Marilyn Rowe, the first graduate of the Australian Ballet School to be appointed its director in 1999, was recruited into the Australian Ballet Company in 1965 after completing the course in 1964. She was a principal artist with the Australian Ballet and later became ballet director, deputy artistic director and in 1984 director of the Dancers Company, a post she held until 1990. She has been on the Board of the Australian Ballet since 1994. She has directed and coached many of the leading dancers of the Australian Ballet and has produced and directed major contemporary and classical works. Other positions include that of Life Governor of the Berry St Child and Family Care since 1985. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1979 for her services to ballet in Australia.
View the full record at
Australian Women's Register
Marilyn Rowe, a Sydneysider by birth,
is director of the Australian Ballet
School. She was appointed to that position
in 1999 and is the first graduate of
the School to become its director. Prior
to this appointment Rowe taught and coached
at the School from 1984 and in 1990 was
appointed its artistic consultant.
In 1965 Rowe was invited by Peggy van
Praagh to join the Australian Ballet
after only one year at the Australian
Ballet School. She was quickly dancing
soloist roles and was promoted to principal
artist in 1969. Early in her career with
the Australian Ballet she established
an acclaimed partnership with Kelvin
Coe and she and Coe won a silver medal
for the most outstanding couple at the
Second International Ballet Competition
in Moscow in 1973. Rowe was much sought
after by choreographers working with
the Australian Ballet and had many roles
created on her, including leading roles
in Glen Tetley's
Gemini, Ronald Hynd's
The Merry Widow and Andre
Prokovsky's
Anna Karenina. During the
later phase of her Australian Ballet
career she established outstanding partnerships
with Gary Norman and John Meehan.
In 1981 she was appointed associate
director of the National Theatre Ballet
School, Melbourne and in 1982, following
a dancers' strike which eventually left
the Australian Ballet without an artistic
director, was caretaker ballet director
of the company while a search was made
for a new artistic director. In 1983
she was deputy artistic director to Maina
Gielgud. She directed the Australian
Ballet School's Dancers Company from
1984 until 1990.
Show comments and reviews from Amazon users