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Ryan Mortimer, a Great-Great-Great-Great Grandson of Detlef Staeben (Stehbens) chose dance as his special career. This photo of him as a 17-year-old high school dance student was taken by Leon Mead, an Adelaide Advertiser photographer, on Ryan's last day at high school. He then attended Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne. He has gone on to dance for Opera Australia in "La Traviata", "Julius Caesar", and “Des Fledemaus". He danced in the Millenium 2000 Opera Gala at the Sydney Opera House. During 2003, he danced as "Skimbleshanks" in a production of "CATS" that toured Korea. Ryan is the 2nd son of Jennifer (Parslow) and James Mortimer of Adelaide, South Australia.
Ryan has been inspired by Simone Clifford, Jiri Kilian, and Pia Baaush. While the technical qualities of their dancers impress Ryan, it is the images of movement that their choreography creates in the viewers mind that he appreciates most. “The spontaneity is such, that it appears to me that the dance is being created rather than performed!” “As for me, I’d like to continue dancing professionally for the rest of my life.”
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