Paquita and Sylvia

 'SYLVIA' CHOREOGRAPHER IS  MARILYN JONES O.B.E.

Program Introduction by Phyllis Danaher

Ballet Theatre exists to develop and mature as artists students of ballet, stage design and music by giving them the opportunity to perform, create for and play in a professional theatre such as Her Majesty’s. It also exists to give pleasure to you, the audience.

The encouragement of talent is all important; one of the greatest needs in ballet today is the development of choreographers. Miss Marilyn Jones O.B.E. is well known and loved by Australian audiences for her dancing. Last November Ballet Theatre was fortunate in securing her services as Guest Ballet Mistress for its season of ‘Les Sylphides’ and ‘Coppelia’; for this season she accepted the commission to choreograph and produce the three act ballet ‘Sylvia’. It is with pleasure and great excitement that Ballet Theatre is able today to present her finished work for you. The decor for this ballet is by well known Melbourne artist Nathalie Hearman.

In addition William Gill of Sydney has choreographed for Ballet Theatre a short brilliant classical pas de deux ‘Paquita’.

In presenting these two ballets Ballet Theatre wishes to acknowledge its appreciation of a special grant it has received from the Australia Council for the Arts towards meeting some of the costs of these three professional artists. It also wishes to acknowledge its indebtedness to the Queensland State Government for its continuing support by way of grants – for this financial year receiving a grant of $8000 from the Department of Education and Cultural Affairs.

Ballet Theatre’s very policy of encouragement to the student to develop and mature results in a high turnover of advanced students. Graeme Collins, a principal dancer in our last production has been accepted by the London Festival Ballet; Miss Cheryl Boorman, who received special praise for her dancing in ‘Les Sylphides’ last November and who is dancing here today, leaves for London in May. Cheryl has been accepted into the Royal Ballet School. Miss Shauna Pollard is no longer with Ballet Theatre, having been accepted into the Australian Ballet School.

Source: ‘Paquita’ and ‘Sylvia’ program

Sylvia, a three act ballet, was originally produced in Paris in 1976 to the music of Leo Delibes, the composer of the music of Coppelia.

Marilyn Jones OBE was commissioned to reproduce this ballet for Ballet Theatre with her own choreography; the Melbourne artist Nathalie Hearman designed the costumes and scenery.

Principals for the season were Robert Barlow, formerly of the Australian Ballet Company and Peter Lucas as Guest Artists with Inara Svalbe and Judy Lowe.

Paquita, a short classical ballet, was choreographed by William Gill of Sydney.

Sylvia was received with acclaim – audiences regarding it as one of the most delightful ballets to be shown in Brisbane: so many requests have been received that Miss Jones has been commissioned to reproduce her ballet for our next season at Her Majesty’s Theatre.

Extract from Artistic Director Phyllis Danaher’s 1974 Annual Report