Ballet Sycophantes

Ballet Sycophantes
Vicki, Emma and Tasha feature in this shot from Ballet Sycophantes

From 1989 to 1997 I worked collaboratively with students in my dance ensembles to create contemporary and jazz works which we performed at regional and state dance festivals. I owe so much of the success of these works to the spirit of the dancers – Donna, Vicki, Kylie F, Lara, Belynda, Tasha, Paul, Sophie, Tiffany, Kylie C, Elisa, Kelly and Elizabeth – just to name a few. So many others were instrumental in musicals and Rock Eisteddfods, but that is for another post.

Ballet Sycophantes was one of my favourite works, not least because of the bum wiggle which (if memory serves correctly) was included in the dance after Tasha got bored and was doing her own impro to the music (Ode to Joy), throwing in her bum wiggles to the music. That moment shifted the whole concept to a parody, which was well-recieved by audiences.

Chris’s world

Detail of Chris Wauchop's Centurion tank
Detail of Chris Wauchop's Centurion tank

My husband, Chris Wauchop, is well-known to the modelling (hobby) world. His particular forte is airbrushing and weathering and his passion is for building WW2 aircraft, but also very competent with armour modelling and science fiction/fantasy figures. His attention to realism and detail are beyond belief. The shovels in this image from the Centurion tank are about 25mm. He constructs and paints the interior cockpits of 1:32/1:48 scale aircraft in full detail – it is almost impossible to see the detail without using a magnifying glass. This is usually many hours of intense work. That’s inspiring!