G'day FOR A BALLET.

Aussie dancer-choreographer Stanton Welch talks about the world of ballet Down Under

Anybody who has seen dancer-choreographer Stanton Welch at work may have derived the impression that Australia is a continent abounding in exquisitely buffed men and serenely proportioned women with very little in their wardrobes but modesty. "My work is just sexy," says Welch. "I like to expose the upper bodies of the dancers. They feel freer that way. I hope I'm not perverted." There's a distinct hint of a giggle in the air.

His 1995 ballet, Corroboree, a steamy number to be sure, was a commission from the San Francisco Ballet, and it proclaimed to the world that this was a talent that would not--could not--be confined to the land Down Under. Now, almost four years later, Welch returns to create a second work for the San Francisco Ballet, Taiko, which premieres April 29.

It has become increasingly difficult to paint a portrait of the 29-year-old Welch; he simply won't sit in one spot long enough. His year so far has included several projects: choreographing Indigo for his March 4 debut at the Houston Ballet; preparing a pas de deux for the Erik Bruhn Competition in Toronto; setting another work, Ander, for the Royal Danish Ballet; reviving his 1996 San Francisco commission, Maninyas, for the Singapore Dance Theatre; making a dance called X for his home company; and rehearsing his full-length version of Puccini's Madame Butterfly for an engagement at the City Center in New York City in October. In an era when classical dance badly needs a replenished repertoire, Welch may just be the one to do it.

A Melbourne native, Welch wasn't one of those kids who fall in love with dancing as soon as they learn to walk. He didn't get into ballet until he was 17, even though both his parents are distinguished dancers (or maybe because they are). "They taught me to see the ugly side of dance, like the savage casting decisions," he says. "Nobody would dance if they could see the actual reality. It's a very short career."

Welch won a scholarship to the San Francisco Ballet School, returned home, joined the Australian Ballet, and danced all over the repertoire, famously as the horse-blinding protagonist in a ballet based on Equus. He presented his first ballet in 1990, rapidly drew international attention, and hasn't stopped running. While Welch remains fiercely patriotic--"We Australians have populated the world"--he doesn't paint a particularly congenial picture of his homeland for dancers. "Much like our marsupials, we're a bit isolated, though our training is essentially British," he notes. "For women, dance is still a way of getting away from home and into the big cities. My mother, for example, came from a small mining town. And Australians are still convinced that you'll never amount to anything if you don't leave the country."

When it comes to masculine expectations, though, Australia is not much different from such faraway lands as America. "Sports is still the thing for boys," says Welch. "Dance, in which you must be both athletic and expressive, is just as hard as baseball. The ballet world there is very homophobic. As long as you don't advertise the fact that you're gay, you won't have a problem."

When it comes to his own personal life, Welch sees 30 approaching fast. "Maybe," he muses, "I should take six months off. Maybe I should go crazy. Maybe I should fall in love."

Ulrich is the dance and classical-music critic for the San Francisco Examiner.

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