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Christopher Wheeldon’s extravagant Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland© returns to take audiences back down the rabbit hole in 2024. Masterfully translated from Lewis Carroll’s beloved book, Wheeldon brings the humour and eccentricities of the original story to the ballet stage in a fantastical tale suitable for the whole family. Watch as The Queen of Hearts rampages around her court, the White Rabbit shimmies his tail and the Caterpillar sparkles in 16 crystal-covered pointe shoes.

Tony Award-winning designer Bob Crowley has blended high-tech wizardry and traditional stage craft, weaving magic through puppetry and eye-catching design elements. Composer Joby Talbot captures Wonderland’s moods in an evocative score alive with Cheshire purrs and ticking clocks.

The Australian Ballet’s production of Alice won the 2018 Helpmann Award for Best Ballet and Best Female Dancer (Ako Kondo), and was nominated in three other categories, including Best Choreography, Best Scenic Design and Best Male Dancer.

This family favourite is The Australian Ballet’s farewell season at Melbourne's State Theatre before it closes for renovations until 2027, and the company temporarily relocates to Melbourne’s historic Regent Theatre.

As the White Rabbit insists, “Don’t be late for this very important date!”

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George Balanchine’s Jewels is a three-part ballet celebrating his vision of three jewels. Visually and thematically structured around the motifs of Emeralds, Rubies and Diamonds, the piece explores the idea of movement radiating from the body through each specific jewel.

Making its world premiere at New York City Ballet in 1967, Jewels showcases Balanchine’s atmospheric musicality. These contrasting works explore his time in Paris, New York and St Petersburg through the harmony of music and the defining visual elements of colour, shape and silhouette. Each of the three acts is distinct in style and mood, set to music by three different composers: Fauré for Emeralds, Stravinsky for Rubies, Tchaikovsky for Diamonds. Opulent costumes and sets unify each of the three sections to achieve one regal whole, which will showcase the breathtaking classical precision of The Australian Ballet’s artists.

A mesmerising spectacle that is both soft and sharp, racy and refined, flashy and majestic, Jewels is a lavish work capturing the company’s celebratory spirit in its milestone 60th anniversary year.

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“ Two world premieres see Daniel Riley break new ground, while Alice Topp rejoices in our national company's diamond anniversary. ”

"Daniel Riley and Alice Topp are two of Australia’s leading choreographic voices. They both explore what identity means to them, whether it be the identity of Australia, the identity of community, or the identity of art. In honour of our 60th anniversary, we look at the sense of identity in today’s artists."

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In a creative feat that will see ballet transposed from screen to stage, Don Quixote recreates Rudolf Nureyev and Robert Helpmann’s 1973 film in a wildly colourful, palpably textured stage spectacle. A tribute to the legacy of the legendary Russian dancer and director who was a guest of The Australian Ballet in the early 1970s, this production resembles a painting come to life, enriched by a Spanish-flavoured score by veteran 19th-century ballet composer Ludwig Minkus, and vibrant costumes and sets that immerse audiences in a sultry experience of classical ballet.

Don Quixote moves from a rowdy Barcelona port to the ethereal happenings of the Don’s dream, to the candle-lit finery of the wedding celebration. A spirited ballet bursting with humour, the story follows the barber Basilio, who wins the hand of his girlfriend Kitri with the help of the visionary knight.

No detail is left unexplored in this rendition of Don Quixote. Emphasising the integral role of the set in evoking the film’s seductive atmosphere, the stage brims with everything from flowers to candles, evoking the bustling streets of Spain.

From the ballet’s spectacular lifts in Act I, to rousing ensemble scenes and a glittering confection of tutus, Don Quixote is a multi-sensory feast that reminds us of ballet’s power in the historical creative canon.

The re-design and restoration of Don Quixote has been funded by The David Hallberg Fund, with support from The Barry Kay Fund.

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In the history of dance, there are only a handful of productions that translate Shakespeare’s story of tragic love into compelling ballet form. John Cranko’s majestic version is one of them. His Romeo and Juliet premiered in 1962, the year The Australian Ballet was founded, and generations of our dancers have grown up with the production and gone on to shine in its many dream roles.

An artist who effortlessly fused dance and drama, Cranko richly evokes the grandeur of the Capulets’ ball, the fierce clashes of the rival families and the brief, luminous flare of young love. His choreography seems to flow spontaneously out of Sergei Prokofiev’s score, which has proven itself as immortal as Shakespeare’s play. As clearly as words could, the music lays out the progress of the story, evoking swordplay, ecstasy, murder and the looming approach of the lovers’ fate.

Jürgen Rose’s dramatically resonant design captures the pageantry of medieval Verona, contrasting the heavy splendour of the aristocratic elder generation with the billowing fabrics of the young lovers’ carefree abandon.

Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet binds artists and audiences in a profound emotional experience that will linger long after the curtain falls.

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Cinematic staging, elegant costumes and Yuri Possokhov’s sensual choreography illuminate the tragedy of Anna Karenina, whose desire brings about her ruin. When Anna meets Vronsky, a handsome young officer, the instant connection between them flames into an affair – with disastrous consequences. Anna leaves her conservative husband and relinquishes her son to be with her lover, but her bliss is fleeting, and when Vronsky’s passion cools she takes desperate action.

Possokhov, formerly a principal dancer with Bolshoi Ballet and San Francisco Ballet and now a major international choreographer, does full justice to Tolstoy’s novel, distilling its central romances and conflicts into a fast-moving, immersive narrative. The celebrated theatre designer Tom Pye captures the opulence of Anna’s world with a modern twist, through vividly coloured costumes and a sparse, contemporary set that conjures ballrooms, boudoirs and the fateful railway station. Finn Ross’ projections (including real-time footage of the dancers) add substance and atmosphere.

A specially commissioned orchestral score by award-winning composer Ilya Demutsky, who has worked with Possokhov on five previous occasions, captures the torment and raptures of its characters and includes a mezzo-soprano singing live on stage.

After standing ovations and critical acclaim in its debut season, Anna Karenina is set to sweep you away.

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Our cities are reopening, and colour and brightness are returning to our lives. Celebration Gala features grand classical showpieces, thrilling contemporary excerpts, perennial favourites and more.

After our dancers performed a five-star (Limelight Magazine) Sydney season, our Celebration Gala comes to Melbourne, where the whole company brings you a taste of what you missed this year including pieces from New York Dialects (George Balanchine’s Serenade and an excerpt from Pam Tanowitz’s Watermark) and Counterpointe (an excerpt from William Forsythe’s Artifact Suite). 

SERENADE 
Excerpt from ARTIFACT SUITE 
Black Swan Pas de deux from SWAN LAKE  
Pas de deux from THE MERRY WIDOW 
Excerpt from WATERMARK  
LA FAVORITA  
Pas de deux from CHROMA  
Dance of the Snow Fairies from Act I of THE NUTCRACKER  

It’s an exhilarating celebration of our artists’ talent and commitment, the many facets of ballet, and our joy in being able to dance for you again. What better way to kick off the festive season?  

The orchestra is tuning up. The curtain is rising.