Australia Dancing - Coney, Miranda (1966

Coney, Miranda (1966 - )

McMurdo, Don: Miranda Coney in Stanton Welch's 'Three of Us', the Australian Ballet, 1990

Born in Perth, Western Australia, Miranda Coney began her ballet classes in her home city with Diana Waldron. Later she continued her studies with Terri Charlesworth, also in Perth, and while with Charlesworth had several weeks of study in Monte Carlo with Marika Besobrasova. She joined the Australian Ballet in 1984 after three years of study at the Australian Ballet School. She was given her first principal role in 1985 when she danced the first pas de deux in Jerome Robbins' In the Night. Coney was promoted to soloist in 1988, senior artist in 1990 and principal artist in 1991. With the Australian Ballet she performed a vast range of classical and contemporary roles. She danced leading roles in all the major classical ballets in the company's repertoire including Swan Lake, Don Quixote, La Fille mal gardee, Coppelia, Romeo and Juliet, The Merry Widow, Anna Karenina, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, Onegin and La Sylphide. She also displayed her versatility as a dancer by giving acclaimed performances in contemporary works over the entire period of her career. Most recently she scored important successes in works such as Twyla Tharp's In the Upper Room and Jiri Kylian's Bella Figura. For her role in the Tharp work Coney received an inaugural Helpmann Award in 2001.

Coney was sought after by choreographers working for the Australian Ballet. She created roles in major works by Graeme Murphy (Nutcracker, 1992), Stanton Welch (Madame Butterfly and Corroboree, 1995; Cinderella, 1997), Stephen Page (Rites, 1997) and Stephen Baynes (Requiem, 2001) and in many shorter works by these and other choreographers. Throughout her career with the Australian Ballet she established strong partnerships with several of the Australian Ballet's male principals, notably in recent years with Steven Heathcote and David McAllister.

In 1994 Coney was invited by Jiri Kylian, who had admired her dancing during his visits to Australia to stage his works for the Australia Ballet, to join his Netherlands Dance Theatre but, at the request of the then artistic director of the Australian Ballet, Maina Gielgud, she returned to the Australian Ballet after 10 months with the Kylian company. In addition to the Helpmann Award Coney received the Victorian Young Achiever Award (1991), the same year in which she performed on Rudolf Nureyev's farewell tour, and a Mo Award for Dance Performance of the Year (1992). Coney retired from the Australian Ballet in 2001. She currently lives in New York with her husband, conductor Charles Barker, and their son, Riley.

Research Materials

Ephemera | Oral history | Picture | All

Interview with Albert David, 2003 (Oral history): Interviewer: Mark Gordon; Interviewee: David, Albert; Audiotape; 170 mins; Albert David begins this interview by talking about his immediate family and his ancestral heritage. He speaks about the introduced society in which he grew up, in particular his schooling and religious education, and discusses his childhood ambitions. He recalls the impact of television on his perceptions of the world, including movies starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and the impact of a tour to Thursday Island by Bangarra Dance Theatre in 1988. He speaks about going to Sydney to audition for the college of the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association and his acceptance of the offer to join the college. David then considers his first years of studying at NAISDA and speaks about his mentor at the college, Paul Saliba. He continues with a discussion of deferring his studies in dance and returning to the Torres Strait but then speaks about his reasons for returning to dance. He gives his thoughts on the value of Indigenous culture and then speaks about joining Bangarra, his relationship with Christine Anu and the birth of his son in 1997.

David continues this interview by talking about working with Stephen and Russell Page, the nature of the choreography created at Bangarra and the impact of this style of choreography on his own development as an artist. He speaks about collaborating with the Australian Ballet on the production of Rites and about Jim McFarlane's image of him and Miranda Coney in that production. He then talks about the death of his mother and father and his relationship with Lea Francis. Performing at the invitation of David McAllister with the Australian Ballet in Spartacus and his admiration for Steven Heathcote are also discussed as is the healing power of dance. David also discusses his developing interest in choreography and in particular the creation of his 2003 work Giz. David then reflects on his aspirations for his own and his son's future as well as for the future of dance and dancers in Australia. The interview concludes with an account of David's experiences in New York while on tour with the Australian Ballet.; Page, Russell ; Heathcote, Steven ; McAllister, David ; David, Albert ; Saliba, Paul ; Bangarra Dance Theatre ; Page, Stephen ; Australian Ballet, The ; Rites ; Spartacus; Location:; National Library of Australia; TRC 5023
nla.cat-vn2583108; Written permission required for research use

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Other resources

Find more about Coney, Miranda in:

Articles - New York Public Library Dance Collection
Pictures - Picture Australia
Collection - OzLife
Internet - Google