50th Anniversary Messages
Queensland Ballet welcomes your 50th anniversary wishes!
To send a birthday message, please email us and we'll post them here for others to share.
Thanks to all of the following people for their well-wishes:
What a wonderful achievement 50 years for a ‘small town’ classical ballet company! Charles vision has been totally fulfilled. This can only happen with a parade of dedicated people over 50 years! No mean feat and everyone over that 50 years is to be congratulated. Thanks are also due especially to a very gracious lady, Valerie Lisner, who has maintained her interest and support, and it is just marvellous that she is able to assist in the celebrations thus adding to the wonder of the occasion. Bill and I have had more than a passing interest in this company: we have been continuous subscribers since we returned from Rockhampton in 1980; it was joy to be privileged to watch our son dance with QB and into the bargain his involvement has blessed with a wonderful daughter-in-law and two delightful grandchildren. QB for us has been ‘family’; may it long continue.
Alison Semple
Thank you Queensland Ballet for giving us a company that we all love and feel completely proud of. Neal and I love to be able to boast round the world the quality of the dancers we get to enjoy here, the quality of the choreography, the intimate
Vis-a- Vis performances - we feel blessed. Here's to the next 50 years of growing and blossoming.
Professor Neal and Mrs Linda Ashkanasy.
CONGRATULATIONS Queensland Ballet Company on your 50th Birthday! My husband and I wish you very warm wishes for continuing success. We ove Queensland Ballet, it has a special warmth and personality all of its own, and we would like to let you know how much pleasure and joy we derive from attending your outstanding performances. On this, your 50th Birthday, we would like to express our thanks and appreciation to Francois for his excellent artistic leadership, for the wonderfully imaginative and different ballets he has created over the years of his tenure. Also too, we would like to express our appreciation of the imaginative and clever set designs, the marvellous costume designs and clever lighting effects which have all added to
the success of the Company. We live on the Sunshine Coast and have been subscribers since 2002 when we moved up here from Sydney. Since then we've thoroughly enjoyed every performance we've seen; it seems to us that you just keep on getting "better and better".
Once again, Sincere Congratulations, Pam Andrew.
Congratulations! And many thanks for the enjoyment you have given me over the years. I look forward to much more enjoyment in the coming years.
Sincerely, Laurie Cowled
Happy Birthday QB and may there be many more. Thank you Francois, you always give so much of yourself and we, the audience, so enjoy everything you do. All the best for the start of the next 50.
Kindest regards, Barbara Hodson
Congratulations today (April 29) and all good wishes for the next 50 years of Queensland Ballet ! My first subscription, a birthday gift from my husband, was in the 1980s when the ballet dancers trained at a gym in George Street which was a tenant of ours. But I had enjoyed many ballet performances before and continue to do so as the ballet goes from strength to strength these days. Very best wishes to all of the Queensland Ballet fpr continuted success.
Regards, Helen Withey
Many, many happy returns for your 50th birthday! What a milestone.Congratulations to the entire Queensland Ballet team.
Louise Deleur
Congratulations on your 50th Birthday! May your next 50 years be just as successful. I can remember when the Queensland Ballet started 50 years ago, and it has constantly given me and my family so much pleasure. The last 10 years especially have seen Queensland Ballet achieve wonderful things. I think it is the strong sense of being a "family" that comes across to the audience - everyone seems so happy to be doing what they are doing. A special 'thank you' to François and Judith who lead the team, and to the Friends who support them.
All the best, Elizabeth, Jill, Glenda and Belinda
As a young girl, my mother bought me Queensland Ballet season tickets every year - we would get dressed up and go to the ballet 4 - 5 times a year. They were such special nights and [it was] so inspiring to watch the dancers. Now, as an adult, it is my turn to take my mother, and this year we are again enjoying our special nights at the ballet. Thank you for all the wonderful memories; at every ballet, as the lights dim and the music starts, it feels like my first time at the ballet all over again – it’s just magic!
Sharon Graham
I have been enjoying the Ballet since 1974, when I first went with a friend to [the theatre at] Margaret Street. The friendship with the Ballet and my friend has continued all those years. I have seen the Company grow and grow as it moved to West End. Where else would you find and enjoy dance, music, superb costumes, and wonderful informative sessions? Long may it go on giving pleasure and enjoyment to all who go to Queensland Ballet - whether it be an International Gala or an informal Vis-à-vis performance. CONGRATULATIONS to all who keep the wheels turning as the years dance by!
Cecile Falvey
Congratulations on your 50th birthday, QB! Although, as [Principal Dancer] Clare Morehen's Mum, you could say I have a vested interest in the Company, I can't say how much I have enjoyed travelling up from Victoria to watch QB performances over the past 5 years. I have seen some wonderful dancers grow and develop during this time, and have enjoyed the intimate Vis-à-vis evenings, through to wonderful performances such as Swan Lake, A Midsummer's Night's Dream and A Streetcar Named Desire. François and Robyn have produced these wonderful ballets with a small company and it's great that Queensland has its own company, and that they are able to take the fascinating world of ballet to regional Queensland and beyond. I look forward to enjoying many more of your performances.
Jane Morehen
I first saw ballet in Brisbane in 1951, when I was given a ticket to a Borovansky performance of Giselle. At the time, I was an engineering undergraduate and ballet was a revelation to me - I have enjoyed it immensely ever since. So I was delighted with the formation of Queensland Ballet and the early leadership provided by the Lisners.
Emeritus Prof Mat Darveniza, AO FTSE
We love your dancing, it is so fresh and lively, and so expressive. We especially love the choreographies by François Klaus. One can see that he has worked many years in Hamburg with John Neumeier, but he has found his own very fascinating style. Warmest regards from Gabi and Helmut, Reinbek, Germany
My heartfelt congratulations on your 50th anniversary. I have been attending the ballet since I moved to Brisbane in 1992. I have had wonderful enjoyment of the Queensland Ballet, most especially since François Klaus became the artistic director… it has given me the greatest joy.
Madeleine Harasty
I arrived in Brisbane in 1974, and from that year became a regular ballet-goer. I studied ballet in Rockhampton and opened up schools here in Brisbane. My students and I went to your performances every year, and we all loved it greatly. I think my summary of Queensland Ballet would be: a first-class company which gives all their dancers a fair go.
Congratulations, Trudy Constable
Just a note to say how much I just love the Vis-à-vis series. My friend Julie and I drive for two hours each way to watch and soak up the evening. Usually, I cannot sleep following the show, as parts of the evening go over in my mind... but it is so worth it! We took my mother, Jill Killen {Cadden}, to Vis-à-vis. She had taught me ballet, and she was so impressed by the Company's musicality and interpretation, and obvious long hours of rehearsal. As a ballet teacher in Cooroy and Pomona, this [inspires me] to reach for higher things with my pupils – who will be tomorrow’s audience, or hopefully, tomorrow’s dancers.
Kristine Ditchfield, R.A.D.
Being an ardent fan of ballet, I have seen many ballet companies perform, and Queensland Ballet is certainly equal to the best. I never miss a performance when they visit Mackay, and look forward to their performance every year. Thank you for such beautiful entertainment,
Mavis Christopher
Dear Queensland Ballet,Thank you for just being there and supporting our State’s arts and culture. When I arrived from Sydney in 2001, it was wonderful to take my daughter to all your matinees, especially The Nutcracker and A Thousand and One Nights. You inspired my daughter to follow her love of ballet. Where would our little ones get such inspiration if it were not for the sacrifice of others to keep the ballet companies alive? As a child, my Mother and Grandmother took us to The Australian Ballet... and so the tradition lives on. Well done Queensland Ballet, and we will keep supporting you.
Kindest regards, Cate Scott-Hunter
Subscribing to Queensland Ballet has added a wonderful new dimension to my life. I love every performance. Congratulations.
Don Barrett
What do I love about Queensland Ballet? The dancers, of course, and the diversity of the pieces they perform, from the traditional Swan Lake to the challenging A Streetcar Named Desire, the launches (knowing in advance what to look forward to in the coming year), the costumes, the dancers’ energy (how do they keep going? I get tired looking at them, and that is just one performance!) As it is one of only two state ballet companies in Australia, I am so proud that the Queensland Ballet can represent Australia in such a wonderful and talented way.
Natasha Queensland ballet - what an amazing company you are! My annual highlight is receiving the programme for the following year, then I book the matinees for the whole year - and work my other, rather hectic social and travel life around it! Attending one of your performances takes me into fantasy land for the afternoon. Dancers, sets, lighting, music, effects, incredible choreography and those dazzling costumes that Noelene and her team create just blow me away! I leave each performance wondering ‘Can it get any better?’ And to my amazement it always does! The other members of the audience add to the experience, they are always friendly, and during a chat at interval at the Gala matinee, I found I was talking to [dancer] Terri Crilly's family! Cloudland, Carmen, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the steamy Streetcar are some of my favourites - and how could you ever forget Strawberry Lips!!? [in International Gala 09] Thank you all.
Patricia Martin
Seven years ago I took up residence in Brisbane. In that time I have been privileged to have the Queensland Ballet provide me with a world of fantasy…utter joy is all encompassing as I watch beautiful bodies moving to fabulous choreography and the perfect music is there at the very right moment…. (Thank you François)…most times, the stage settings are the icing on the cake. Sincere thanks and blessings go from me to the wonderful dancers, teachers and all the people who make Queensland Ballet the whole that is SO successful and brings so much joy and happiness to all of us in the audience… here’s to the next 50 years.
Jeanette Elliot
What I love about the Company is the friendly family feel. I appreciate the dancers’ professionalism and I especially love watching rehearsals and class [at Vis-à-vis] and seeing them striving to give of their best and helping each other. Our Australian dancers have an energy and an openness which I think is quite special. The Company is important to me because it belongs here and I can enjoy seeing and experiencing the dancers progress year by year. I can name many of the dancers, and I feel I have a relationship with a vibrant, world-standard company. This I treasure. One more thing I appreciate about the Company is its encouragement of developing choreographers, and knowing our future is in good hands. My very best anniversary wishes to you all. Enjoy the celebration and be energised to go on and on bringing your audiences an escape, much joy and delight.
Sincerely, Ruth Hamlyn-Harris