A Memoir of Maxwell Collis and the South Australian Ballet Theatre
The story of F. Maxwell Collis, foundation member of the Borovansky Ballet, principal artist with Ballet Rambert and founder of the South Australian Ballet Theatre, told by the student whose life he changed.
Mentor of Dance is at once a biography and a testament. Drawing on decades of memories, interviews, letters, programs and newspaper clippings, Sandrushka Whitelaw reconstructs the life of the man who first asked her, as a child, if she would like to be a dancer too.
Across its acts the book traces Max's journey from a music-filled Melbourne childhood to the Borovansky Ballet and Ballet Rambert, his return to Australia, and his creation of the South Australian Ballet Theatre, the company and school that became his beloved Camelot.
It offers a rare and intimate view of Australian dance from the 1930s to the late twentieth century: the early Borovansky years, the founding of the Victorian Ballet Guild, the creation of the South Australian Ballet Theatre and the rise of Ballet Victoria. Written by someone who knew Collis personally, trained under him and carried his teachings into adulthood, it is both authoritative and profoundly human.
“Talent does not belong to you. You are only a vessel for its growth.”Maxwell Collis
Turn decades of personal memories, interviews, letters, programs and press clippings into a structured, readable life story that honours its subject and serves readers who never saw him dance.
The story is organised like a ballet in three acts, moving from Max's early years and international career to the founding of his company and, finally, his philosophy of training and lasting legacy.
Published by Potter Publishers in 2026 as an ebook, giving an under-recognised figure in Australian ballet the full, permanent record his story deserves.
Maxwell Collis and Lorraine Irving in the South Australian Ballet Theatre production of Cinderella.
Born in Hampton, Victoria, in 1925, Max made his dancing debut in 1934, performing a gavotte before sixty-five thousand people at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. He became a foundation member of the Borovansky Ballet, dancing under the Maestro himself, before becoming a principal artist with Ballet Rambert in London.
Returning to Australia, he founded the South Australian Ballet Theatre, the first classical ballet company in South Australia, and contributed to the Ballet Guild, the Victorian Ballet Company and Ballet Victoria. Above all he was a teacher, renowned for his musicality and philosophy of training, who shaped hundreds of students. He died in 1996.
Sandy began her career on the stage as a professional dancer, choreographer and actor with the Elizabethan Theatre Trust, the Australian Broadcasting Commission and JC Williamson's. As a mature-age student she completed a Master of Arts and went on to lead an Industrial Relations consultancy for thirty-two years, including consultancies for the World Health Organization.
She is now Curator of Costume for the National Trust of South Australia, caring for the largest costume collection in Australia, and has returned to community theatre as a performer and costume designer.
“I did not set out to write a book. I set out to remember a man.”Sandrushka Whitelaw, Author's Note
The full memoir, including the complete acts, is available now as an ebook.
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