PAUL CLEMENT HAMMOND, OAM
BALLET DANCER, TEACHER
16-12-1922 10-9-2010
PAUL Hammond, a leading artist in the Kirsova Ballet in Sydney and the Borovansky Ballet in Melbourne in the 1940s and '50s, has died of respiratory complications at an aged-care home in Kew. He was 87.
Hammond shone in dramatic character roles, including as the mysterious Charlatan in Petrouchka and the wicked fairy Carabosse in The Sleeping Princess. His noble bearing and lyricism suited principal roles such as the Prince in Swan Lake Act II in Sydney and again as a principal at London's Metropolitan Ballet (1948-1950). Hammond's first press notice, at age 10, was not for dance but a one-act play, The Little Dears, at a fun-draiser for the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in the David Jones Auditorium in Sydney.
Hammond's parents, Ruby and Richard, a coachbuilder and later, music shop owner, were more than competent amateur singers who encouraged their only child's piano lessons, acting and avid theatre or concert going.
Born in Marrickville, Sydney, Hammond matriculated from Sydney Boys High School in 1939, two years after discovering the glamorous dancers and productions of Colonel Wassily de Basil's Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo. The company played Sydney's Empire Theatre for 11 weeks in 1936-37, and on two later visits. Hammond was thoroughly captivated.
His earliest classes were with Ukrainian dancer Misha Burlakov, former Ballets Russes dancer Helene Kirsova, and English dancer Leon Kellaway, a pupil of famous Russian Imperial Theatre stars Serafina Astafieva and Nicholas Legat.
But it was the sophisticated and insightful Thadee Slavinsky, from Diaghilev's legendary Ballets Russes, who became his principal technical and aesthetic mentor in both the Kirsova and Borovansky companies. Choreographers chose him frequently for their new works. These included Kirsova's Harlequin (title role), Hansel and Gretel and Revolution of the Umbrellas; Borovansky's The Outlaw (based on Ned Kelly), Death in Paul Grinwis's Eternal Lovers, and Pangloss in Kiril Vassilkovsky's Candide.
Between contracts with the Borovansky management, Hammond and his first wife, New Zealand-born ballerina Peggy Sager, danced in Europe. While there they studied with brilliant Russian emigre teachers Olga Preobrajenska and Lubov Egorova. These women's teaching, like that of influential London teachers Vera Volkova and Anna North, would extend the intelligence, sensitivity and expressivity of Hammond's own teaching.
In 1953, Hammond and Sager opened the School of Balletic Art in Melbourne, later known as the Paul Hammond Ballet School. In 1958, he became a registered teacher of the Royal Academy of Dance, providing his students with a rich experience of both British and Russian aesthetics. Among his most successful students were former Australian Ballet principals Michaela Kirkaldie and Gailene Stock, now director of Britain's Royal Ballet School; Margaret Wilson, once a leading dancer of the Australian Dance Theatre; choreographer Don Asker; and dancer cum restaurateur the late Walter Bourke.
With his second wife, Diana Lucas, a former student who became a talented music theatre dancer, Hammond travelled the world in 1970-71 notably to the Kirov and Bolshoi schools to refresh his teaching. This was vital to a new role he took up in 1975 as senior tutor of classical ballet at the Australian Ballet School, where he influenced students from around the country.
He later became the school's dance history tutor, archivist and librarian until he retired in 1995, aged 73.
Reflecting his sophistication and catholic tastes, Hammond accepted diverse screen and stage engagements. With Sager, in 1948, he joined Robert Helpmann and other Australian dancers in Michael Powell's film The Red Shoes. Between 1964 and 1969 he choreographed five ballets for ABC Television: Bloodless Sand to music by Antheil; Jetsam (Bernstein), Miraculous Mandarin (Bartok), Seven Deadly Sins (Tchaikovsky) and After Culloden (Arnold).
He also choreographed musicals, including the original production of Lola Montez by the Union Theatre (1958). For Garnett Carroll he choreographed Lock up your Daughters (1961), and acted as dance associate on the pantomime Aladdin (1959) with Graham Kennedy, and The Music Man (1960).
Hammond happily went wherever he was invited to teach ballet: Channel Nine, the Crawford Television School, visiting touring companies such as Luisillo's Spanish Dance Theatre, Nederlands Dans Theatre, as well as the Royal New Zealand Ballet company and school. He taught at international summer schools and became a respected examiner.
In retirement Hammond devoted many years volunteering at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, and the Victorian Green Room Association as an inveterate dance watcher and awards panellist, for which he received a life membership. He received another from the Royal Academy of Dance in 1997 and appropriately, in 2008, a Medal of the Order of Australia and an Australian Dance Award for lifetime achievement.
He is survived by his wife, Diana, daughter Carly, granddaughter Hannika Andipatin and son-in-law Pierre Andipatin.
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
Who was Paul Hammond and why is Paul Hammond important to Australian ballet?
Paul Hammond was a leading Australian ballet dancer, teacher and mentor best known for his work with Sydney’s Kirsova Ballet and Melbourne’s Borovansky Ballet in the 1940s and 1950s. He later taught nationally as senior tutor at the Australian Ballet School, founded the Paul Hammond Ballet School, and influenced generations of dancers, making him a significant figure in the development of Australian ballet.
What were Paul Hammond’s most notable stage roles and performances?
Hammond was acclaimed for dramatic character roles such as the Charlatan in Petrouchka and the wicked fairy Carabosse in The Sleeping Princess, and for principal parts like the Prince in Swan Lake Act II. He was frequently chosen by choreographers for new works and performed with the Metropolitan Ballet in London (1948–1950) as well as major Australian companies.
What teaching credentials and schools did Paul Hammond establish?
In 1953 Hammond and his first wife Peggy Sager opened the School of Balletic Art in Melbourne (later known as the Paul Hammond Ballet School). He became a registered teacher of the Royal Academy of Dance in 1958 and in 1975 took the role of senior tutor of classical ballet at the Australian Ballet School, later serving as the school’s dance history tutor, archivist and librarian until retiring in 1995.
Which prominent dancers and students trained under Paul Hammond?
Hammond taught and mentored several successful dancers, including former Australian Ballet principals Michaela Kirkaldie and Gailene Stock (who went on to direct Britain’s Royal Ballet School), as well as Margaret Wilson, choreographer Don Asker, and the late dancer/restaurateur Walter Bourke.
What choreographic and screen work did Paul Hammond create for stage and television?
Hammond choreographed five ballets for ABC Television between 1964 and 1969 — including Bloodless Sand, Jetsam, Miraculous Mandarin, Seven Deadly Sins and After Culloden — and worked on musicals and screen projects such as the 1948 film The Red Shoes and stage productions like Lola Montez and Lock Up Your Daughters.
What awards and honours did Paul Hammond receive for his contribution to dance?
Hammond received life membership of the Victorian Green Room Association, life membership of the Royal Academy of Dance (in 1997), and in 2008 was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) as well as an Australian Dance Award for lifetime achievement.
When and where was Paul Hammond born, and when did he pass away?
Paul Hammond was born in Marrickville, Sydney (listed as 16 December 1922 in the article) and died on 10 September 2010 at an aged-care home in Kew from respiratory complications. He was 87 years old.
Who influenced Paul Hammond’s training and teaching approach?
Hammond’s early teachers included Misha Burlakov, Helene Kirsova and Leon Kellaway, but his principal technical and aesthetic mentor was Thadee Slavinsky of the Ballets Russes tradition. While touring Europe he studied with Russian émigré teachers Olga Preobrajenska and Lubov Egorova, and drew on British teachers such as Vera Volkova and Anna North to shape his own teaching style.
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