Summer Soirée with
Paul Boyd

Paul Boyd has choreographed for some of the world's most prestigious companies: The Australian Ballet, Basel Ballet, Operder Stadt Boon, Queensland Ballet, and John Neumeier’s Bundesjugendballett in Hamburg to name a few, but Queensland Ballet Academy's Summer Soirée offers a unique and exciting challenge for the passionate choreographer. We sat down with Paul to discuss his creative process for translating acclaimed Australian artist Tim Storrier AM's stunning artwork into movement for this ambitious season.

Internationally acclaimed artist Tim Storrier is the featured artist for Summer Soirée, what artworks have you taken inspiration from and why?

It is quite daunting to have the choice of so many wonderful artworks to choose from: where does one begin? The first piece that took my attention was a work titled Summer in the Old Garden*, looking through a door and feeling a peaceful summer’s atmosphere where love blossoms for a young couple amongst a rich blue sky and the scent of flowers - this artwork was my starting point. The second artwork I found was Incendiary Door (1991)* and I imagined that same door from the summer garden alight with flames and the consequences of the couple escaping the fire. The third artwork was Drifting Over (The Coals) (1999)* with its intense colour and great attention to detail that gave inspiration for the climax of the struggle and having to escape the flames. The fourth artwork Evening (1995-96)* with its rich colour palette was a perfect resolution to the ballet where serenity and peace give solitude to the couple over a magnificent sunset.

Storrier has a vast collection of renowned works. Was it hard to choose which pieces to focus on?

Once I made a commitment to follow the artistic and choreographic direction that I wanted with the artworks chosen, then I immersed myself in those works alone.

You’re translating Storrier’s work into movement: what is this creative process like? How does it start?

After deciding on the artwork and the narrative direction, the music is the next step in the process. I need to be inspired by the music and the music had to connect with the art. Fire is an element that is crucial and prevalent to the work, so I have tried to create a choreographic language with the dancers and a costume design, along with costume designer Kathryn Lee, in a colour palette and movement of material that emulates fire and embers. My desire was to create an atmosphere with each artwork at the forefront of my ideas, for without Tim’s artworks the ballet itself wouldn’t exist. I feel a great responsibility towards Tim to create a work that does justice to these beautiful artworks.

As the Head of the Queensland Ballet Academy Upper School and Resident Choreographer, how do you stay inspired to create?

Choreography is my first passion actually and I feel it a great honour to be able to enter the studio and create freely on the talented dancers of the Academy. The culmination of the theme chosen, music, costume, lighting, and stage design are all such important elements of the works that I choreograph. I always try to be aware of the flow of the costume, and how I envisage the lighting and other elements as I am choreographing, so that a vision of the end product is in my head as the work progresses.  

Is there something you want audiences to take away when watching your piece? 

First and foremost is that the audience is taken on a journey, that the loose narrative is understood and that they leave the theatre with clear images in their head. The theatre should be an experience of emotions and escapism and it is our duty as artists to deliver this to our audiences – a privilege actually!

What can we expect from Summer Soirée in 2022?

I personally love the fusion of art, live music and dance and the culmination of these three art forms is why the Summer Soirée seasons are so very special. Three very different choreographers with completely individual styles, over a dozen artworks from different periods in Tim’s illustrious career, live music from Camerata playing such an eclectic selection of music from different composers,specifically designed lighting and costumes, talented Academy dancers and all set in the new Talbot Theatre at the Thomas Dixon Centre – Sounds like a great evening to me!

Artistically stimulating and exclusively chic, Summer Soirée will be a sophisticated evening combining dance, art and live music.

By Meg Collins