JUMPIN’ JARED!

Mary-Anne Wright Van Ross has created an amazing collection of artwork, which will go on display in Bahrain, after being inspired by the ballet dancing abilities of her son, Jared.
The 24-year-old dancer’s career is soaring to new heights as one of the celebrated professionals of the Royal Dutch Ballet in Amsterdam.

His mum admits to having a fascination with movement and hopes her work captures the same grace, strength and stamina that danseurs exude on stage. Her latest exhibition in November will showcase Bahrain and share his life in dance in a collection entitled Aerial.

Australian mother-of-three Mary-Anne, pictured left, who now lives in Seef, said: “I am very proud of Jared and as a professional dancer I thought he would be an ideal subject to focus on being ‘up in the air’ – that’s why I chose the title.

“I like the movement in dance as it gives more potential to develop abstract work. At heart, I’m an expressionist painter and I love the freedom of colour and throwing it around; I suppose dance is a step into that.

“Male dancers are most respected for their ability to fly through the air with majestic leaps. I thought that would be something worth encapsulating in my work, rather than static ballet poses.”

The exhibition will be held at Bahrain Arts Centre, next to the National Bahrain Museum, from November 11 to 17 and will include more than 50 paintings and prints.

A video performance of Jared dancing alongside company ballerina Amanda Mcguigan is currently being produced and will be played during the exhibition to reinforce the Aerial theme.

Jared has been dancing since the age of three and his exceptional ability ‘stood out’when he joined in elementary ballet classes.

Taking after his rugby-loving father, David, Jared also excelled in athletics but never took his focus off dance. When he turned 14, he received his first big break and was offered a place at The Australian Ballet School in Melbourne.

She said: “He got teased by the other kids for loving dance but now he’s so successful and has a body to die for, so he is proud of himself. Those same doubters have seen where he is today and realise he wasn’t so silly after all!”

When Jared secured his position at The Australian Ballet School, the whole family moved from Brisbane to Melbourne to support him.

He performed with the Australian Ballet Company before the Royal Dutch Ballet moved in for his signature.

Mary-Anne is very proud of her now six-foot-four-inch son and the feeling is mutual. He is said to be thrilled by his mother’s artistic interpretations of his dancing.

Mary-Anne and David moved to Bahrain in January 2011 after living in Dubai for two years. With art studios in Australia and France, she regularly travels back and forth between countries.

She studied at the Portsmouth College of Art and the West of England College of Art earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

She started her career as a portrait painter whilst living in England but began painting landscapes, abstracts and expressionist-style paintings when she moved back to Australia.

Some of her proudest moments include painting portraits of the deans and presidents at the Sydney University, University of Queensland and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, as well as a portrait she made of the Queen Mother, which was commissioned for the Royal Marine Barracks in Portsmouth, England.

Mary-Anne works mainly in acrylic, as she prefers painting ‘alla prima’, directly hitting the paint to canvas. However, one of her favourite pieces was done entirely using oil. Working in layers, she painted a scene in the Manama souq capturing Bahraini culture. She explained how although the setting looks ancient, one of the subjects is ironically on his mobile phone, combining the old with the new.

“A lot of the work in the exhibition is local. I love to go out around Bahrain and take photos to work with,” she said. “Bahrain has so much culture and beautiful imagery and I really want to showcase that.

“It was quite a leap producing a big exhibition but now it is time.”