Documentary dancing across rural NSW

Documentary must sell 20 more tickets for screening to proceed in Dubbo. Photo:TAB

A documentary following the career of Dubbo-born ballet dancer Ella Havelka will be shown at selected cinemas across rural NSW in June.

Subscribe now for unlimited access to all our agricultural news
across the nation

$0/

(min cost $0)

or signup to continue reading

See subscription options

The 2016 documentary, entitled “Ella” and directed by Douglas Watkin, will be shown at one-off screenings in Dubbo, Wagga Wagga and Orange.

Each town plays an integral part in Havelka’s jouney to the Australian Ballet, and are all featured within the documentary.

"Ella" premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival in 2016. Photo: Daniel Boud

Havelka says the screenings are an opportunity to show what young rural Australians can achieve when given the required support and opportunities.

“It’s a chance for these regional towns to see what is needed to allow young people to follow their dreams. It’s really important to build that knowledge and awareness, and provide the support for young people to achieve what they want to,” she said.

“I grew up in a small town, in a single mother family in challenging circumstances. We didn’t have the best facilities back then locally for dancing, but everyone was so supportive and very generous with their time and that helped me a lot.”

In 2013, Havelka became the first indigenous dancer to join the Australian Ballet in the company’s 50-year history.

“I sometimes feel like a trailblazer in my field. I was recently on an indigenous dancer’s panel and met with lots of Indigenous ballet dancers past and present.

“Hearing stories of rejection within the Australian dancing community, where dancers went overseas to pursue their dreams because they weren’t getting roles here, it’s a lot of responsibility to make sure those opportunities exist here,” she said.

Last year a second indigenous dancer joined the Australian Ballet, and Havelka says that opportunities in her field have greatly improved for indigenous Australians from when her career began.

Last week, Havelka was awarded the InStyle and Audi Women of Style award for her contributions to Australian arts and culture.

Amid her busy touring and rehearsal schedule, Havelka still makes time to return to her roots to visit family in Narromine as often as possible.

While the Orange and Wagga Wagga screenings of “Ella” have been confirmed, around 20 tickets still need to sell before the screening in her home town of Dubbo can go ahead.