Leanne Benjamin reflects on her rise to the top of the dancing world and her next challenge
When Queensland Ballet’s newly appointed artistic director dropped into Rockhampton, she spoke candidly about her life and fierce pride in the region which helped shape her incredible dancing career.
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A dainty pink and white checked dress adorned with frills holds a special place in Leanne Benjamin’s extraordinary story.
It was the costume she wore in her first eisteddfod performance - on the stage of Rockhampton’s Municipal Theatre - when she was just four.
The youngest entrant in the tiny tots song-and-dance section, she gave a rousing rendition of Animal Crackers In My Soup which earned a highly commended award from adjudicator Jill Cadden.
The little dancer melted hearts but beneath her cute exterior simmered a burning ambition that once fuelled, would propel her to the top of the arts world.
Rockhampton born and bred, Benjamin has been described as one of the world’s most important ballet dancers of the past 50 years.
Her life came “full circle” last week when she returned home, taking centre stage at the Pilbeam Theatre in a new and exciting role.
The 59-year-old was recently appointed the artistic director of Queensland Ballet, taking the helm from Li Cunxin, the man known as Mao’s Last Dancer.
She is the sixth person to assume the role and the first female, and it’s a position she says she is “proud and honoured” to hold.
The Range Convent student has fond memories of her first performance and “that” dress, which was among some of the early costumes her parents Jill and Bernie sent to her when she settled in London.
“I remember it because of the fantastic photograph that was taken by a gentleman from The Morning Bulletin, and also I still have my dress from that time,” she said.
“I brought it here - it’s really pretty, really beautiful and really small.”
Benjamin said she could not believe her parents had kept it and some of her other early costumes.
“They sent them to London many, many years ago and I’ve just had them in a suitcase,” she said.
“When I was given the directorship, I thought I must bring them back, you never know when I might need them, so I was absolutely overjoyed to find out the company was going to be touring to Rockhampton pretty soon after my arrival to Brisbane.”
Benjamin said the QB wardrobe department “helped spruce them up” and they were on display at the Pilbeam during the company’s performance on March 27.
There was also a well-worn photo album filled with newspaper clippings, complete with beautifully hand-written notes from her mum.
Leanne was more than happy for patrons to paw over them and her eager explanation of each article breathed colour and life into the black and white print on the now yellowing pages.
From the Rocky stage to Covent Garden
Leanne Benjamin’s meteoric rise is the stuff of dreams.
Starting ballet at the age of three, she went on to enjoy a celebrated three-decade long dancing career, which included 21 years as a principal with The Royal Ballet, based in London’s Covent Garden.
She was just 16 when she was accepted into The Royal Ballet School.
She packed a bag and off she went, daring to chase her dreams.
Those dreams soon became reality when she joined the Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet Company, a touring company of The Royal Ballet.
It was then on to the English National Ballet and the Deutsche Oper, where she continued to build up her repertoire and work with leading dancers, teachers and directors.
Benjamin said her “biggest and greatest experience” was when world acclaimed choreographer Sr Kenneth McMillan came to Berlin and selected her as the lead for the ballet, Different Drummer.
“I hung my pointe shoes up in 2013 and went onto other ventures on the other side of the stage, nurturing a new generation of dancers and being involved with other organisations to mentor and support dancers, in particular those from New Zealand and Australia.”
Hometown holds special place in my heart
Leanne Benjamin has left a lasting legacy as a ballerina and is determined to leave a similar impression as an artistic director.
For one who has achieved so much and been abroad for 40 years, one could assume her connection to Rockhampton may have faded with time.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
She is fiercely proud of her upbringing and the role her hometown and those in it played in her career.
“I love Rocky, I love the community and I’m so happy to be home,” she enthused during one of her many media interviews.
“I was a true Rocky eisteddfod girl and I was very fortunate to be able to participate in a lot of little shows.
“I danced on the small stages in Rockhampton, singing, dancing, playing characters, doing ballet and tap, modern, Scottish, Irish.
“You name it, I was doing it, and from a very early age I was definitely hooked and fell in love with dance.”
She said her time here provided an incredible foundation and allowed her to “learn all the ropes”.
Benjamin reiterated that fondness when introducing her company’s performance of Queensland Ballet At Home which fittingly finished in Rockhampton.
“When I heard that QB was going to be doing a regional tour soon after my arrival into Brisbane, my first question was” ‘But are we going to Rockhampton?’
“I was absolutely thrilled when the answer was yes,” she told the enthusiastic crowd at the Pilbeam.
“As Dilshani (Weerasinghe), our amazing technical director will tell you, I get so excited to meet anyone from Rockhampton on my travels and when I do, I spontaneously dive into a very deep curtsy.”
Benjamin said she could not help but be taken back to the very beginning of her journey in the close-knit town of Rockhampton where she felt so fortunate to grow up.
“Rocky has a very special place in my heart,” she said.
“This city and community gave me endless opportunity and support to learn my craft in the performing arts,” she said.
“When I left Rockhampton to join the Royal Ballet School in London, I had a confidence that enabled me to stand on the world stage.”
Barbecues and the beach: Her fondest memories
Just as she has never forgotten her roots, Leanne Benjamin has always trumpeted the incredible support of her loving parents.
Well-known Rocky residents who now live in Sydney, they travelled home to see their daughter and the QB performance.
Jill said it was “incredibly emotional”, as tears of joy and pride welled in her eyes during the interval.
Benjamin described Jill and Bernie as “amazing people”.
“They’ve always been so entrepreneurial and they’ve given me the freedom to fly over the years,” she said.
“They’re my champions and my biggest inspirations.”
Benjamin said there was “nothing better than coming home” and it was wonderful to be closer to family.
Not surprising, she noticed a lot of changes in Rockhampton in her 40 years away.
“My old house has changed as well, it has solar panels now,” she said with a wry smile.
“I think just generally I can see a new vibe, a new generation of people here in Rockhampton so it’s great to see that it’s thriving.”
Despite the tyranny of distance, the bond with her family has never waned and they feature prominently in the fondest memories of her childhood.
“I remember barbecues... with friends and family on a Saturday,” she said.
“We had a little house on Lammermoor Beach and it was always a joy to go there. We spent a lot of Christmases and weekends there.
“I also remember us packing the car and going off and doing a lot of eisteddfods around Queensland.”
A heartwarming reunion
A diminutive figure, Leanne Benjamin still casts a giant shadow which looms large over all those she meets.
She had aspiring dancers and dance teachers captivated as she held court on visits to The Cathedral College and Rockhampton Grammar School.
Benjamin’s visit to TCC also brought her into the warm embrace of Capricorn School of Dancing founding principal Narelle Aspinall who she “used to dance with many, many years ago” in the studios of Rockhampton.
Narelle’s students gave a captivating performance before Leanne toured the construction site of the college’s new performing arts centre.
She listened intently as school principal Rob Alexander detailed how it would include dance, drama and music studios and a lecture-style space which converts to a 350-seat performance auditorium.
It is scheduled to be ready before the start of the 2025 school year.
Mr Alexander said the planning team toured the state’s best facilities including Queensland Ballet to produce the state-of-the-art design.
The three ‘Ps’ that led to perfection
Leanne Benjamin revealed that homesickness, particularly in the early years of her time overseas, was one of the biggest challenges she had to overcome in her career.
She said she had to cultivate new friends and it was difficult not having her family around.
When asked for the best piece of advice she’s ever received, she answers: “Be yourself”.
And when quizzed on her three keys to success, the response is equally succinct: “Practice, practice, practice”.
Benjamin says her favourite ballet to perform was anything that was dramatic, anything where she could delve into the story and be absorbed, not just dancing steps.
She would not be drawn on her favourite ballet to watch, saying when asked: “Anything that inspires me, anything that captures my heart, anything that makes me feel something - be it a movie, a book, a ballet, a play - any of the above.”
Ironically, Benjamin no longer dances but instead walks and does pilates.
“I never dance for enjoyment, actually. I’m not a ‘clubby’ girl and while I thought dance was fun I was still always driven to perfection,” she said.
Greatest achievement in a celebrated career
There is little that Leanne Benjamin has failed to realise in her celebrated career.
She has worked with the beacons of ballet, including Margot Fonteyn, Rudolf Nureyev, Kenneth MacMillan and Mikhail Baryshnikov,
She defied the norm, only retiring from the stage at the age of 49 as The Royal Ballet’s longest-serving ballerina.
She has amassed countless awards, and is a highly sought-after international speaker and judge.
But there is one achievement that stands above them all.
“It is my 20-year-old son who I’m very proud of,” she declares.
Thomas was born in 2003, two years after Benjamin married Tobias Round, a theatre producer and artist manager.
Benjamin reveals it was Thomas’s thought-provoking words that helped her decide to return to Australia and join the Queensland Ballet.
“I had to contemplate a lot. I was giving up everything I knew and had built in London and Thomas just said to me one day, ‘Mum, doing what you’re doing now is not the end of your story’.
“Ultimately, he helped me make this decision.”
How she sees her new role
Leanne Benjamin says it is an “absolute honour” to be the artistic director of QB.
“Hopefully, I’m going to breathe new life, bring new voices and work positively and personally with each and every dancer,” she said.
“In this role, I’m taking care of the dancers, I am curating many seasons of repertoire into our future, I’m looking at stages for us to dance on, I’m looking at the branding of the company and how we market this new generation of dancer.”
Benjamin also wants males, in particular, to understand and appreciate the physical demands of ballet.
“It’s not just an artform, it’s very athletic. You need to be really strong and really fit in order to be able to dance,” she said.
She is also incredibly passionate about bringing ballet to the regions, knowing all too well the impact the company had on her as a young child.
“I remember being very inspired when Queensland Ballet came to Rockhampton,” she said.
“As we all know, it could be just one person or one performance that helps set the path we take in life.”
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