Download Strictly Ballroom

Strictly Ballroom
STRICTLY BALLROOM is a romantic comedy about the dreams of youth, rebellion
and ultimate fulfilment. In a bold style that pays homage to the classic Hollywood dance
films of the 1940s, it tells a story of love and conflict, of two young people fighting for
artistic freedom against a repressive regime.
When 21-year old ballroom champion, Scott Hastings, commits the cardinal sin of dancing
his own steps and not those laid down by the all-powerful Dance Federation, retribution is
swift. He is dumped by his partner Liz, and his hopes of winning the Pan Pacific Grand
Prix are dashed.
All seems lost when out of the shadows emerges Fran, a beginner and the ugly duckling of
the dance studio run by Scott’s parents. Through sheer persistence she convinces Scott to
give her a chance and an unlikely partnership is born.
Federation President, Barry Fife’s pressure to break up this renegade partnership pushes
Scott into the Spanish world of Fran’s family, where Scott experiences the excitement of
true Latin dancing.
The night before the Pan-Pacifics, Barry Fife reveals to Scott a terrible secret about
Doug’s past. Scott is trapped. To save his father he must turn his back on Fran and
conform. But minutes before Scott is to take the floor, the truth comes out: Barry Fife has
lied. Scott is free to follow his heart.
Scott and Fran burst onto the dance floor. The response from the crowd is overwhelming,
but Barry Fife intervenes and the music is stopped. Defiantly six thousand spectators
clash their hands together. Scott and Fran begin to dance their rhythm. Soon the floor is
flooded in a sea of celebration.
Strictly Ballroom
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
“STRICTLY BALLROOM draws from the myth of David and Goliath: Scott Hastings is
the small individual pitted against the seemingly indestructible force of the Dance
Federation. This classic myth is one that moves us because we all experience repression,
and need to believe that there is hope, that it can be overcome.”
“Fran’s story relates to the Cinderella myth. In a sense we are all like Fran with selfinflicted obstacles that block us from being the person that we truly are.”
“The film utilises the incredible imagery of the ballroom dancing world. It’s not unlike
the microcosm of the Amish people in Witness: it’s an incredibly tribal society, with its
own exotic rituals, that we use as the context for the story.”
“Ballroom dancing allows anybody to fulfil a fantasy dream of glamour. You can be
working in a car sale yard during the day, and at night you can be king or queen of the
ballroom world. That is its magic. The film is predominantly funny, but there’s a great
beauty in it too, the beauty of being able to transform oneself. Dance fulfils those dreams.
The classic Hollywood backstage musicals of the ‘40s pushed the idea that you, the
ordinary person, can release yourself into your dream. I can see something inherently
healthy in that.”
- Baz Luhrmann
Strictly Ballroom
CAST LIST
Paul Mercurio
Tara Morice
Bill Hunter
Pat Thompson
Gia Carides
Peter Whitford
Barry Otto
John Hannan
Sonia Kruger-Tayler
Kris McQuade
Pip Mushin
Leonie Page
Antonio Vargas
Armonia Benedito
Jack Webster
Lauren Hewett
Steve Grace
Wayne Bertram
Di Emery
Lara Mulcahy
Brian M. Logan
Michael Burgess
Todd McKenney
Kerry Shrimpton
Scott Hastings
Fran
Barry Fife
Shirley Hastings
Liz Holt
Les Kendall
Doug Hastings
Ken Railings
Tina Sparkle
Charm Leachman
Wayne Burns
Vanessa Cronin
Rico
Ya Ya
Terry
Kylie
Luke
J.J. Silvers
Waitress
Natalie
Clarry
Merv
Nathan Starkey
Pam Short
Based on the N.I.D.A. stage production devised and developed by the original cast: Glenn
Keenan, Baz Luhrmann, Catherine McClements, Helen Mutkins, Tony Poli, Jamie Robertson,
Nell Schofield, Sonia Todd.
And further developed by the Six Years Old Company: Tyler Coppin, Di Emery, Lissa Kelly,
Glenn Keenan, Baz Luhrmann, Genevieve Mooy, Tara Morice, Mark Owen-Taylor, Craig
Pearce.
Strictly Ballroom
CREW LIST
Director
Producer
Executive Producer
Line Producer
Production Designer
Associate Production Designer
Director of Photography
Editor
Music Direction and Original Music
Sound Recordist
Written by
Screenplay by
Original idea by
Ballroom Costume Designer
Choreographer
First Assistant Director
Production Manager
Casting
Unit Publicity
Stills Photographer
Baz Luhrmann
Tristram Miall
Antoinette Albert
Jane Scott
Catherine Martin
Bill Marron
Steve Mason, A.C.S
Jill Bilcock
David Hirschfelder
Ben Osmo
Baz Luhrmann and
Craig Pearce
Baz Luhrmann and
Andrew Bovell
Baz Luhrmann
Angus Strathie
John “Cha Cha” O’Connell
Keith Heygate
Fiona McConaghy
Faith Martin
Ronin Film
Philip Le Masurier
Dedicated to the memory of Ted Albert
94 minutes. Colour. 35mm
DOLBY STEREO
SOUNDTRACK ALBUM AVAILABLE FROM ALBERT PRODUCTIONS AND
SONY MUSIC
The film was developed with the assistance of the New South Wales Film and Television
Office
Marketing Assistance provided by the Australian Film Commission.
Made with the participation of the Australian Film Finance Corporation Pty Limited
© 1992 M&A Film Corporation Pty Limited and Australian Film Finance Corporation Pty
Limited, Sydney, Australia.
Strictly Ballroom
PRODUCTION NOTES
The film of STRICTLY BALLROOM is the result of eight years of evolution.
It began as a student production at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, with a creative
team led by Baz Luhrmann, then a full-time student in acting and directing. After work
shopping and performing, the ambitious one-hour show of music, dance and drama, was
developed into a full-scale professional production at Sydney’s Wharf Theatre, where it was a
popular and critical hit.
The show subsequently had a commercial season in Brisbane during Expo, and then, in 1986,
toured overseas to the international theatre competition held in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia,
where it received a standing ovation and won the two main prizes for Best Production and
Best Direction for Baz Luhrmann.
In all of its various stage versions, and in its evolution into a full-length film, the director
worked closely with a regular team of collaborators led by the designers Catherine Martin and
Bill Marron whom Baz affectionately refers to as “the Team”. Their collaboration over a
period of more than five years goes far beyond the titles of “Director” and “Designer”. As
Baz explains it: “What I am interested in, is to be taken in different directions by people. The job of a
director ultimately is to synthesize many points of view into a single direction.”
The Team’s involvement in ballroom dancing was consolidated with their lavish
reconstruction of a 1940s Dance Hall for the Festival of Sydney – the Coca Cola Bottler’s
Dance Hall – with dancing to the “retro” band, Pardon Me Boys. The production was a huge
success and has been repeated every year since.
At the same time, M&A Film Corporation came into being and started looking for feature
film projects with strong music and dance elements. Ted Albert had seen the Wharf Theatre
production of STRICTLY BALLROOM and believed it could translate into a musical not
unlike the classics of the 1940s that he had always loved. The trail to the rights led Ted and
Tristram Miall to Baz Luhrmann. Both producers became convinced by Baz’s personal
energy and enthusiasm that he had the ability to turn STRICTLY BALLROOM into a film.
Tristram recalls Baz leaping around his office acting out the various roles and dance numbers.
Sadly, Ted died of a heart attack just before the film began pre-production. His widow,
Antoinette, took his place in the company as Executive Producer.
Although Baz, Catherine and Bill had a strong track record in theatre – including a radical and
highly acclaimed production of La Boheme for the Australian Opera Company –
STRICTLY BALLROOM was their first work on a film project. The youthfulness and
inexperience of the creative team and would have discouraged many producers. But Baz sees
the Australian film and theatre worlds as being unique in the opportunities they offer to new
starters. “We have to think of our isolation as a positive thing. The things that my team and I have been
able to do are inconceivable in other countries. Particularly in terms of doing a classic opera on the main stage
in the main opera house of the country. It’s totally unheard of anywhere else in the world.”
Taking advantage of Tristram’s production experience, and risk capital from the Australian
Film Finance Corporation and the Albert family, the $4 million production began shooting
early in 1991.
Strictly Ballroom
Baz had sought Paul Mercurio for the role of the rebel dance champion since first seeing Paul
on stage with the Sydney Dance Company. STRICTLY BALLROOM became Paul’s first
foray into professional acting, but theatre and dance had been part of his life since early
childhood. Paul’s father was Gus Mercurio – the veteran “tough guy” of numerous
Australian TV Series and action movies.
Paul’s co-star, Tara Morice, had been with STRICTLY BALLROOM on stage and had a
solid background in acting, dancing, and singing. Her combination of talents were perfect for
the role of the “ugly duckling” of the dance studio.
Shooting began with one of the most difficult and complex scenes: the climactic appearance
of the hero and heroine at the Ballroom Dance Championship, before thousands of
spectators. The scene was staged under tremendous pressure of time during an actual dance
championship in Melbourne, using the audience gathered for the competition. Despite the
tension of the occasion, the scene emerged from the editing room as a triumphant climax to
the film.
The rest if the shooting took place in Sydney, and the film was edited in Melbourne to enable
the outstanding editor, Jill Bilcock, to work on the film. It was completed in January 1992,
ready to submit for selection to the Cannes Film Festival, with Australian release to follow in
August after premieres at the Sydney and Melbourne Film Festivals in June.
First responses to the film were enthusiastic. It was selected for official presentation at
Cannes in May at a special midnight screening, a time slot reserved in previous years for In
Bed with Madonna, Raising Arizona and John Waters’ Cry Baby.
Strictly Ballroom
CREW BIOGRAPHY
“Although it is a synthesis of old and new styles, STRICTLY BALLROOM is ultimately original –
that is it’s greatest strength. Making anything that is original is the most difficult of challenges, and one that
cannot be faced alone.”
- Baz Luhrmann
BAZ LUHRMANN
DIRECTOR
Baz Luhrmann is unquestionably one of the most exciting talents to emerge in the Australian
film industry in years. Unlike many new directors with training in television of film school,
Baz’s background is broadly based in the performing arts, and that is perhaps one of the key
secrets of his success.
Born on 17 April 1962, Baz grew up in the Australian bush, but was drawn inexorably to the
world of theatre and film. He had several early involvements in film, both in front of and
behind the camera. As an actor, he appeared opposite Judy Davis in John Duigan’s feature
film, Winter of Our Dreams. As co-director and performer, he worked on the Willesee docudrama, Kids Of The Cross for television. But it was in the theatre that his reputation as an
“enfant terrible” was firmly established.
In 1990, working with his regular “creative team” of designers Catherine Martin and Bill
Marron, Baz directed a production of La Boheme for the Australian Opera, which was an
astonishing success, both critically and commercially. Reviews in the Sydney press heralded
him as a radical new talent of major proportions, despite his relatively young age. Brian Hoad
in the Bulletin wrote: “Call it opera or music drama or even a musical if you wish, but old barriers have
been pushed aside and a new era opened up.” Maria Prerauer in The Australian called it “little short of
sensational,” and Derek Malcolm of the Guardian (London) reported that “rarely are Sydney opera
audiences offered a performance that approaches the architectural darling of the Opera House itself.”
In 1986, while a student at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney, Baz devised the
first stage version of STRICTLY BALLROOM with other students, and directed the
production. It was later invited to the World Youth Theatre Festival in Czechoslovakia where
Baz gained the Festival’s award for Best Director.
A year later, Baz co-wrote and directed a production of the opera, Lake Lost, for the
Australian Opera, working with composer Felix Meagher, writer Wendy Harmer as well as
with his design collaborators, Catherine Martin and Bill Marron.
On graduating from N.I.D.A., Baz was appointed Artistic Director of the Six Years Old
Company, an independent theatre group funded by the Australian Bicentennial Authority and
the Sydney Theatre Company. With this company, Baz revived STRICTLY BALLROOM
for a highly successful season at the Wharf Theatre in Sydney and toured with it to the World
Expo in Brisbane.
The ballroom connection led Baz and his team into the production of The Coca Cola
Bottler’s Dance Hall, a spectacular event staged at the Sydney Town Hall as part of the 1989
Festival of Sydney. Patrons were taught how to Cha-Cha, Samba, Rumba and Jive, and were
then treated to a re-creation of the VE Night, 1945, dancing to the music of the “retro”
group, Pardon Me Boys.
Strictly Ballroom
After STRICTLY BALLROOM, Baz continues to divide his attention among the
performing arts. In mid-1992, he began research in England for a prospective production of
Benjamin Britten’s opera Midsummer Night’s Dream, again collaborating with his regular team.
A revival of La Boheme and work with Sydney’s Belvoir Street Theatre fill his schedule for
the remainder of 1992, along with the development of future film projects.
Strictly Ballroom
TRISTRAM MIALL
PRODUCER
In late 1988, Tristram Miall and Ted Albert formed M&A Film Corporation with the primary
aim of making feature films. Soon after, they sought out the film rights to the stage
production of STRICTLY BALLROOM. Tristram’s previous film, the telefeature
Malpractice had been selected for Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival; and as
Executive Producer at Film Australia he had produced the acclaimed telemovie, Custody, and
exec-produced Prejudice. Formerly an independent producer and documentary director with
Bob Loader at Golden Dolphin Films, he had also co-produced a television mini-series, The
Challenge with Roadshaw Coote and Carroll. The series was sold to the Nine Network and
Thames International.
Tristram originally established himself as a documentary filmmaker with the ABC’s awardwinning series, Chequerboard. As a successful independent, his films sold regularly to the BBC
and National Geographic, as well as to Australian television. His film Drought won a Gold
Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival. He also directed a number of the awardwinning Willesee documentaries for television, and went on to produce the highly successful
documentary Cane Toads for Film Australia.
ANTOINETTE ALBERT
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Antoinette comes from a background of press and public relations where her clients included
TAA and East west Airlines. Following the death of her husband, Ted, in November 1990,
Antoinette took on the job of Executive Producer of STRICTLY BALLROOM. In this
capacity, and as a director of the M&A Film Corporation, she represents the Albert family’s
interests.
TED ALBERT
PRODUCER
On the eve of STRICTLY BALLROOM moving into production, Ted Albert died suddenly
of a heart attack. The film is dedicated to him in honour of the uncompromising standard of
excellence that Ted envisaged for it, and the team’s commitment to realising his vision.
From his days as a student projectionist at Geelong Grammar School, Ted Albert’s dream
was to make movies. Twenty-eight years later he suggested STRICTLY BALLROOM as
M&A’s first production. Ted’s ability to choose “hit” properties was evidenced by his
discovery and development of artists such as the Easybeats and AC/DC. Building on the
foundations of the family music publishing business, J. Albert & Son (one of the world’s
largest independent music publishers), Ted founded the recording label, Albert Productions,
and established a recording studio which was the first to install digital equipment in Australia.
He was also actively involved in television and in the family’s network of radio stations.
Strictly Ballroom
CREW BIOGRAPHY
“The role of the music in STRICTLY BALLROOM is to highlight the dichotomy between the antiseptic
fascist repression of the Federation world and the cultural richness of rhythm which our hero discovers in the
Spanish world. Hence the soundtrack is comprised of a unique musical eclecticism ranging from fantastically
kitsch adaptations of classical works to well-known pop songs embellished with Spanish and Cuban rhythms.”
- David Hirschfelder
DAVID HIRSCHFELDER
MUSIC DIRECTOR/COMPOSER
OF ORIGINAL MUSIC
As a composer, keyboard player, music director and record producer, David has a long list of
achievements in the Australian music, radio and television industries. He is best known,
perhaps, for his work with John Farnham, first as keyboard player and arranger on the
“Whispering Jack” album, and subsequently as Musical Director on the “Age of Reason” and
“Chain Reaction” albums. He has also produced records for the likes of Dragon and Venetta
Fields, and played with the Little River Band, and Colleen Hewitt among others. With his
own group, Pyramid, he played at the Montreux Jazz Festival and the North Sea Jazz Festival
in Europe and produced Pyramid’s own album. In 1989 he produced and recorded his own
solo album titled “Welcome to the Nightclub of My Mind.”
As a composer he has written themes for many Australian television programmes, and also
the score for a prize-winning documentary, Suzy’s Story, which won him a Penguin Award for
Best Musical Score in 1987.
His music for STRICTLY BALLROOM includes a new arrangement of “Time After Tim”,
sung for the film by Tara Morice. Many ballroom dance classics, as well as the Spanish music
heard in the film, were also specially arranged by David.
Strictly Ballroom
CREW BIOGRAPHY
“The great thing about Steve is that not only is he brilliant with natural light, he’s so phenomenally fast. No
matter what I threw at Steve, he came up with a solution. You can’t underestimate what that means to a
director.”
- Baz Luhrmann
“It’s exciting working with a new director whose vision is so strong. It forces you to the limits. We developed
new equipment for STRICTLY BALLROOM and pioneered enhanced colour processing. Invention comes
from a new vision.”
- Steve Mason
STEVE MASON
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Steve came to STRICTLY BALLROOM soon after working as Camera Operator for
renowned D.O.P. John Seale on Gorilla’s In The Mist. His extensive earlier grounding lay
primarily in documentaries for television, and in second Unit Photography for features (Mad
Max 3 – Beyond Thunderdome, The Empty Beach) and television mini-series (Bangkok Hilton and
Vietnam). As D.O.P., his work includes several low-budget features – Waiting directed by
Jackie McKimmie, Luigi’s Ladies directed by Judy Morris, and The Tale of Ruby Rose which he
shot under rugged conditions in the Tasmanian wilderness for director Roger Scholes. He
now ranks as one of the most exciting younger talents in the Australian industry.
JILL BILCOCK
EDITOR
Internationally recognised for her work as editor Schepisi’s Evil Angels with Meryl Streep, Jill
Bilcock has been established since the early 1980s as one of Australia’s leading editors,
working on numerous feature films as well as commercials, rock clips and documentaries.
Jill’s impressive feature film credentials include four for director Richard Lowenstein –
Strikebound, Dogs in Space, Australian Made, and the 1992 release, Say A Little Prayer – as well as
John Seale’s Till There was You. Although the director and producer of STRICTLY
BALLROOM live in Sydney, arrangements were made to edit the film in Melbourne to take
advantage of Jill’s professional skills, which the production team hold in the highest regard.
Strictly Ballroom
CREW BIOGRAPHY
“Ballroom dancers are living in a perpetual backstage musical. Everything is an occasion. They all have an
approach to life that is based on a backstage musical. Their costuming amplifies their characters. They have
their rehearsal outfits, and they have their ballroom costumes which are extraordinarily spectacular.”
“The costumes of STRICTLY BALLROOM have a diabolical beauty which is sometimes wry and ironic
but not judgemental about these people. We have tried to be truthful and sympathetic.”
- Catherine Martin, Production Designer.
CATHERINE MARTIN & BILL MARRON
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Production Designers Catherine Martin and Bill Marron have been vital members of the
creative team behind STRICTLY BALLROOM since it was first developed as a student
stage production. Their collaboration with Baz Luhrmann also includes his highly successful
production of La Boheme for the Australian Opera.
Catherine graduated from the design course at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1988.
While still a student there, she designed costumes for a feature film, Out Of The Body, and in
1988 won a Green Room Award for her designs for the opera Lake Lost. Her designs for the
stage include an acclaimed production of Diary of a Madman for the Belvoir Street Theatre. In
1991 she won the prestigious Louden-Sainthill scholarship for her design work.
Bill worked as a graphic designer before moving across to theatre, video clips, TV
commercials and work with Catherine on Lake Lost and Diary of a Madman.
Angus Strathie is one of Australia’s busiest and most exciting costume designers. Prior to
STRICTLY BALLROOM, most of his work has been in theatre. In 1988, he graduated
from the Theatre Design course at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, and in the
following year joined the Canberra Theatre Company as designer-in-residence. He also
worked extensively with the Melbourne Theatre Company on productions of A Christmas
Carol, Uncle Vanya, and The Marriage of Figaro among others, and most recently designed a
production of La Mer de Glace for the Australian Opera. He also worked with Baz Luhrmann
on the opera Lake Lost.
Working with Angus was costumier, Nola Lowe, a veteran dressmaker and friend of
Hollywood’s most famous costume designer, Edith Head. Nola was herself a prize-winning
ballroom dancer and later ballroom judge, and now designs extensively for ballroom
competitors and for weddings.
COSTUME FACTS AND FIGURES
$7,000 worth of ostrich feathers were imported. All were dyed to match the exact
colours of the costumes.
 Sequined fabric was imported at $200 a metre.
 5,000 hours of labour were devoted to the decoration of the costumes.
 Two people worked for four weeks to decorate Paul Mercurio’s bolero jacket used in
the climactic dance sequence. Decorations on the jacket came from India (the

Strictly Ballroom
embroideries), Austria (the crystals), Japan (the braid), and Czechoslovakia (the
sequins). The jacket is valued at $6,000.
CHOREOGRAPHY
The choreographer for STRICTLY BALLROOM, John “Cha Cha” O’ Connell, has been
dancing and acting on stage since the age of six. He has performed in a wide range of theatre
styles, from Jacobean drama to cabaret and stand-up comedy. Among his most popular stage
roles was the villain in Graham Bond’s musical comedy, Captain Bloody.
He has danced competitively in ballroom and Latin American styles, studied ballet, tap, jazz,
and flamenco and spent two years with a modern dance company. As choreographer, he has
worked extensively in Australian cabaret and theatre, including Burger Brain for the Australian
Theatre for Young People, and Rene Geyer’s Soul Cha Cha. In television, he worked as a
choreographer for the mini-series, Come in Spinner and Eden’s Lost.
Dance rehearsals for STRICTLY BALLROOM went on with the cast over a ten-week
period. During this time key choreographic elements were developed through work
shopping. Paul Mercurio developed the idea for his solo; Antonia Vargas a well-known
Spanish dance teacher and performer, worked on the Spanish sequences; and Sonia TylerKruger contributed to the ballroom choreography.
John describes the inherent drama in the dancing scenes in STRICTLY BALLROOM: “The
world of ballroom dancing is one of showmanship, bold technical skill and razzle dazzle. The world of
flamenco is one of passion and is an intensely ‘inward’ experience. These two worlds meet in STRICTLY
BALLROOM.
“All the Latin dances in the world of ballroom competition have their own special flavour – the cha cha is
light-hearted and cheeky, the rhumba brooding and sensual, and the samba has all the fun of carnivale.
“But of all the Latin dances it is the ‘pasa doble’ that is the most dramatic, combining the passion of the
bullfight that it represents with the intensity of flamenco. In the “pasa doble”, the relationship between the
dancing couple is as important as the steps themselves, rather than sending all the energy out.”
One of the most complex and subtle scenes in the film involves the intercutting of two
simultaneous rhumbas being danced in different locations to the same music – the Doris Day
classic, ‘Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps’: “The ‘show’ rhumba of the ballroom dance floor, with all its
glamour and extravagance, is juxtaposed with the simplicity of the ‘backstage’ rhumba danced by the two
young lovers, where the steps have been cut to the minimum, and the accent is on the internal feelings of the
dancers.” With the climactic “pasa doble”, the rhumba scene stands among the highlights of
Australian screen choreography.
Strictly Ballroom
CAST BIOGRAPHY
“It’s very rare for any performer in this country to work five days a week, every week of the year. Yet in the
Sydney Dance Company, where Paul is from, they’re used to getting up every night in front of thousands of
people, and training every day. That’s what Paul brought to us. It gave him a terrific lack of fear, the fear
that even experienced actors have.”
- Baz Luhrmann
PAUL MERCURIO
as SCOTT HASTINGS
Paul Mercurio was born on 31 March 1963 in Swanhill, Victoria, into a show business family
and grew up in the theatre. The son of veteran character actor, Gus Mercurio, Paul went to a
special theatre arts school in Western Australia and started training as a dancer at the age of
nine. He eventually left school to take up a full time ballet scholarship with the Western
Australian Ballet Company. From here he was accepted into the Australian Ballet School.
Today he is one of Australia’s best dancers and choreographers and has been performing with
the Sydney Dance Company since 1982 (As a principal since 1983). During this time he has
performed in over 30 productions with principal and featured roles in The Selfish Giant, Some
Rooms, After Venice, Vast, Kraanberg, Soft Bruising and King Roger. As a dancer Paul ahs toured
the world performing in countries such as Japan, New York, China, Greece, Italy, Spain,
Holland, Istanbul, Spain, Portugal, London, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore.
As a choreographer Paul ahs produced some outstanding works for the Sydney Dance
Company including Still Life, Sirens (Madonna section), Duo for Two Boys, Two Men and One
Woman, Dancing with I and Waiting. Also with the Sydney dance Company Paul has worked on
the two critically acclaimed collaborations, Café (with Kim Walker) and Company of Women
(with Graeme Murphy).
Paul was Bax Luhrmann’s first thought for the role of the rebel dancer in STRICTLY
BALLROOM. Paul’s training as a choreographer was invaluable in his work as an actor.
Baz Luhrmann explains: “On a daily basis, Paul is used to breaking down choreography, absorbing
information and turning it into steps. He was very attentive in saying to himself, ‘This guy is coming into this
room, and the reason is…’ While he may not have read Stanislavsky, he has a great understanding of the
basics of understanding of the basics of acting. He is one of the fortunate people who can have a camera placed
in front of their face, and who’s eyes literally think.”
Despite confidence gained from his years of dancing and choreography, ballroom dancing
offered fresh challenges to Paul. In his own words: “ I was nervous and scared of looking stupid in
some of the Latin styles. In ballroom dancing everything moves from the hips down, and your upper body
hardly moves. It’s all hips, knees and ankles. I’ve never thought of myself as a big ‘hip mover’. I’m trained
classically where you hold everything differently.”
The intensive weeks of rehearsing for the film were particularly difficult. Two weeks before
shooting began, during a flamenco rehearsal, he suffered an injury that threatened the whole
production. “I was wearing Cuban-heeled flamenco boots and doing double twist jumps when I landed
straight-legged and twisted my ankle. There was internal bleeding up to the knee. It was a bit ugly. It’s
Strictly Ballroom
probably the worst injury I’ve ever had. I’ve broken both my feet, but this sprain was worse. I was on crutches
for nine days and did a lot of potato poultices to get the swelling down.”
Unfamiliar as the ballroom dance styles were, the chapter of the hero, Scott Hastings, gave
Paul something he could identify with and develop from his own experiences in life. “Scott is
a bit of a rebel, trying to do his own thing, follows his own creative streak. The role didn’t require a total
change of personality for me.”
The spirit of Scott Hastings in Paul, his frustration with the available choreographic
opportunities, led him in mid-1992 to form his own dance group, A.C.E – the Australian
Choreographic Ensemble. Their premiere work, Contact, is an innovative “journey of selfdiscovery” involving dance, film and original music.
Strictly Ballroom
Cast Biography
“I can identify with Ginger Rogers as a dancer. I read a quote of hers once. It was in response to people
saying how brilliant Fred Astaire was. ‘Yes’, she replied ‘but he doesn’t have to do it
backwards and in high heels.’”
- Tara Morice
TARA MORICE
as FRAN
One of the many new talents introduced to the screen in STRICTLY BALLROOM, Tara
Morice has long been part of director Baz Luhrmann’s team. In 1988 she first played the part
of Fran in the stage production at the Wharf Theatre in Sydney. “It was a fantastic experience to
develop a character on stage, watch it grow over two years, and finally see it up on the screen.”
Fran is the clumsy beginner who can’t find a dance partner – the ugly duckling who blossoms
into a champion dancer in tandem with the hero, Scott Hastings. Fran’s Spanish background
gives her the secret to rhythm and movement, the secret that takes her and Scott to success.
Like the whole film, the character of Fran owes much to Hollywood movies of the 1940s. In
Tara’s words: “Many of the female characters in ‘40s movies – like Katherine Hepburn in Bringing Up
Baby and Carole Lombard in My Man Godfrey – were very strong-willed, goofy and courageous, and these are
the qualities that I love about Fran. She has obstacles to overcome, but she attacks them with ferocious energy.
Like women in the ‘screwball’ comedies of the ‘30s and ‘40s, she is a character with her own journey, and is a
positive driving force in her own right. She doesn’t give up or sit quietly in a corner, and that’s why she was
such a fantastic character to play.”
Fran is a character with whom Tara could identify: “as a child I moved around a lot, and was
constantly the new kid at school. Fran is an outsider, and I can relate easily to feeling on the outer; shy and
nervous when it comes to making friends.”
Although Tara’s talents as an actor and dancer are equal, she prefers to consider herself an
actor first and foremost. In 1987, she graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art
and garnered an impressive list of stage credits in Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane,
including productions of The Venetian Twins and Rome Trembles. She also found roles in
television series including Play School and Rescue.
In addition to acting, she danced and sang in the original stage production of STRICTLY
BALLROOM, appeared with the capella group, the Madrigirls, and toured with the ‘40s
dance band Pardon Me Boys, culminating in the 1990 Coca-Cola Bottlers’ Dance Hall for the
Festival of Sydney. Her ability as a singer is also evident in the film of STRICTLY
BALLROOM in her performance of the hit song “Time After Time” on the film’s
soundtrack.
Her preparation for the film of STRICTLY BALLROOM was arduous. Although she had
long played Fran on stage, she had to work hard to secure the part on screen. “I had to do
dance auditions, readings and five or six screen tests before I finally got the role. Then I had six weeks
intensive training in flamenco and ballroom dancing before shooting started.” But the rewards were there:
“We filmed the final scene in a huge stadium in front of thousands of people. In the story it is Fran’s greatest
test of courage, and it was one of the scariest but most exhilarating experiences I have ever had as an actor.”
Strictly Ballroom
CAST BIOGRAPHY
BILL HUNTER
as BARRY FIFE
Bill Hunter has been entertaining Australian audiences for 30 years and is one of our bestknown and talented actors. His many prizes include the A.F.I Best Actor Award for his
leading role in Newsfront and the A.F.I Best Supporting Actor Award for Gallipoli. He has
appeared in numerous other films as a valuable character actor, among them 27A, Blackroads,
In Search of Anna, Mad Dog Morgan, Heatwave, Mull, the British thriller The Hit, and the 1992
releases Deadly, Shotgun Wedding and The Last Days of Chez Nous.
Bill also has extensive stage credits including The Summer of the 17th Doll, and a diversity of
television appearances in mini-series such as Scales of Justice and The Dismissal (for which he
won an A.F.I Award), serials at home and abroad such as G.P., Doctor Who and Minder, and
telemovies, most notably Police State for which he won yet another A.F.I Award.
PAT THOMSON
as SHIRLEY HASTINGS
Before STRICTLY BALLROOM, Pat Thomson had gathered extensive credits in theatre,
film and television. In 1977 she had received the Best Actress and the Best New Talent
prizes in the National Professional Theatre Awards. She was again rewarded for her talent in
1989 when she won an A.F.I Award for Best Actress in a Telemovie with her performance as
a nurse in Malpractice. Her many and varied theatre credits included King Lear, Death of a
Salesman (Sydney Theatre Company) and Wall Flowering (Canberra Theatre Company). Her
television credits ranged from serials (A Country Practice, G.P., Flying Doctors) to mini-series
(Harp in the South, Poor Man’s Orange, Eden’s Lost and Boys from the Bush 1 and 2). Pat also
appeared in several dramatic roles in feature films – Phar Lap and Evil Angels among them –
until STRICTLY BALLROOM gave her an opportunity to display her formidable energy as
a comic actor.
Tragically Pat died of a heart attack in April 1992 just prior to the film’s Cannes premiere.
GIA CARIDES
as LIZ HOLT
Gia is fast establishing herself as one of Australia’s most promising actors and comedians.
On stage she has appeared in Don’s Party, The Marriage of Figaro, The Heartbreak Kid, The
White Rose of Annandale and many other plays. She was a member of a Theatre Sports team
that toured to Vancouver for Canada’s Expo ’86 and she has also performed as a stand-up
comic at Sydney’s famous Harold Park Hotel. She has also had extensive character parts in
television, including serials such as Police Rescue 2. Her screen credits include Phar Lap, Bliss,
Backlash, and the 1992 releases, Daydream Believer and Greenkeeping.
Strictly Ballroom
CAST BIOGRAPHY
PETER WHITFORD
as LES KENDALL
Peter Whitford’s career spans some twenty-five years of Australian stage, film and television.
His stage credits as actor include plays as diverse as Butley, The School for Scandal, The Season at
Sarsaparilla, Hedda Gabler, See How They Run and the musicals, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
and Anything Goes. He has also directed for the stage, including The Murder Room and The
Chairman and Sailor, Beware for Sydney’s Marian Street Theatre. For film, Peter’s performance
credits include My Brilliant career, Phar Lap, Careful He Might Hear You and Warm Nights on a
Slow Moving Train. His extensive television credits include most Australian serials, ranging
from Number 96 and The Sullivans to The Henderson Kids, as well as the series Bodyline and The
Last Bastion.
BARRY OTTO
as DOUG HASTINGS
Barry Otto’s performance career encompasses both stage and screen. He has appeared in
over 50 professional theatre productions ranging from classics like Volpone and Uncle Vanya,
to modern works like Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Portage to San Cristobel of A.H. and Hot Fudge
and Ice Cream. Among his many television credits are the Kennedy Miller mini-series The
Dismissal and Vietnam, and telemovies including Pigs Will Fly. His feature film performances
include Norman Loves Rose, The More Things Change (for which he also received an A.F.I
nomination for Best Actor), The Marsupials – Howling 3 and perhaps his greatest screen
triumph in the leading role of Bliss for which he won the Sydney Film Critics’ circle Award for
Best Actor.
JOHN HANNAN
as KEN RAILINGS
John is a familiar face from many stage, television and film roles: on stage in productions of
The Odd Couple, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Venetian Twins, Candide, The Conquest of Carmen
Miranda and many other; in television series such as Sons and Daughters and The Restless Years;
and in films such as Evil Angels, Stanley and Goodbye Paradise.
SONIA KRUGER-TAYLER
as TINA SPARKLE
One of the few genuine ballroom dancers to have a featured role in STRICTLY
BALLROOM, Sonia has competed in, and won, many Australian ballroom and dancing
competitions. She has also acted on stage in Wall Flowering, and was both the lead player
and choreographer in a production of Damn Yankees for the Ettalong Theatre Company.