Fearlessness

Patricia Beatty: “She had nerve. I suppose that perhaps she needed to prove she wasn’t scared. Always powerful, not lithe and lovely. She was powerful, so present. And there was a rawness to her. She had a tight body. Graham was not easy for her. Moving was. Amelia was going for the moment. She didn’t have facility in the way that the kids do today.

The most powerful thing about her was how intuitive she was –it gave her a boldness. No counts and never late. Never.  She could intuit what the choreographer wanted, what performance required. She risked easily. Intuitively. She scared some of the men. I recall one saying “she’s a witch”, and we now know that this is a compliment. Couldn’t understand it then. SURE enough, she went into healing, which is what we know witches were really about!”

Peter Randazzo: “When Amelia moved, she became energy. She was unique. Yes, that means different than everyone else. But while other dancers were fabulous in many ways, Amelia’s uniqueness lay in how perfect she was, doing what she was doing that no one else could do. I can’t describe this. There aren’t words.

When did I first encounter her? She came to the studio – Trish brought her. Once she came to Toronto she was very serious about dancing. She was very quiet. She just did the work. In her early dancing years, when she moved it was like she transformed into energy – it was unusual. She literally took over when the curtain went up.

I never in my lifetime worked with a dancer as incredible as Amelia. She was the best. No one could ever teach that. She had a very magical gift – it’s the only way I can describe it. She was completely fearless. On stage she ran, dove, threw herself BACKwards. She did literally death-defying things. Things magicians wouldn’t try.”

Penelope Stella: “It’s really rare to see a dancer who is virtuosic but who brings content, and Amelia was able to bring content. Amelia was able to bare herself emotionally.” 

Dianne Buxton: “From the very first performance I saw, she was the one you watched. She was able to allow the audience member to experience her, rather than watch her as an object.”

Ann Tutt: “Fire. Seeing her onstage was seeing fire.”