Australian Ballet to step out on road trip to regions
For the 40th year of The Australian Ballet’s regional touring program, the company will head to cities across three states, staging a bespoke repertoire for rural audiences. And it’s the highlight of artistic director David Hallberg’s year.
Don’t tell the Sydney Opera House or Melbourne’s Arts Centre but the Australian Ballet’s artistic director, David Hallberg, might be more excited about staging his company’s most thrilling works in a very different location this year: the Wagga Wagga Civic Theatre.
The country NSW venue is the final stop on The Australian Ballet’s annual regional ‘On Tour’, which celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2024.
Alongside Wagga Wagga, Newcastle and Goulburn in NSW, the company will visit destinations in South Australia (Renmark, Tanunda, Port Pirie, Whyalla) and Bendigo in Victoria, as part of a four-week tour from in June.
“Not everyone lives in Melbourne or Sydney, and I think our responsibility is to reach as wide of an audience as possible within this country,” Hallberg explains.
This year, the ‘On Tour’ program includes act III of The Sleeping Beauty, George Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante and Circle Electric: Prologue, a new work from The Australian Ballet’s resident choreographer Stephanie Lake.
The repertoire is a chance for dancers and select students from The Australian Ballet School, joining the company for the first time, to hone their artistry.
Personally, the 41-year-old former ballet dancer from South Dakota, who joined The Australian Ballet as artistic director in 2021, relishes the opportunity to hit the road alongside his artists.
“I’ve lived in this country for three years, and every time I go on tour, it’s a city that I haven’t been to,” he says.
“I really experience the excitement of us being there when I’m out in the foyer … We’re reaching audiences that are really enthusiastic to see the company.” And doing so in person. “There’s nothing that compares to live and in colour,” Hallberg says.
Nobody understands this better than Lissa Twomey. The executive director of The Australian Ballet grew up playing the piano and taking dance classes in Leeton, a town of some 11,000 people just outside Griffith in NSW.
“Everyone has the right to participate in cultural life and to enjoy the arts,” she says. It’s why, alongside staging a bespoke, carefully curated repertoire, The Australian Ballet also uses their tour as an opportunity to host workshops, education programs and ballet classes on the road.
“I know from some of the regional ballet schools how important it is for The Australian Ballet to come, how inspiring it is for their students,” Twomey says.
The tour of the regions come ater a big 2023 for the Australian Ballet, which ended with its lauded revival of Swan Lake.
Audiences this year will be treated to productions of Carmen, a ballet on the life of iconic Irish writer Oscar Wilde, and will culminate in a production of The Nutcracker at Christmas.
The Australian Ballet’s tour of the regions will be supported by Telstra, who have been the dance company’s main sponsors since 1980.
“Telstra and The Australian Ballet have always shared an objective to make the arts more accessible for audiences, and at Telstra we have a strong commitment to rural and regional Australia,” says Alita McMenamin, head of brand, networks and sponsorship. She calls out many proud moments over the course of the company’s 40-year partnership with The Australian Ballet, including initiatives such as the regional tour and Ballet Under The Stars. “We are incredibly proud to have the longest standing arts partnership with The Australian Ballet,” she says. “Its longevity is testament to shared mutual values like collaboration and teamwork, a commitment to excellence and innovation.”
For tickets and more information, visit australianballet.com.au/education-and-outreach/education-and-outreach-on-tour
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