Elana McKinley interviewed by Bill Stephens [sound recording]
- Bib ID:
- 3602650
- Format:
- Audio
- Author:
- McKinley, Elana
- Access Conditions:
- Access open for research, written permission is required for personal copies and public use for 10 years from the date of the interview.
- Description:
-
- 2005
- 4 digital audio tapes (ca. 263 min.)
- Summary:
-
Elana McKinley, born 1949, in Melbourne talks about her family back ground; learning to dance; dance teachers and their teaching methods; her first professional engagement at the age of 15; her education; what she was paid for the show; participating in a strike by the cast to achieve higher pay rates for singing in the show; Betty Pounder; the routine for a young cast member; Bob Fosse; Nancye Hayes; becoming involved in modelling in Sydney; her modelling course at the Myer Charm School; Pamela Henckle; how her career graduated towards modelling culminating in being chosen "Mannequin of the Year" in Melbourne, for two consecutive years; maintaining both a theatre and a modelling career; Fred Schepisi; her success in a competition for Australia's Thoroughly Modern Millie, while appearing in Mame; her experiences in Hollywood; her screen test at Universal Studios; some of the other characters and experiences she encountered on this trip; Don Lane; her involvement with the third Australian production of My Fair Lady in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide; being in the chorus for Fiddler on the Roof; Hayes Gordon; moving out of theatre to concentrate on the fashion industry; going to London to advance her modelling career; jobs she took in London.
McKinley discusses her experience with the Bluebell Dancers; dancing at the Melbourne Lido in 1967; David McIllwraith; her life in Paris; Madam Bluebell; working at the Lido in Paris and Barcelona; Stuart McGee; her reasons for wanting to dance in Las Vegas; her participation in the Paris parades; the advantages to her career of being able to speak French and Spanish; the difference between the Las Vegas and Paris shows; compares American audiences with European audiences; Philip McKinley; Ron Lewis; how she continued to model in Las Vegas, as well as appearing in movies and television series; why Australian dancers are so well thought of overseas; being invited back to Australia as the lead in a new production by Regmat Productions for Wrestpoint Casino; the shows eventual demise; joining the Channel 9 ballet (in Melbourne) and resuming her career in modelling; a Regmat Production in Kuala Lumpar; managing a show at the Launceston Casino, leading her into management and choreography; Elana McKinnley Promotions; receiving an offer from Lancome to become their Queensland representative; her return to Melbourne where she resumed her career in cosmetics; the circumstances which lead to her return to work in the Theatre as a dresser; her role as a dresser on "The Lion King"; the satisfaction she receives from being involved in a backstage role and her ambitions for the future.
- Biography/History:
-
Elana McKinley, born 1949 in Melbourne is a dancer, actor and model and has worked in theatre, television, film and the fashion industry as well as teaching dancing and managing/choreographing corporate functions.
- Notes:
-
- Recorded on December 12, 2005 at Melbourne, Vic.
- Digital master available National Library of Australia;
- Index/Finding Aid Note:
- Timed summary (11 p.)
- Subject:
- Occupation:
- Other authors/contributors:
- Stephens, Bill, 1936-, interviewer
- Copyright:
-
In Copyright
Contact us for information about copying. For access conditions return to the record display above.
- Reason for copyright status:
- Until 2075 [Created/Published Date + 70 Years]
Copyright status was determined using the following information:
- Material type:
- Sound Recording
- Published status:
- Unpublished
- Creation date:
- 2005
Copyright status may not be correct if data in the record is incomplete or inaccurate. Other access conditions may also apply. For more information please see: Copyright in library collections.
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