Jason Coleman
The Dancing Man From Rosebud
Vivienne Pearson sits down for our next 60th Anniversary Alumni interview with superstar choreographer and producer, Jason Coleman! Read about his inspiring story below as we look at his life from his first steps in Rosebud to performing in cities all over the world.
Hello, Jason Coleman! Over your career, you have performed in almost every show I can name, and you choreographed the opening and closing ceremonies of the Sydney Olympics. You are now the CEO and Artistic Director at Jason Coleman’s Ministry of Dance and, most importantly, you learnt to dance at the Rosebud School of Ballet (now Peninsula School of Dance).
These days, I consider myself a producer and director but dance is my foundation. I credit Sandra Allan for giving me my lifelong love of dance.
When talking to parents at my new full-time school, I can’t promise their kid will make it, no matter how talented they are. But, I can promise that the dedication, passion, confidence, friendships and team work they are learning will serve them for the rest of their lives.
“Even when I went to the Victorian College of the Arts, I’d still come home on Saturday and do class with Sandra.”
What led you to dance?
I was that kid who was dancing from the moment I could walk. At age eight, my sister and two of our friends from the street started ballet and I said to my mum “I want to go too.” Mum assumed I just wanted to go because the girls were but, two years later when they stopped going, I still said I wanted to go. So, mum went to see Sandra.
When I went to my first jazz class at age 10, two girls laughed at me so I didn’t want to go back. Luckily, Sandra had said I should also do ballet, so I just did ballet for two years. I am so grateful, as I now believe that, within the smorgasbord of dance, ballet is your vegetables.
For the rest of my childhood and teenage years, I was at the ballet school after school on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays then all day Saturday. I spent more time at ballet than with my siblings.
It was a home for me. It was my school, my club, my friends. It was my happy place.
Jason in an early Rosebud Ballet School annual concert in 1985.
Jason with two of his dance friends before a choreographic competition in Melbourne in 1981.
“It was my school, my club, my friends. It was my happy place.”
What was life like in Rosebud during the 1970s and ‘80s?
Rosebud was pretty different then. We used to climb onto the soundshell to have our lunch in between classes. When I was ready to be picked up, I’d use the public phone to ring mum. She knew that, if the phone hung up before she answered, it was me.
We were brought up by the adults around us and the clubs we were involved in, not by the internet. I feel so lucky. I was spirited and testing the world.
Jason was often the only boy in his class – Jason is pictured here at Rosebud Memorial Hall in one of their concerts in 1983.
Jason performs in a jazz dance at the Rosebud Memorial Hall.
At times, I was the only boy at the dance school, so I got lots of attention. I was happy to be joined at different times by Blair Withers, Dion Jacobs and Sandra’s son, Andrew McKay.
Even when I went to the Victorian College of the Arts, I’d still come home on Saturday and do class with Sandra. There were no mirrors in those days. Sandra taught us to feel a plie rather than to see what we looked like in the mirror.
“Six months in to my time at the Australian Ballet School, something happened that changed my life forever.”
Jason Coleman stars in his Cabaret Cathedral show in Rye in the Summer of 2015/2016 – in a performance space built out of shipping containers. Photo by Belinda Strodder.
Jason teaches at the Victorian Dance Festival in Melbourne. Photo by Belinda Strodder.
What took you from Rosebud to become a ‘dancing man’?
I went to the Victorian College of the Arts for two years from the age of 12, then I went back to Rosebud. That was followed by a year full time at the National Theatre. Then, at age 16, I was accepted into the Australian Ballet School.
Six months in to my time at the Australian Ballet School, something happened that changed my life forever.
David Atkins came to town with a little show called Dancing Man. I went to see it with a friend and, ten minutes in, I was crying. Howling like a baby. My friend had to ask if I was ok. I’m crying now just remembering it. I said to my friend: “This is who I want to be.”
It was a sliding doors moment. Three weeks later, David Atkins held an audition. I took the day off school. The routine we auditioned with was the same one I’d been crying while watching in the theatre.
At the end, he said “Just do as many pirouettes as you can.” I planted my preparation, pulled off nine pirouettes, finished in a retiré, then casually walked off into the wings, acting like I did this all the time.
A voice, like the one in A Chorus Line, said: “The boy in the blue tights”, so I poked my head out around the wings. Later, David told me I was the best young dancer he’d ever seen. I went to Sydney with $136 in my pocket and stayed there for 23 years.
On my first day at rehearsal, David Atkins put me front and centre. Other boys were pissed off but I knew it was because of my technique. That was the foundation I had over the other boys.
I started working as a commercial dancer too, doing nightclubs and promotions somewhat illegally as I was only 16. I was one of Alan Bond’s Swan Gold dancers, earning over $2,000 a week, including being paid $876 to do three five-minute aerobics routines. Some of my friends were holding onto a barre for hours trying to get into the Australian Ballet and, even then, only earning $900 a week.
Jason speaks to his captivated audience at his Cabaret Cathedral show on the Peninsula. Photo by Belinda Strodder.
Jason performs the Can Can with his ensemble of former students turned professional performers in his first Peninsula Cabaret show.
“I went to Sydney with $136 in my pocket and stayed there for 23 years.”
Jason Coleman was one of the judges on the TV show So You Think You Can Dance Australia from 2008 – 2010. He is pictured here with fellow judges and hosts Nathalie Bassingthwaighte, Bonnie Lythgoe and Matt Lee.
Jason Coleman with choreographer Adrian Ricks blocking a performance for the BeyondBlue Cup in 2017 at the MCG in Melbourne.
What would you like to say about Sandra?
Sandra Allan is like my second mother. And I don’t say that lightly.
Sandra gave me my love of dance. She taught me to feel it, not watch it. Wherever I danced, my teachers would tell me to pull my shoulders down or stretch my feet, but then say: “You’ve got great feeling.”
Jason Coleman takes barre at the Rosebud Memorial Hall studio with his classmates.
“Sandra has this amazing ability to make you feel good.”
I say to dancers I teach now to stop the music and tell me what they’re feeling. In eight steps, I can give you a sentence of how I’m feeling. Sandra gave me that. Sandra has this amazing ability to make you feel good. She is so very clever and calming. She never spoke loudly, even when I was being naughty. When she speaks, the whole room stops to listen.
Jason with his first dance teacher and founder of Rosebud Ballet School Miss Sandra Allan.
Jason regularly catches up with old Rosebud Ballet School friends – pictured here with Nicole Crean, Shelley Gadsby and Sharlene Harvey, all still currently dancing.
Sandra encouraged me, she led the best of us to opportunity. And, she helped my Mum negotiate everything. Also, Sandra’s daughter, Kirsten, was my first girlfriend, my first love. We used to hide behind the curtains at the theatre and kiss!
I still feel the same towards Sandra as I always did. Nothing’s ever really changed, just like it hasn’t with my mum and dad. Sandra hasn’t changed either; she doesn’t age, she doesn’t stop. She still has her amazing posture. I invite Sandra and my mum to the opening night of all my shows, so they see each other at least once a year depending on how busy I am.
I’m 51 years old and, if Sandra told me off today, I’d probably burst into tears! I’d really die if Sandra was disappointed in me. I find it hard to ever say no to her.
I think she’s proud of everything I’ve done. She calls me the ‘Golden Boy’, saying that everything I touch turns to gold. I tell her I’ve done an awful lot of polishing! Sandra is the bomb of Cecchetti. Building a space for The Cecchetti Society within the Ministry of Dance was my way of giving back.
I think dance gets better and better as you get older. I remember watching Margot Fonteyn on video dancing for the last time and considered her just as beautiful as Sylvie Guillem who was 20 and had developpés that were inverted.
“I have my staff follow PSD as I’m envious of what [Mel’s] created.”
You’ve stayed connected with the school, haven’t you?
I’ve watched Mel take the ballet school and build it into a school of today. It’s so much more than putting an ad in a newspaper and teaching dance.
Mel has done with Rosebud Ballet School what I’ve done for the Melbourne dance industry, which is taking it ‘into the now’. She doesn’t just see dance as steps, she sees it as a whole. I believe she’s a leader of the small schools.
The club spirit in the school is amazing. I have my staff follow PSD as I’m envious of what she’s created that I just can’t do within my big school.
I loved Sandra’s school because it was a real club. I’m still friends with people I danced with, we were like a network of the best kids in the area. Mel’s brought that into the millennium and I highly respect her for that.
I have taught classes for Mel and her students have been involved each year in my cabaret show held on the Mornington Peninsula each year. I feel like PSD and The Ministry are connected in a holistic way. Mel does what Sandra did, which is exactly what I tell people to do: Teach with love and everything else will flow from that.
Jason takes an on-stage selfie with the students of Peninsula School of Dance and Principal Melanie Gard at the end of their annual performance in 2015.
The group of lucky PSD students who performed in Jason Coleman’s cabaret shows for children over the Summer of 2019/2020.
What would you like your legacy to be?
If I had to think about my legacy for the school, it’s to the little kids who have a dream. I came from a small town and I made it because I loved it, so you can too. If I’ve inspired one other little tacker, I’ll be happy.
On this occasion of the 60th anniversary of the school, I’d like to say congratulations to Sandra for setting it up and to Mel for taking this piece of gold and shining it into a giant diamond.
Jason Coleman, thank you for sharing your story of how being a boy from Rosebud who wanted to dance took you to the world’s stages.
Story by Vivienne Pearson. Vivienne is a freelance writer who writes feature stories for newspapers and magazines, as well as engaging content for business and causes.
Jason Coleman with PSD students, promoting one of his Summer shows on the Peninsula. Photo by Yanni.