. Ella practices traditional aboriginal basket weaving, choreographs and designs lino prints.
More about THE ELLA FOUNDATION ellahavelka.com
Text and photo © COPYRIGHT 2021 THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET
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