The Sleeping Beauty. The Australian Ballet, Adelaide, July 22-23, 2025.

Tchaikovsky was “charmed and captivated” when asked to write the music for The Sleeping Beauty by the director of the Imperial Theatres, Ivan Vsevolozhsky. Audiences have felt the same since the work’s premiere in 1890. The composer and choreographer Marius Petipa worked closely and harmoniously together and created one of the ballet canon’s enduring masterpieces.  The Sleeping Beauty has been…

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.  …

The Australian Ballet at 60: Don Quixote, Identity, Jewels, April-May 2023

The way The Australian Ballet’s calendar works meant Sydney had a unique opportunity to assess the company’s form and direction at the halfway point of its 60th anniversary celebration year.  The ballets came thick and fast in the harbour city. After opening in Melbourne – TAB’s home base – in March, Don Quixote moved on to Sydney in…

Counterpointe, The Australian Ballet

Sydney Opera House, April 27, 2021 Does Counterpointe shine an illuminating light on the journey of classical dance from the 19th century to the 20th or is it a mighty clash of opposing forces? The Australian Ballet’s new artistic director, David Hallberg, sees it as the former. The Australian Ballet’s social media ads, on the other hand, frame Counterpointe as a…

Giselle: The Australian Ballet Regional Tour

Concourse Theatre, Chatswood, Sydney, October 4 The Australian Ballet’s regional touring program has undergone a quiet change. It was created about 35 years ago as The Dancers Company but since earlier this year has gone by an even more prosaic name: The Australian Ballet Regional Tour. Why the change? Presumably so the AB’s ownership is…