Dancer Ross Philip – affectionately known as Rosco – may not wear ballet shoes himself these days (at least not on his feet) but he spends a lot of time working with them, creating striking, sculptural artworks out of pointe shoes previously worn on stage by leading Australian ballerinas, hundreds of which have subsequently been donated to him.

Ross ‘Rosco’ Philip. All photographs supplied

That said, he was a pretty eye-catching figure at the opening night of the Sydney Dance Company’s recent 50th anniversary production Bonachela/Obarzanek, appearing in the audience wearing a headpiece created from ballet shoes ­– though he did remove it when he took to the stage as one of the chosen audience members for that night in Gideon Obarzanek’s piece Us 50.

Philip was a dancer with Sydney Dance Company for 15 years under former Artistic Director Graeme Murphy, during which time he regularly partnered Janet Vernon. Since 1997, he has been a member of Australian Dance Artists with whom he regularly performs. Over the years, he has also appeared as a guest artist with One Extra Dance Company and The Australian Ballet.

In 2018, he won the Wallarobba Outstanding Local...