Prof. Graeme Collins' first semester at TNUA was highlighted by the staging of a contemporary ballet work of his own, "Concerto in D," at the School of Dance's 2011 year-end production – a masterpiece that won loud applause from the audience.
The renowned dancer has been teaching for years, but teaching was originally not in his career planning. He noted that when he was doing management work at dance companies after retiring as a dancer, he realized that many young people had difficulties finding someone to teach them ballet. And that's how he started his teaching career.
Prof. Collins was first invited to teach in the Dance Department of the Queensland University of Technology. In 1995, he joined the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, where he would go on to head its ballet program for 15 years.
He stressed that although ballet originated from the West, the learning of ballet has nothing to do with the dancers' physiques, ethnicities or cultural backgrounds. What makes a difference is their attitude and hard work, he said, summing up a most talked-about issue concerning the possible differences between dancers from the West and the East in terms of their physiques.
The professor noted that contemporary ballet requires dancers to have skills of both classical ballet and modern dance. Many Asian dancers have both, and some even excel in both, he said. He noted that the training in Taichi and traditional dances that TNUA students receive actually enhances their body movements when doing contemporary ballet.
He encourages students to learn and create. Even the best of the best dancers would have frustrations and difficulties at some point of their careers, he said, but the important thing is to have confidence in the face of challenges.