Birds in display

November can't come soon enough. Lyrebird! a true story will be in sale! In the meantime I'm spotting displaying birds all over the place.

At considerable expense I went to the Australian Ballet to see the re-staging of Robert Helpmann's work 'The Display'. I was curious to see how he'd choreographed the bird. The Lyrebird in the ballet was to be feared. Human size and sizzling with testosterone - there was nothing fairy-like about this bird. First performed in 1964, the ballet seemed dated and at times corny but having said that, I was riveted and every time the dancer/bird came on stage, my heart raced.

Not all the birds spotted have been lyrebirds. There was a peacock ... I went to Festival Indonesia on Sunday and when I arrived there was an exquisite dancer on the main stage. Through gesture, movement and facial expression and dressed in  an elaborate costume, the dancer became the bird in front of my eyes. I wondered as I was watching if ever a male dancer performed this dance and how that would alter the performance.