Former Royal Ballet superstar Leanne Benjamin arrived at Queensland Ballet in mid-January as the company’s sixth artistic director. On August 2 she leaves the building. In a statement released by QB on July 31 Benjamin said: “Ultimately, as we have worked together to design a vibrant season for 2025, it has become very clear that…
Category: Dance
Bespoke. Queensland Ballet, Talbot Theatre, Thomas Dixon Centre, Brisbane, July 25
Queensland Ballet’s commitment to its Bespoke program is important and necessary for the company, for choreographers and for the QB dancers. Bespoke isn’t the only place where new work happens but it is specifically and only for the new, and a place where boundaries can be stretched a bit. This year’s Bespoke opened with the…
Club Origami. Sydney Dance Company, Neilson Studio, July 19, 2024
How on earth do you keep a bunch of toddlers and babies quiet for more than half an hour? (Well, as quiet as toddlers and babies can be.) Club Origami seems to have the answer. This origami-based children’s show – yes, there is such a thing – was Sydney Dance Company’s school holiday outreach to the five-and-under…
Jewels, The Australian Ballet, Adelaide Festival Centre, July 11. The Australian Ballet on Tour, Civic Theatre Newcastle, July 12
George Balanchine’s Jewels was premiered by the Australian Ballet as part of the company’s 60th anniversary celebrations last year and very welcome it was too. It’s unlike anything else in the repertoire and it’s hard to think of a work that, moment for moment, is more glamorous. Sydney, Melbourne and London saw it last year; now it’s Adelaide’s turn. …
Horizon. Bangarra Dance Theatre, Sydney Opera House, June 13, 2024
When Bangarra Dance Theatre takes to the stage it is, without fail, in a spirit of generosity. That was true under the long-standing leadership of Stephen Page and feels true with Frances Rings, who took over the artistic directorship last year. The company’s work enlarges and enriches our understanding of First Nations history, culture and…
Romeo and Juliet Suite. L.A. Dance Project, Sydney Opera House, June 5, 2024
Love is love. If you want just three words to sum up Romeo and Juliet Suite, they’re the ones. Benjamin Millepied’s thrilling dance work, set to selections from Prokofiev’s mighty ballet score, is ultimately that basic and that profound. Who loves whom is a personal matter. That humans are capable of intense feeling and overwhelming…
Romeo and Juliet. BIG Live, Civic Theatre, Newcastle, June 1.
The name BIG Live doesn’t exactly scream ballet but that’s what the organisation does. BIG stands for Ballet International Gala, the arena in which BIG Live started operations in 2022. There were some pandemic-related bumps but the idea proved durable. The galas featured a formidable line-up of dancers for the first and subsequent presentations and…
Royal New Zealand Ballet artistic director Ty King-Wall
Ty King-Wall finished his ballet career at the top, retiring from The Australian Ballet as a principal artist. By the time he stopped dancing in 2022 he had two young children, one born just weeks before his final performance. His wife, former TAB principal Amber Scott, made her farewell to the stage last year. King-Wall…
SILENCE. Karul Projects, Sydney Opera House, May 8, 2024
Thomas E.S. Kelly’s SILENCE has been well travelled since its premiere at the Brisbane Festival in 2020. That’s a measure of how well it’s been received, which is excellent, and the enduring nature of its theme, which is not so good. SILENCE comes out swinging at the fact that Australia’s First Nations people are still waiting for a…
Swan Lake. Royal New Zealand Ballet, St James Theatre, Wellington, May 4 and 5, 2024
It was a memorable few days for Royal New Zealand Ballet dancers Ana Gallardo Lobaina and Joshua Guillemot-Rodgerson. When they made their debuts as Odette/Odile and Siegfried at the May 2 evening performance of RNZB’s Swan Lake they were both soloists at the time. Not for long though. After the May 4 matinee – their second performance…
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