Danielle Rowe (born 1982 in
Shepparton
Shepparton () ( Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in northern Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Melbourne. As of the 2021 census, the estimated population of Sheppart ...
) is an Australian-born
ballet
Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form ...
dancer and choreographer.
Dancing career
Rowe trained in
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
and
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...
. She joined
The Australian Ballet
The Australian Ballet is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teacher, repetiteur and direct ...
in 2001. She won the
Telstra People's Choice Award
The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) is a Victoria State Government-funded annual festival based in Melbourne founded in 2012. It is presented by Film Victoria, and the provider is chosen through a tender process. The current tender prov ...
in both 2003 and 2005
and in 2008 became a principal artist with the company.
In 2011, she joined the
Houston Ballet
Houston Ballet, operated by Houston Ballet Foundation, is a professional ballet company based in Houston, Texas. The company, consisting of 59 dancers, produces over 85 performances per year.
History
Tatiana Semenova (1955–1967)
Houston ...
as a first soloist (senior artist in Australian Ballet terms).
and was promoted to principal dancer in August of the same year.
In 2012 she joined
Nederlands Dans Theater
Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT; literal translation Netherlands Dance Theatre) is a Dutch contemporary dance company. NDT is headquartered at the ''Amare'' building in The Hague. NDT also performs at other venues in the Netherlands, including Amst ...
.
Choreography career
In 2017, Rowe, who had retired from dancing, choreographed her first piece. This was ''For Pixie'' for
SFDanceworks, where she became the associate artistic director. The piece is inspired by her grandparents, and has since been performed by
San Francisco Ballet
San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fran ...
and
Ballet Idaho
Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form ...
.
Rowe's ballet ''Fury'', inspired by the film ''
Mad Max: Fury Road'', premiered in San Francisco in September 2018. The work was produced by Kate Duhamel and featured dancers from
LINES Ballet and San Francisco Ballet, including
Adji Cissoko
Adji Cissoko is a German ballet dancer. She is currently a principal dancer at LINES Ballet.
Early life
Cissoko was born in Munich, Germany, to a German mother and Senegalese father. While growing up, the family visited Senegal regularly and ble ...
, Babatunji,
Frances Chung,
Dores André
Dores André Rodríguez (born 1985) is a Spanish ballet dancer. She is currently a principal dancer at the San Francisco Ballet.
Early life
André was born in Vigo, Spain, to a professor and a doctor. When she was eleven, she was sent to a small ...
, and Rowe's husband Luke Ingham. ''Fury'' was later performed in
San Jose at the
Silicon Valley Comic Con
Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic luster, and is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor. It is a member of group 14 in the periodic tab ...
,
Oakland
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
, and also returned to San Francisco.
After seeing ''For Pixie'',
Helgi Tomasson, artistic director of San Francisco Ballet, hired her to choreograph a piece, ''UnSaid'', for San Francisco's 2019 opening gala.
Her first ensemble piece for the company, ''Wooden Dimes'', starring
Sarah Van Patten, premiered in March 2021 in a digital program due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
''Madcap'', starring principal dancer Tiit Helimets as a clown having a personal crisis, premiered January 20, 2023 with San Francisco Ballet at the
War Memorial Opera House
The War Memorial Opera House is an opera house in San Francisco, California, located on the western side of Van Ness Avenue across from the west side/rear facade of the San Francisco City Hall.
It is part of the San Francisco War Memorial and ...
.
Awards
In 2009, Rowe won the Walter Bourke prize, which allowed her to travel to New York and perform with
Christopher Wheeldon
Christopher Peter Wheeldon OBE (born 22 March 1973) is an English international choreographer of contemporary ballet.
Life and career
Born in Yeovil, Somerset, to an engineer and a physical therapist, Wheeldon began training to be a ballet dan ...
's dance company
Morphoses.
In 2010, she won a
Helpmann Award
The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001.
The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical t ...
for her performance in ''Dyad 1929'' by
Wayne McGregor
Wayne McGregor, CBE (born 12 March 1970) is a multi award-winning British choreographer and director. He is the Artistic Director of Studio Wayne McGregor and Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet. McGregor was appointed Commander of ...
.
In 2012, Rowe was named one of
"25 to Watch" by ''
Dance Magazine
''Dance Magazine'' is an American trade publication for dance published by the Macfadden Communications Group. It was first published in June 1927 as ''The American Dancer''. ''Dance Magazine'' has multiple sister publications, including '' Poin ...
''.
Personal life
Rowe is married to fellow South Australian Luke Ingham.
Ingham also danced with Houston Ballet for the 2011–2012 season. In 2012, he joined
San Francisco Ballet
San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fran ...
where he was promoted to principal dancer in 2014. Rowe joined him in San Francisco, and they married at
City Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
.
They have two children.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowe, Danielle
Australian ballerinas
Morphoses dancers
1982 births
Living people
People from Shepparton
Telstra Ballet Dancer Award winners
Houston Ballet principal dancers
Australian Ballet School alumni
Helpmann Award winners
Ballet choreographers
21st-century ballet dancers