It’s been a few years since I’ve done a year’s-best list. Everyone loves a list, including me, and it’s fun to see what others found memorable. But while I’m always happy to share my opinions about live performance it’s a bit of a mug’s game to say this thing was “better” than that thing when…
Category: Dance
Oscar. Choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon. The Australian Ballet, Melbourne, September 13, 2024. Sydney, November 8, 2024.
Can something be simultaneously too much and not enough? That was the case for Oscar Wilde in his tumultuous, ill-fated, on-off relationship with the mercurial Lord Alfred Douglas and it’s the case with Oscar, Christopher Wheeldon’s new full-length work for The Australian Ballet. The extraordinarily rich score by Joby Talbot and Wheeldon’s abundant storytelling gifts join…
Coco Chanel: the Life of a Fashion Icon. Queensland Ballet, Playhouse, QPAC, Brisbane, October 4
The unwieldy name of Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s bio-ballet carries the intimation that not everyone will know who Chanel was. Tell that to Brisbane, where Coco Chanel: the Life of a Fashion Icon sold out all 17 performances before the season started. I reckon Chanel herself would have gone for a more streamlined title. She was, after all,…
‘We can be the future only if we know the past’: Francesco Ventriglia talks about his new role at Alberta Ballet. October 8, 2024
Francesco Ventriglia became artistic director of Alberta Ballet in January 2024. Now 46, he has worked as a dancer, artistic director and choreographer in Italy, New Zealand, Uruguay, Australia – where he established his Sydney Choreographic Centre – and now Canada. The company premiere of La Sylphide in September was his first program for Alberta Ballet. I…
Romeo & Juliet. West Australian Ballet, His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth, August 30 and 31, 2024
When announcing her 2023 season for Royal New Zealand Ballet, then-artistic director Patricia Barker described the returning Romeo & Juliet as “a glorious production made for the St James [Theatre] in 2017”. She was referring only to the sets and costumes designed by James Acheson. Barker added: “Andrea Schermoly is creating new choreography that will revive the classic…
The Australian Ballet announces its 2025 season
In what will be David Hallberg’s fifth year as artistic director of The Australian Ballet, the company’s 2025 program offers new works by William Forsythe and Stephanie Lake, the return of John Neumeier’s Nijinsky, the company premiere of Jerome Robbins’s Glass Pieces and, for Melbourne and Canberra, Johan Inger’s powerful Carmen following its Australian premiere in Sydney this year. Revivals of…
Solace, Royal New Zealand Ballet. Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch, August 16, 2024
Solace is a beautiful, onomatopoeic word. It sits softly in the mouth and the taste of its meaning lingers. It promises comfort, although has little to do with being comfortable. This is comfort that exists to alleviate sadness or distress. It is light in the darkness. The three works in Royal New Zealand Ballet’s 2024…
Leanne Benjamin resigns from Queensland Ballet
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…
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…
