Dance Australia – June-July 2017

f Reed Luplau seems very much at home

in a café in the heart of the Broadway

theatre district, it's because that

neighbourhood is where he has worked

for the past 18 months. The stage door of

his current “office” – the Imperial

Theater – is right across the street, and

his previous job was a few blocks north.

In the invigorating surprise hit

musical Natasha, Pierre and the Great

Comet of 1812, Luplau is a dynamic

member of the frenetically active,

delightfully spontaneous ensemble, and

also a featured dancer in several scenes.

He was previously in the 50th-anniversary

revival of Fiddler on the Roof, one of

Broadway's tried-and-true classics.

33

JUNE / JULY 20 17 | W W W.DANCEAUSTRALIA.COM.AU

AT HOME ON BROADWAY

I

Perth’s Reed Luplau has found

his calling in NYC, reports

Susan Reiter.

In March, the Perth native marked the

seventh anniversary of his move to New York.

They have been busy years for him, marked

by opportunities that have extended his

talents in many directions.

Luplau made his first major move at an

early age, leaving Perth for Melbourne at 15

to attend the Australian Ballet School (ABS).

He'd been dancing from the age of 18 months

• inevitably, perhaps, since his mother owns
  and directs a dance school.
  “I always knew I was going to dance – but I
  thought I was heading into musical theatre,
  that I would do more jazz. But for some
  reason ballet caught my eye,” he says,
  recalling a West Australian Ballet
  production of Coppelia that
  impressed him. On being
  accepted into the ABS, he says,
  “I left my family and was ready to
  tackle the world. I just knew it
  was the right decision to make,
  that this was the training
  I needed to have.
  “During my time at ABS, my
  focus changed a lot. I loved ballet
  training, but there was something

about just pure dancing and pure movement,

that wasn't as strict as ballet is. For me it was

the rightdecisiontogointoSydneyDance

Company(SDC).Atthetime,itwasavery

classical contemporary-based company.

We studiedballeteveryday.”

Among the choreographers whose works he

danced during his four years with SDC were

two from New York: Stephen Petronio and

Aszure Barton. “Aszure and I had a real

connection right away,” Luplau says, noting

that she encouraged him to expand his

horizons – and he followed her advice. I really

had to trust my gut and leave Sydney and

travel.” He worked with Barton's company in

New York on several projects.

“That led to my wanting to pack

up my whole life and move to

NewYork,”herecalls–andhe

didthatin2010.

Luplau's spent his initial years

in the city working mainly in

concert dance. He performed for

several seasons with Petronio -

USA and European tours, in

additiontoannualNewYork

seasons. For one of them,

Reed Luplau and

fellow cast member

Ani Taj in Natasha,

Pierre and the Great

Comet of 1812.

BELOW: Reed Luplau

PHOTO: SIMON PAULY

PHOTO: CHAD BATK A