Ella Havelka
Ella Havelka | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1989 (age 34–35) Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia |
| Education | Australian Ballet School |
| Occupation | ballet dancer |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Career | |
| Current group | The Australian Ballet |
| Former groups | Bangarra Dance Theatre |
| Website | www |
Ella Havelka (born 1989)[1] is an Australian ballet dancer who is the first Indigenous person to join The Australian Ballet.
Early life
[edit]Havelka was born in Dubbo, New South Wales, and is a descendant of the Wiradjuri people. She was raised by a single mother.[1] She started ballet at a local studio after she watched a video of Swan Lake.[2][3] At age 15, Havelka and her mother moved to Melbourne to train at the Australian Ballet School[4] and graduated in 2007.[1]
Career
[edit]After graduating from the Australian Ballet School, she was not offered a place with The Australian Ballet.[5] Therefore, in 2009, she joined Bangarra Dance Theatre, an Indigenous Australian contemporary dance company, and made her debut with Fire – A Retrospective, and continued to perform in the company's other productions.[2]
In 2012, Havelka danced Stephen Page's Warumuk – in the dark night, a collaboration between Bangarra and The Australian Ballet, in honour of the latter's 50th anniversary. The following year, she joined The Australian Ballet, at the invitation of artistic director David McAllister, making her the first indigenous person to do so.[6] In 2019, she returned to Bangarra as a guest for its 30th anniversary.[2][7]
Havelka was the subject of the documentary film Ella, which premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival in 2016.[3] In 2018, arranged by the Australian Consulate-General, she visited Nouméa, New Caledonia for NAIDOC (National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee).[8]
Outside of dancing, Havelka learnt weaving when a production requires her to weave her own mat, she later started making and selling Aboriginal woven baskets to raise funds for Oxfam Australia. She also makes jewellery and linocuts.[7][9]
Awards
[edit]Havelka won the Deadly Award dancer of the year in 2013[10] and the Women of Style Award in 2017.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Mitchell, Melissa; Courier, Wentworth (21 November 2016). "Australia's first indigenous ballet dancer's story brought to life on silver screen". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ a b c Ogayar, Renata (July 2020). "Aware of the journey: Ella Havelka leaps from The Australian Ballet to Bangarra Dance Theatre and back again". Dance Informa. Archived from the original on 13 September 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ a b Verass, Sophie (5 August 2016). "From Dubbo to Documentary: Wiradjuri ballet dancer Ella Havelka's groundbreaking story". National Indigenous Television. Archived from the original on 13 September 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ "About". Ella Havelka. Archived from the original on 10 July 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ Brennan, Bridget (10 August 2016). "Ella Havelka's journey to become Australian Ballet's first Indigenous dancer". ABC News. Archived from the original on 13 September 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ Akerman, Tessa (27 August 2016). "Role model as crucial as roles for Evie's dream". Weekend Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. [Canberra, A.C.T]. p. 3 – via ProQuest.
- ^ a b c "Ella Havelka Honoured". DanceLife Australia. 19 May 2017. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ "Because of her, we can – the inspiring story of Australian ballerina Ella Havelka". Australian Consulate-General in Noumea. Archived from the original on 7 March 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ Albert, Jane (28 January 2014). "Ella Havelka's Woven Magic". Broadsheet. Archived from the original on 10 July 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- ^ "2013 Deadly Awards Winners". Deadly Awards. Archived from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.