The Ballet Athletic

Everyone gets the handsome prince, pretty girl, tutu thing. That's what ballet is, right? Well, yes and no. In effect 'ballet' is a technical discipline, a way of dancing. The term 'contemporary ballet', then, is when big companies like the Australian Ballet break out of the classics and take on a daring programme of 'new' works. Cue Chroma, a triple bill of genre-stretching, risk-taking ballet featuring short works by some of the dance universe's brightest innovators: British dynamo Wayne McGregor, Czech maestro Jiri Kylian and OzBal's resident choreographer Stephen Baynes.

For 20-year-old Adelaide-born dancer Cristiano Martino, jumping into a challenging contemporary ballet bill in only his second year with the company is clearly an invigorating experience. “This is a really diverse programme,” he enthuses, “so it's very exciting to be a part of. I mean Wayne McGregor is one of the best contemporary ballet choreographers in the world so it's a real honour and privilege to do his work; and especially Chroma.”

Indeed, McGregor's 2006 work, which here makes its Australian debut, is recognised as one of the milestones of the genre. With cinematic music by Joby Talbot and White Stripes frontman Jack White and a consciously minimalist set by famed architect John Pewson, Chroma explodes the physical boundaries of ballet. As Martino explains it, “You really notice the physicality of ballet. I mean, you're throwing the girl left, right and centre and it's legs, arms and torsos everywhere. It's a lot of action.”

McGregor's vigorous style and more expressive movement palette typify the contemporary approach to ballet. However, it's not all gymnastics and stark white sets. “It's not so strictly, classically technical... It's more about the emotions and the movement quality.” Chroma neatly underlines that point. Whereas McGregor is all attack and power, Kylian's Mozart double, Petit Mort and Sechs Tanze, are more playful and delicate. Meanwhile, Baynes enters the fray with the world premiere of his Tchaikovsky-scored Mozart tribute, Art To Sky. Built on one of the Russian composer's lesser-known works (a paean to his hero), marrying pure classical technique to unabashed contemporary expression.

As far as Martino is concerned Chroma represents a great way for the nation's flagship ballet company to branch out. “This is a good programme for people who don't normally come to the ballet. But for those people that do really enjoy the story ballets this really showcases the idea that you can step outside the classical ballets and actually appreciate the art form even more for its physicality and emotionality... We are athletes, but we're artists as well; and this programme really shows what it is we can do with our bodies.”