Voices from Australia: A Tribute to Peter Brinson

Abstract

I met Peter Brinson in London in 1974. This meeting was arranged, indeed insisted on, by Dame Peggy van Praagh, then Artistic Director of The Australian Ballet, who felt absolutely sure that Peter and I would have much in common. She was right. Peter's death in 1995 robbed me of a friend, a kindred spirit whose influence continues to surprise and delight as I uncover ever more insights into his continuing effect on my life and work. My own experience of Peter's personal friendship, the power of his intellect, and his ability to enthuse and inspire others is mirrored in the experiences of many Australians. While reflecting on the materialfor this essay I spoke to many who counted themselves fortunate to have known Peter Brinson, among them several dance artists and writers who were part of what we recall as 'the Armidale experience' of over twenty years ago. Peter Brinson's effect on individual careers, and on directions for dance, as well as other arts in Australia, is recalled in tributes which recognise his unique personal qualities and the value of his singular and timely contribution to the development of dance in particular. We have always referred to him simply as 'Peter'; there was no other Peter we could possibly mean when we spoke to one another about dance, of its meaning and value in our lives. It is of this Peter that I write.