The Australian Ballet - a Bait and Switch

The Australian Ballet performed last night @ Lincoln Center. The program consisted of Luminous, Dyad 1929 & Warumuk-in the dark night. Ballet dance is defined as a very formal, strict type of performance dance, typically performed to classical music with ballerinas in pointe shoes.  Luminous was a montage of various ballets by various choreographers including Nureyev.  The segue between dances was footage  from Austrian archives with a voice over informing us of the origins of ballet in Australia 50 years ago and how the Australians embraced the art form "as their own."  The entire video and voice artist were commical; reminiscient of newsreels from the 1940's and diminished the integrity of the performances.  To quote Nureyev, "I have no country, dance is my country."  However, Lumious was the only piece in the program that conformed to a ballet art form.  Dyad was a modern dance piece with blinding neon lights,  polka dotted back screen & costumes, all distracting from the barefooted dancers.  Warmuck-in the night in  the choreographer's notes "was to pay homage to the intgerity..." of the Aboriginal astronomy and culture.  The performers spent most the time lying down or rolling around the floor in tribal garb & barefooted with little artistic integrity or crediblity.  Mate, put one on the Bar B and put off seeing the Company from down under.