The Australian Ballet is the largest
classical ballet
Classical ballet is any of the traditional, formal styles of ballet that exclusively employ classical ballet technique. It is known for its aesthetics and rigorous technique (such as pointe work, turnout of the legs, and high extensions), its ...
company in Australia. It was founded by
J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the
Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust
The Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust is a theatre and performing arts company that was founded in September 1954, with the aim of establishing drama, opera and ballet companies nationally.
Founding
In 1954 the Australian Elizabethan Theatre T ...
in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teacher, repetiteur and director
Dame Peggy van Praagh
Dame Margaret van Praagh (1 September 1910 – 15 January 1990) was a British ballet dancer, choreographer, teacher, repetiteur, producer, advocate and director, who spent much of her later career in Australia.
Early life
Peggy van Praagh ...
as founding artistic director. Today, it is recognised as one of the world's major international ballet companies.
History
The roots of the Australian Ballet can be found in the
Borovansky Ballet
The Australian Ballet is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teacher, repetiteur and direct ...
, a company founded in 1940 by the
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
* Czech, ...
dancer
Edouard Borovansky
Edouard Borovansky (24 February 1902 – 18 December 1959) was a Czech-born Australian ballet dancer, choreographer and director. After touring with Anna Pavlova's company, he and his wife, Xenia, settled in Australia where they established th ...
. Borovansky had been a dancer in the touring ballet company of the famous
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n ballerina
Anna Pavlova
Anna Pavlovna Pavlova ( , rus, Анна Павловна Павлова ), born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova ( rus, Анна Матвеевна Павлова; – 23 January 1931), was a Russian prima ballerina of the late 19th and the early 20t ...
and, after visiting Australia on tour with the
Covent Garden Russian Ballet, he decided to remain in Australia, establishing a ballet school in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
in 1939, out of which he developed a performance group which became the Borovansky Ballet. The company was supported and funded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd from 1944. Following Borovansky's death in 1959, the British dancer and administrator
Dame Peggy van Praagh
Dame Margaret van Praagh (1 September 1910 – 15 January 1990) was a British ballet dancer, choreographer, teacher, repetiteur, producer, advocate and director, who spent much of her later career in Australia.
Early life
Peggy van Praagh ...
DBE was invited to become artistic director of the company. J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd decided to disband the Borovansky Ballet in 1961.
In 1961, J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the
Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust
The Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust is a theatre and performing arts company that was founded in September 1954, with the aim of establishing drama, opera and ballet companies nationally.
Founding
In 1954 the Australian Elizabethan Theatre T ...
received federal subsidy towards the establishment of a national ballet company. These organisations established the Australian Ballet Foundation to assist with the establishment of a new company, which in 1962 became the Australian Ballet. Peggy van Praagh, who had been kept on a retainer by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd through the intervening year between the disbanding of the Borovansky Ballet and the establishment of the Australian Ballet, was invited to become the founding artistic director of the company. The majority of the dancers employed by the fledgling company were drawn from former members of the Borovansky Ballet.
The first performance by the Australian Ballet was
Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
's ''
Swan Lake'', staged at
Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney
Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney, Australia, refers to three theatres of the same name.
One was a theatre which opened on 10 September 1887 and closed on 10 June 1933.
It was located on the corner of Pitt and Market Street, Sydney, where Westfie ...
on 2 November 1962. The principal dancers in the first season were
Kathleen Gorham OBE,
Marilyn Fay Jones
Marilyn Fay Jones OBE (born 17 February 1940) is an Australian dancer and teacher of dance. She has been described as "the greatest classical dancer Australia has produced".
Training and career
Jones studied with Tessa Maunder in Newcastle the ...
AM OBE and
Garth Welch
Garth de Burgh Welch (born 14 April 1936) is an Australian dancer and choreographer.
Early life and training
Welch was born in Brisbane, Queensland. He was educated at the Anglican Church Grammar School. His initial dance training took plac ...
AM. Van Praagh also invited the Royal Ballet's Ray Powell to temporarily became the company's first ballet master, with Leon Kellaway (brother of
Cecil Kellaway
Cecil Lauriston Kellaway (22 August 1890 – 28 February 1973) was a South African character actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor twice, for '' The Luck of the Irish'' (1948) and '' Guess Who's Coming to Dinner ...
), a former dancer with the Covent Garden Russian Ballet, as the company's first ballet teacher. In later years
Sir
''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
Robert Helpmann
Sir Robert Murray Helpmann CBE ( Helpman, 9 April 1909 – 28 September 1986) was an Australian ballet dancer, actor, director, and choreographer. After early work in Australia he moved to Britain in 1932, where he joined the Vic-Wells Ballet ( ...
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
, Marilyn Jones
AM OBE and
Maina Gielgud
Maina Gielgud (born 14 January 1945) is a British former ballet dancer and a veteran ballet administrator. She was artistic director of The Australian Ballet from 1983 to 1996. She had a twenty-year career as a dancer in Europe and the United Ki ...
AO made major contributions as Artistic Directors of the Australian Ballet.
In 1964 van Praagh established the
Australian Ballet School, which was formed specially to train dancers for the company and remains the company's associate school to this day. Dame Margaret Scott
AC DBE was the founding director of the school, followed by
Gailene Stock
Gailene Stock CBE AM (28 January 194629 April 2014) was an Australian-born ballerina, teacher and Director of the Royal Ballet School in Covent Garden.
Early years
Gailene Patricia Stock was born in Ballarat, Victoria. She was the second o ...
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
AM,
Marilyn Rowe
Marilyn Patricia Rowe (born 20 August 1946) is the first graduate of the Australian Ballet School to be appointed its director, in 1999.
Dancing career
Rowe was born in Sydney, New South Wales and became a principal artist with The Australian Ba ...
AM OBE, and now Lisa Pavane, all three former company principal artists.
Present
Today the company is based in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
; its
Southbank headquarters is the Primrose Potter Australian Ballet Centre, named after its long term supporter
Lady (Primrose) Potter. The company tours to mainland state capital cities within Australia, with annual seasons in Melbourne at the
State Theatre (accompanied by
Orchestra Victoria
Orchestra Victoria is a full-time salaried orchestra based in Melbourne, Australia, and wholly owned subsidiary of the Australian Ballet. Founded in 1969, the orchestra is now a principal performance partner for the Australian Ballet, Opera Austra ...
) and in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
at the
Sydney Opera House accompanied by the
Opera Australia Orchestra. Other venues are the Lyric Theatre at the
Queensland Performing Arts Centre
The Queensland Performing Arts Centre (also known as QPAC) is part of the Queensland Cultural Centre and is located on the corner of Melbourne Street and Grey Street in Brisbane's South Bank, Queensland, South Bank precinct. Opened in 1985, it ...
in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
, and the Adelaide Festival Centre in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
. The company also tours internationally, and performs annually in an intimate outdoor setting on
Hamilton Island.
The Australian Ballet works in close cooperation with the Australian Ballet School, of which many of the company's dancers are graduates. Giving approximately 200 performances a year, the Australian Ballet claims to be the busiest ballet company in the world. With a vast repertoire which includes the major classical and heritage works as well as contemporary productions, it follows its artistic vision of "Caring for Tradition, Daring to be Different". Each year, the company also presents an extensive national education and outreach programme including STEAMDANCE- a STEM-based dance curriculum, created and run by Head of Education Katy McKeown, a teacher education program and digital resources, to further inspire and educate its audiences. It's Dance Education team performs and teaches over 40,000 children per year with culturally relevant content.
Box office sales, derived from its strong and loyal audience base, are the foundation of the company's income stream. The Australian Ballet also receives funding from the
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal A ...
,
Victorian and
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
governments, corporate sponsors, private donors and bequests.
The company's current artistic director is
David Hallberg
David Hallberg (born May 18, 1982) is an American classical ballet dancer. He was a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre and resident guest artist at The Australian Ballet, as well as a principal dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet. In 2021 ...
,
who was a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre until 2020. The company's previous artistic directors were:
David McAllister
David James McAllister (born 12 January 1971) is a German politician who has been a member of the European Parliament since 2014. He is a member of the Christian Democratic Union, part of the European People's Party. He is the current Vice Pre ...
,
AM (2001-2020);
Ross Stretton
Ross Stretton (6 June 1952 – 16 June 2005) was an Australian ballet dancer and artistic director. As a dancer, he performed with the Australian Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet and the American Ballet Theatre. He was later Artistic Director of the ...
(1996–2001);
Maina Gielgud
Maina Gielgud (born 14 January 1945) is a British former ballet dancer and a veteran ballet administrator. She was artistic director of The Australian Ballet from 1983 to 1996. She had a twenty-year career as a dancer in Europe and the United Ki ...
AO (1983–96);
Marilyn Fay Jones
Marilyn Fay Jones OBE (born 17 February 1940) is an Australian dancer and teacher of dance. She has been described as "the greatest classical dancer Australia has produced".
Training and career
Jones studied with Tessa Maunder in Newcastle the ...
AM OBE (1979–82); Anne Woolliams (1976–77);
Sir Robert Helpmann
Sir Robert Murray Helpmann Order of the British Empire, CBE ( Helpman, 9 April 1909 – 28 September 1986) was an Australian ballet dancer, actor, director, and choreographer. After early work in Australia he moved to Britain in 1932, where he j ...
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(1965–76) and the founding artistic director, Dame Peggy van Praagh
DBE (1962–74; 1978)
The most recent appointment to the position of executive director (July 2013) is Libby Christie, former Managing Director of the
Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Her predecessor was Valerie Wilder, who succeeded Richard Evans..
The Music Director and chief conductor of The Australian Ballet since 2003 has been
Nicolette Fraillon
Nicolette Ella Fraillon (born 29 July 1960) is an Australian conductor, who was chief conductor of The Australian Ballet from 2003 until 2022.
Career
Fraillon grew up in Melbourne, a child of immigrant parents of Huguenot-Sicilian and Austrian J ...
, the world's only woman chief conductor of a ballet company.
The Dancer Welfare and Development Coordinator is former
North Melbourne Football Club
The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Kangaroos, is a professional Australian rules football club. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Kangaroos also ...
defenceman
Sam Wright, who took his position after his 2019 retirement. Wright had previously been involved with rehabilitation using The Australian Ballet's Dr. Sue Mayes.
[ ]
Company
Dancers with The Australian Ballet are:
[
]
Principal artists
Resident guest artist
*
David Hallberg
David Hallberg (born May 18, 1982) is an American classical ballet dancer. He was a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre and resident guest artist at The Australian Ballet, as well as a principal dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet. In 2021 ...
Senior artists
Soloists
Coryphées
Corps de ballet
Telstra Ballet Dancer Award
The Telstra Ballet Dancer Awards have been made annually since 2003, in support of the aspirations of The Australian Ballet's elite young dancers. It is the biggest prize available specifically to a dancer in Australia, with a cash prize of $20,000 to the winner. The Telstra People's Choice Award is made to the most popular of the nominees in that year, using internet and SMS voting. The winner of the People's Choice receives a cash prize of $5,000.
References
External links
*
*
Behind Ballet the Australian Ballet's blog
*
The Australian Ballet education programmeThe Australian Ballet School* , ''The Australian Ballet (1962–)''
The Australian Ballet Collectionand
Australian Archives of the Dance
The Australian Archives of the Dance (also known as the Australian Dance Archives) is Australia’s oldest specialist dance archive. Established by The Australian Ballet in 1972, the Archive was transferred to the Performing Arts Collection of the ...
collections are held in th
Australian Performing Arts CollectionArts Centre Melbourne
{{DEFAULTSORT:Australian Ballet, The
APRA Award winners
Australian Ballet, The
National Dance Award winners
Performing groups established in 1962
1962 establishments in Australia
Ballet in Australia
History of ballet
Sydney Opera House
Performing arts in Melbourne