Steven Anthony Heathcote AM (born 16 October 1964, in

Wagin, Western Australia Wagin is a town and Shire of Wagin, shire in the Wheatbelt (Western Australia), Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, approximately south-east of Perth on the Great Southern Highway between Narrogin, Western Australia, Narrogin and Katann ...

) is a former Australian

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 of ...

dancer. Heathcote spent twenty-four years dancing with

The Australian Ballet The Australian Ballet (TAB) 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 a ...

, twenty of them as a principal artist. He has received three

Helpmann Awards The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical theatre ...

, two

Mo Awards The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known as the Mo Awards) were an annual Australian entertainment industry award, established in 1975, to recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia. They were last awarded in 2016. ...

and an Australian Dance Award for "Outstanding Performance by an Individual". On

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet and raising of the Flag of Great Britain, Union Flag of Great Britain by Arthur Phillip at Sydney Cove, a ...

(26 January) 1991 Heathcote was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia, General Division, for "service to ballet".

Biography

Heathcote was born in

on 16 October 1964, the second of four children. He was educated at Wesley College in South Perth. He was schooled in ballet by Shelley Rae and Kira Bousloff. In 1980 he obtained a scholarship with West Australian Ballet Company and the following year he was accepted into

Australian Ballet School The Australian Ballet School is the premier ballet training facility in Australia, located in Melbourne. History The Australian Ballet School was founded in 1964 as the primary training facility for The Australian Ballet by Dame Margaret Scot ...

in Melbourne. Heathcote joined The Australian Ballet in 1983 and in 1987 was appointed as their principal artist. Heathcote danced for a season with the

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant. Through 2019, it had an annual eight-week season at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) in the spr ...

in 1992, and has also guested with the

Royal Danish Ballet The Royal Danish Ballet ( Danish: ''Den Kongelige Ballet'') is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Danish Theatre in Kongens Nytorv, Copenhagen, Denmark. It is one of the oldest ballet companies in the world a ...

and the

Birmingham Royal Ballet Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) is one of the five major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside The Royal Ballet, the English National Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet. Founded as the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, the co ...

. Heathcote retired from the Australian Ballet in 2007 and then worked as a ballet coach, occasionally performing character roles. In 2010 he directed a production of Handel's ''Julius Caesar'', for the

Victorian Opera Victorian Opera is an opera company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The company was founded in 2005 by the Victorian Government as a replacement for the Victoria State Opera. It commenced operations in January 2006 with Richard Gill a ...

. In 2012 he choreographed their production of Stravinsky's ''The Rake’s Progress''. He is a peer of

Paul Mercurio Paul Joseph Mercurio (born 31 March 1963) is an Australian actor, choreographer, dancer, TV presenter and politician. Mercurio is best known for his lead role in the 1992 film ''Strictly Ballroom'' and his role as a judge on TV series ''Danci ...

, Greg Horsman and David McAllister. Heathcote appeared in the 1994 film, ''Nutcracker: The Story of Clara'', and in the 2009 feature film, '' Mao's Last Dancer''. He also appeared in the Australian teen-oriented television drama, ''

Dance Academy ''Dance Academy'' is an Australian teen drama television series produced by Werner Film Productions in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and ZDF. Series one premiered on 31 May 2010, and series two began airing on 12 Ma ...

'' (2010).

Personal life

In 1984 Heathcote danced Lensky in The Australian Ballet's production of John Cranko's '' Onegin'' with Olga portrayed by Kathy Reid (born ca. 1958). He explained, "I think that had something to do with us getting together, playing the young lovers." Initially Heathcote was a boarder at Reid's house, before they became romantically involved. The couple married in 1991 and have two children. Their daughter
Mia Heathcote
(born 1996), is also a ballet dancer; she trained at The Australian Ballet School from 2010 and in January 2014 joined the

Queensland Ballet Queensland Ballet, founded in 1960 by Charles Lisner, is the premier ballet company of Queensland, Australia, and is based in Brisbane. It is one of only three full-time, professional classical ballet companies in Australia. The company has ha ...

as a company dancer, rising to principal artist. She joined The Australian Ballet in January 2024. Note: Steven given as Stephen.

Awards

Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the

), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognised achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Steven Heathcote won two awards in that time. (wins only) , - , 1994 , Steven Heathcote , Dance Performer of the Year , , - , 2002 , Steven Heathcote , Dance Performer/ Choreographer of the Year , , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heathcote, Stephen Australian male ballet dancers Living people Australian Ballet School alumni Helpmann Award winners People from Wagin, Western Australia People educated at Wesley College, Perth 1964 births Members of the Order of Australia