Ray Powell

Episode of Series “Dance: Videos of Australian dancers and choreographers”.
Ray Powell entered the “Sadler’s Wells Ballet Scool” in 1940 and trained with Nikolai Sergeyev. He joined the “Sadler’s Wells Ballet Company” and speaks with admiration of the leadership of Ninette de Valois and the example of professionalism set by Sir Robert Helpmann and Dame Margot Fonteyn despite the difficulties of performing in wartime London. In 1962 Peggy van Praagh invited Powell to join the “Australian Ballet” as a dancer and ballet master. He talks about the early days of the company and his memory of guest artists, including Rudolf Nureyev, Dame Alicia Markova and Anthony Tudor. In 1982, Powell became a teacher at the “Australian Ballet School” where he shares a lifetime of experience with a new generation of Australian dancers. Researched and interviewed by James Murdoch.