Page 2937 - Week 09 - Thursday, 18 August 2005
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So, to all those who were involved, it was a tremendous event. There were 54 young men and women aged between 13 and 26. They came from and had different backgrounds and styles. The great thing about this year’s Quantum Leap production was the expanded exchange program that they conducted whereby 10 dancers from Thailand, New Zealand, Victoria and regional New South Wales joined the Quantum Leap troupe for the last month of production. Out of that they learned about what was going on in other jurisdictions and were able to show what was going on in the ACT.
In the program for the evening, Ruth Osborne, the artistic director, stated:
Reckless Valour is an excellent example of a successful collaboration between choreographers, composers, film-makers, dramaturge, the dancers, designers and the production team. It is inspiring to work with such an enthusiastic, energetic and totally committed team of artists of all ages. I hope this year’s theme and the idea of young people expressing their thoughts through movement will inspire you and that you will enjoy their performances as much as they enjoyed performing for you.
The audience certainly did enjoy it. This has been the fifth year of Quantum Leap and there are some young performers, including a large number of young male performers, who have been in all of those productions. It is important to note that the participation of young Canberra males in dance is extremely large. We need to keep in mind that it is something we do very well in the ACT.
The program, and the Australian Choreographic Centre, was supported by Bearcage Productions, Healthpact, ACT Cultural Facilities Corporation, the Royal New Zealand Ballet, Minter Ellison, Ebanc Trade, Quantum Leap Parents and Friends, the Quantum Ideas Bureau, Recon Furniture, the Vikings rugby union club, Beringer Blass Wines, National Capital Press, the Australian War Memorial, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Reliance Automotive, TDK Security, Goanna Printing, Elizabeth More, the Maxted family, the Village Building Company, ActewAGL and the Winbank family. The important thing to note there is the overwhelming support from across Canberra for the Australian Choreographic Centre and the Quantum Leap dance troupe, and the work that they do with young Canberrans, in a large and real way, to facilitate culture, to question issues that are important to young people and to perform and dance and entertain the rest of the city. They do it very well.
VP Day
MRS DUNNE (Ginninderra) (5.24): On Monday of this week I had the privilege to attend with my younger children the 60th anniversary of VP Day. It represented the combination of a highly successful weekend of very moving, very impressive celebrations. For the veterans, it was a celebration of thanks. The Australians who fought in World War II were part of a struggle to preserve not just their own way of life but quite literally our civilisation. Even those who came back physically unscathed paid a high price. I know because, among all the others, I am talking about several of my uncles in a close-knit family.
We should not deny the survivors the opportunity of a celebration and, if they can remember the positive aspects of that time, as manifestly they can, we should be grateful.
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