| Summary |
Michelle Potter talks about her family background, early life in Sydney, education and interest in sport and dance. She speaks about her studies in ballet with the Halliday school and later Valrene Tweedie; as well as her jazz lessons with Ronne Arnold and experiences teaching ballet. She discusses her university studies in anthropology, move to Canberra and subsequent teaching position at the National Capital Ballet School. Potter speaks of her further studies in art history, her work as Esso Research Fellow for the Esso Performing Arts and Oral History Archive Project, her scholarship funded trip to New York and her doctoral thesis. Potter reflects on her experiences in Canberra, the development of institutions, her impressions of the Meryl Tankard Company and speaks about her work as editor of the dance journal, 'Brolga'.
Potter discusses her curatorial work on the exhibition 'Dance people dance', her book 'A Passion for dance' and forthcoming exhibition to mark the 21st birthday of Ausdance. She then talks about her impressions of Maina Gielgud, the importance of the national collections; and her ideas and work for the collaborative 'Keep Dancing' project incorporating oral history interviews and the creation of an electronic directory of dance resources. Potter concludes by reflecting on her love of ballet, the intersection of intellect and dance and her feelings about the current state of ballet in Australia.
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