N.Z. conductor and dancer on tour

Press, 9 June 1982, Page 15

N.Z. conductor and dancer on tour

NZPA staff correspondent L ondon When the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet company tours New Zealand in September, among its members will be two New Zealanders who will be performing for the first time before home audiences.

Ashley Lawrence, as musical director of the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden, will precede the rest of the company to rehearse the New Zealand orchestras that will perform with, the ballet. Although Mr Lawrence usually conducts only with the resident company’at Covent Garden, he is making this trip with Sadler's Wells (the. touring company of the Royal Ballet) for the chance to return to New Zealand after 26 years. In spite of being a frequent guest conductor with the Paris Opera ballet — he worked with it on its tour of Russia — Mr Lawrence admits to feeling apprehensive about performing in New Zealand.

“I have never appeared professionally in New Zealand and you always feel a little nervous when you know friends and family are out there watching you,” he said. “you really want to do your best.”

Lawrence is uncertain about what to expect in New Zealand, and has been a little wary about returning, fear-

ing the changes to the country he fondly remembers. “You like to have your memories and to feel nostalgic about a place,"-he said. Mr Lawrence left Auckland in 1956, to take up a scholarship 1 at the Royal College. of Music, where he studied piano and conducting. Further study in Switerland under the conductor, Raphal Kubelik, followed before .he joined the Royal Ballet in 1962 as conductor with the touring company. Mr Lawrence became musical director of the Stuttgart Ballet in 1966, and the same, year principal conductor of the 8.8. C. Concert Orchestra.

He returned to the Royal Ballet in 1972 as principal conductor at Covent Garden and the next year became musical director. While Mr Lawrence conducts the orchestra, on stage will be Sherilyn Kennedy, a principal - dancer with the company'who is also a NewZealander.

Ms Kennedy was accepted for the Royal Ballet school in 1973 after studying at the New Zealand National Ballet School. The next year she joined Sadler’s Wells, being promoted to soloist in 1978 and principal dancer in September, 1980.

“The company 'has always been very good to me and given me many roles to do which I did not think I could dance,” she said.

Ms Kennedy considers one of the highlights and turning points of her career was her selection to dance “Odette/ Odile” in the company's new production of “Swan Lake," "I was totally overcome by my emotions. I really did not think I had it there to dance 'Swan Lake,’ she said.

“Now I would like to dance some more of the great dramatic roles that before always used to frighten me."

One of Ms Kennedy’s regrets on the approaching tour of New Zealand is that she will not dance a complete ballet. “It would have been good to be able to let people see me dance a full ballet but it looks as though we will be doing selected pieces from a number of different ballets." Like Mr Lawrence, Ms Kennedy is also apprehensive about dancing in front of a New Zealand audience. “I am nervous about the tour of New Zealand. They have not seen me dance there since I left the National Ballet School and I want to do my best," she said.

The Sadler's Wells company prides itself on producing exactly, wherever it is performing in the world, the same performance that is seen on the London stage. “The only concession it is prepared to make is to cut down on the sets if they sometimes cannot fit on to a stage,” Mr Lawrence said.