Today we are speaking with the divine Brooke Casson. Brooke Lockett, as she was known throughout her career, grew up in Ballarat and had a dream run to the stage. She was accepted into the Australian Ballet School by the age of 14, and then straight into the company on graduation. In this beautiful and brave interview, Brooke speaks about her career at the Australian Ballet. We speak about promotions, about being the face of the company, the perception of rank and about hard conversations, but we also talk about so much more about new careers, about meeting her husband, becoming a mom. 

Brooke continues to direct and teach at her Studio in Rose Bay in Sydney. For class times, and to sign up, head to studio696.com.au or @Studio696x on Instagram. And to continue to follow all of Brooke's wonderful adventures, you can find her on Instagram at @brookecassen.

Brooke and I recorded our conversation on the lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation, to whom we pay our greatest respects.

Production dream team ✨

Hosted by @byclaudialawson

Produced by @fjordreview

Additional Production @clinttopic

Sound & Editing @outputmedia

Studios @brightsidesydney

@sawtoothstudios

Today we’re speaking with the phenomenal Shaun Parker. Shaun’s path to artistic director and choreographer of an internationally renowned contemporary dance company is totally unexpected. Shaun grew up on a farm in Mildura in regional Victoria, but he had a double life in dance, theatre and singing. After finishing high school, Shaun went on to study science at Monash University in Melbourne until a sliding doors moment— Shaun saw a dance rehearsal in a university lecture room, and the rest is history. In this wonderful interview, Shaun talks about dropping out of uni, returning to the studio to train in dance, and about dancing professionally with the likes of Meryl Tankard, Australian Dance Theater and Chunkymove. But Shaun also speaks about a lot more; of his marriage, later identifying as bisexual, about toxic masculinity, and finally about finding his purpose in starting the internationally acclaimed Shaun Parker & Company.  

Production dream team ✨

Hosted by @byclaudialawson

Produced by @fjordreview

Additional Production @clinttopic

Sound & Editing @outputmedia

Studios @brightsidesydney

@sawtoothstudios

Today we're speaking with the divine Danielle Rowe. Dani grew up in South Australia, and by 14 she had moved interstate to train [in ballet] under Marie Walton Mann. Within a year of that, she'd been accepted into the Australian Ballet School, and on graduation, she was offered a position with the company, but the accolades didn't stop. Dani rose to principal artist, won the Telstra Ballet Dancer award twice, and represented the Australian Ballet company around the world from London to China. But in a move that defines the superstars trajectory, she wanted more. She left Australia and moved to the US, joining Houston Ballet as a principal artist. Less than a year later, she was offered a contract with a prestigious Netherlands Dance Theater. In this wondrous conversation, Dani and I talk about her career across three continents, how she found choreography, about managing long distance relationships, her want for a family, and ultimately how she became the first female artistic director of Oregon Ballet Theater. 

Production dream team ✨

Hosted by @byclaudialawson

Produced by @fjordreview

Additional Production @clinttopic

Sound & Editing @outputmedia

Studios @brightsidesydney

@sawtoothstudios

On our first episode of season three, I'm speaking with the former principal dancer of the Australian Ballet, the much loved Adam Bull. Adam grew up in outer Melbourne and by a stroke of luck, his primary school teacher at his local school suggested he try dance. He did, and it became a love affair that has lasted a lifetime. By the time he was a teenager, he was training under Brian Nolan at Dance World 3 0 1 before joining the Australian Ballet School and then being accepted straight into the Australian Ballet. In this wonderful interview recorded just five days before Adam's final performance in Melbourne. Adam reflects on his career, he speaks of his early life growing up, dancing, joining the company, and of course making principal. But we also talk about more about love, about his onstage relationship with Amber Scott, his thoughts on marriage and what it feels like to dance for the national company for 22 years. 

Talking Pointes was recorded on traditional lands of the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation, Awabakal and Worimi. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Country and recognise the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We recognise that sovereignty was never ceded.

Production dream team ✨

Hosted by @byclaudialawson

Produced by @fjordreview

Additional Production @clinttopic

Sound & Editing @outputmedia

Studios @brightsidesydney

@sawtoothstudios

This week we head to Boston, where I'm speaking with Boston Ballet's legendary principal dancer, John Lam. John has the most incredible story: His Vietnamese parents were refugees who settled in the US and John, together with his brother and sister grew up in relative poverty in California. Traditional family values meant education was key in John's family, but he accidentally found dance as a young boy when his daycare offered it as an extra activity. And from there, the love affair began. John went on to train at Canada's National Ballet School, and on graduation was offered a position at the Boston Ballet. In this wondrous and beautiful conversation, John talks about the joys of dance, about finding his sexuality and the moment he came out to his parents. But we also talk about more about navigating race and racism in ballet, about meeting his husband, becoming a dad to their two boys, and John's hopes that his parents will one day see him dance.

Trigger Warning

This episode discusses ideas around suicide. For help for depression and anxiety, turn to Beyond Blue at beyondblue.org.au

Talking Points is produced on the lands of the Gadigal and the Wanegal peoples to whom we pay our greatest respects. Talking Points is produced by Fjord Review. Remember to subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as they're released. If you like us, please leave a five-star review. On the next episode of Talking Points, you'll hear from Dana Stephenson.

Your host and producer is me, Claudia Lawson, with additional production by Penelope Ford and Clint Topic. Sound production and editing is by Martin Peralta at Output Media. For the latest in all things dance, head to fjordreview.com.

Production dream team ✨

Hosted by @byclaudialawson

Produced by @fjordreview

Additional Production @clinttopic

Sound & Editing @outputmedia

Studios @brightsidesydney

@sawtoothstudios

For our bonus episode this season, we’re catching up with the Australian Ballet’s Artistic Director David Hallberg. Last season, David and I spoke about his life growing up in South Dakota, being bullied, training at the Paris Opera, becoming principal at American Ballet Theatre, and being the first American to be invited to dance with the Bolshoi Ballet in Russia. We talked about climbing back from his epic injury, his head space at that time, before taking over the Artistic Directorship of the Australian Ballet right in the middle of Covid. A year later we talk about what it's been like to be artistic director now that theatres are open and audiences are back, about what kind of as dancers he selects for the company, how he decides who will be promoted, the Australian Ballet's 60th anniversary, and life in Australia.

If you’d like to read more about David’s life, find our full conversation in the show notes, or you can read his autobiography called A Body of Work: Dancing to the Edge and Back. For Australian Ballet updates you can find them on Instagram at @ausballet and to continue to follow David’s adventures, you’ll find him on Instagram at @davidhallbergofficial

David and I recorded remotely, with David dialling in from Melbourne, the land of the Kulin people, with recording and production on the land of the Awabakal and Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, to all of whom to which we pay our greatest respects.

Production dream team ✨

Hosted by @byclaudialawson

Produced by @fjordreview

Additional Production @clinttopic

Sound & Editing @outputmedia

Studios @brightsidesydney

@sawtoothstudios

30 years ago this year, a small independent film, by a first time director, and an unknown cast, hit our screens. That film was Strictly Ballroom. And so, for our final episode of Season 2 of Talking Pointes, I’m speaking with the legendary Paul Mercurio. Paul was born in Swan Hill in regional Victoria and started dancing after he saw his elder sister in a local dance class. With dad off the scene early, the family moved to Perth where Paul continued to train at the John Curtin Senior High School as it was known then, before, at 18, being accepted in the Australian Ballet School in Melbourne. But in a rebel move, he joined Sydney Dance Company before graduating, it was the golden era of Graeme Murphy’s directorship. It was a position he held for ten years, as a principal dancer, muse and choreographer. During his later years Sydney Dance Company, Paul received a call from an unknown director called Baz Lurhmann who asked him to help choreograph on a dance film. It was a call that changed his life. In this wonderfully honest interview, Paul talks about his early years in dance, his “angry man” years as he calls them—where he wrote poetry, smoked weed, and rode motorbikes. We also talk about how Strictly Ballroom came to be, the behind the scene, and how the film changed his life. Finally we talk new careers, raising a family, and his plans for making a more inclusive community in his local area.

Paul and I recorded remotely, with Paul dialling in from Melbourne on the land of the Kulin people. Paul’s episode was produced in Sydney on the land of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation, to whom we pay our greatest respects.

Production dream team ✨

Hosted by @byclaudialawson

Produced by @fjordreview

Additional Production @clinttopic

Sound & Editing @outputmedia

Studios @brightsidesydney

@sawtoothstudios

Today I’m speaking with the divine Jenna Roberts. Jenna grew up in Newcastle and started dancing only because a local ballet studio set up shop on the same street as her family home.  But as fortune would have it, that local studio happened to be the Marie Walton Mahon Dance Academy, as it was known back then. And so Jenna, and little sister Callie, started dancing. For any outsider, it was clear the Robert’s sisters were born to dance—with high arches and long, lean legs, genetics almost pre-determined their careers. By the time Jenna was a teen, she was winning scholarships and accolades before, at 16, she was accepted into the Royal Ballet School in London.

In this courageous and extraordinary conversation, Jenna reveals it’s not always as it seems—we talk about tough years at Royal Ballet School, about crippling home sickness, and then rising to become a principal artist with the Royal Birmingham Ballet. But more than that, Jenna also speaks about the pressures that continue to exist on body image in the dance world—and with that her own experience taking laxatives, the passing of her mum, and her decision to retire at the peak of her career on her own terms. Finally Jenna speaks about her years of infertility and IVF, before making a wonderful and unexpected life decision with her husband, Joe.

Jenna and her husband Joe Caley have just relocated from London, and are now based in Melbourne—where Joe has joined the Australian Ballet as their newest principal artist. Jenna continues to coach and teach the rising starts of dance, all while running her own Pilates studio tailored for dancers and athletes. To continue follow all of Jenna’s adventures, you can find her on Instagram at @Jenna_Caley_Pilates

Jenna and I recorded remotely, with Jenna dialling in from Melbourne on the land of the Kulin people. Jenna’s episode was produced in Sydney on the land of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation, to whom we pay our greatest respects.

Production dream team ✨

Hosted by @byclaudialawson

Produced by @fjordreview

Additional Production @clinttopic

Sound & Editing @outputmedia

Studios @brightsidesydney

@sawtoothstudios

Today I’m speaking with Beau Dean Riley Smith. Beau was born on Wiradjuri Country in Dubbo, Western NSW. But as a little kid the family moved to Culburra on the NSW South Coast where Beau spent his childhood surrounded by siblings, love and chaos while growing up at the beach. Beau didn’t learn to dance as a kid, instead he studied drama in high school, before being accepted into the performance program at WAPPA—the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in Perth. It was a transformative year in which Beau’s world exploded, and led to Beau auditioning for drama programs across the country, including NIDA—but Beau didn’t get in, and so, in a surprise move, and with no dance experience, Beau auditioned for NAISDA—and was accepted. In this extraordinary conversation, Beau reveals his journey to joining Bangarra, his struggles with body image and weight, and his difficulties accepting the Helpmann Award for Best Male Dancer which coincided with the death of his sister. We also talk about the gravity of performing on Country, the pride and pressure that comes with that, and, in an unexpected announcement, Beau reveals that after nearly a decade with Bangarra he plans to leave the Company and reveals who he’s signed with next.

Beau continues to perform with Bangarra, but after more than a decade will leave the Company at the end of this year to join the Sydney Theatre Company. For Bangarra tour dates and to see Beau’s final performances head to bangarra.com.au, and for Sydney Theatre Company tickets it's sydneytheatre.com.au. And to continue to follow all of Beau’s adventures, you’ll find him on Insta at @beaudrsmith.

Beau and I met and recorded in Sydney on the land of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation, to whom we pay our greatest respects.

Production dream team ✨

Hosted by @byclaudialawson

Produced by @fjordreview

Additional Production @clinttopic

Sound & Editing @outputmedia

Studios @brightsidesydney

@sawtoothstudios

Today I’m speaking with Mary Li, ballet mistress and principal répétiteur at the Queensland Ballet. Mary's story to the stage is an unlikely one—one of eight children, Mary grew up in a small town in Central Queensland called Rockhampton. She was the first person in her family to try ballet, but by the age of 16—the day after completing her Solo Seal exam—she flew to London after being accepted into Royal Ballet School. Her star continued to rise, on graduation Mary was accepted into London Festival Ballet, now the English National Ballet—and was made principal within four years. But it was a chance move to Houston Ballet in the United States that saw the course of her life change again—when she crossed paths with another principal dancer, Li Cunxin—they would go on to marry, and dance together all over the globe. In this wonderfully brave conversation, Mary opens up about her career, meeting her husband and learning of his life, and their decision to have children. But Mary also talks about the devastating decision to leave her career after her eldest child was found to be hearing impaired, the grief she suffered knowing her child would never hear music, reuniting with the stage at the Queensland Ballet, and now choosing to learn AUSLAN with her eldest daughter Sophie.

Mary continues to train and teach the principal artists of Queensland Ballet, all the while juggling life with Li and their three grown up children, Sophie, Tom and Bridie. Mary continues to learn AUSLAN, and her book Mary’s Last Dance is available on Audible and in all good bookshops. If you'd like to listen to Li's conversation with me, please scroll down to Episode 5 of Talking Pointes, and we'll also pop the link in the show notes—and finally, to continue to follow all of Mary’s adventures, you'll find her on Instagram.

Mary and I recorded remotely, with Mary dialling in from Brisbane. This episode was produced in Sydney on the land of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation to whom we pay our greatest respects.

Production dream team ✨

Hosted by @byclaudialawson

Produced by @fjordreview

Additional Production @clinttopic

Sound & Editing @outputmedia

Studios @brightsidesydney

@sawtoothstudios

Today I am speaking with Steven McRae, Principal Dancer with the Royal Ballet, London. Steven grew up in Western Sydney, in a suburb called Plumpton, 45kms West of Sydney. His Dad was a drag car racer, and no one in the family had ever learnt to dance. But somehow, dance found Steven, And at the age of 7, he asked his Mum and Dad if he could start dance lessons and he enrolled in a local studio around the corner from home. It was a life changing decision. By 17, he had not only won the Genée and the Prix de Lausanne, he was standing alone in London having been accepted into the Royal Ballet School—his heartbroken mother on the plane home. In this beautifully candid conversation, Steven talks about his journey to Principal at the Royal Ballet by the age of 23— and that, it’s not all as it seems; he speaks about early bullying, crippling home sickness, not always fitting in, and devastating injuries.

But Steven speaks of more than that; he talks about starting his own family with his wife Elizabeth Harrod—also a dancer at the Royal Ballet, his post retirement plans, and the moment he snapped his Achilles tendon live on stage in front of 2,500 people, and how he climbed back from the impossible, to perform with the Royal Ballet once again.

Steven continues to perform as a Principal Artist with the Royal Ballet in London, all the while juggling life with his wife Elizabeth and their 3 children Audrey, Frederick and Rupert. If you’re in London, the Royal Ballet is back on stage, for show times and tickets head to roh.org.uk, and to follow all of Steven’s adventures, you can follow him @StevenMcRae_

Steven and I recorded our conversation remotely, with Steven dialling in from London, while the podcast recorded on the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation, to whom we pay our greatest respects.

Production dream team ✨

Hosted by @byclaudialawson

Produced by @fjordreview

Additional Production @clinttopic

Sound & Editing @outputmedia

Studios @brightsidesydney

@sawtoothstudios

Production dream team ✨

Hosted by @byclaudialawson

Produced by @fjordreview

Additional Production @clinttopic

Sound & Editing @outputmedia

Studios @brightsidesydney

@sawtoothstudios