Empire Theatre first stop for Queensland Ballet on tour

In a magical and delightful performance, Qld Ballet has hit the road joined by its new artistic director at its first stop – the Empire Theatre.

Queensland Ballet artistic director Leanne Benjamin with dancers Joshua Ostermann and Paige Rochester at Empire Theatre, Friday, March 1, 2024. Picture: Kevin Farmer

A warm March evening greeted theatre goers on Friday night as Queensland Ballet in its annual regional tour took to the Empire Theatre stage, showcasing a playful, romantic and magical selection of ballet masterpieces.

For newly appointed Qld Ballet artistic director Leanne Benjamin, joining the Qld Ballet on tour around the regional areas was “like coming back to my roots of travelling around Queensland”.

Ms Benjamin grew up in Rockhampton and said she remembered many road trips with “a back seat full of costumes” getting ready to compete in Eisteddfods in Toowoomba.

While it has been 43 years of living abroad since she joined the Royal School of Ballet when she was 16, she said she felt “very much at home”.

In her years abroad, Ms Benjamin has had a career not short of amazing as principal dancer for the English National Ballet, Deutsche Opera Ballet, and The Royal Ballet, and in her retirement from the stage she has become a voice in ballet, advocacy and governance on the world stage.

Queensland Ballet artistic director Leanne Benjamin with dancers Joshua Ostermann and Paige Rochester at Empire Theatre, Friday, March 1, 2024. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Coming back to Australia after a long and varied career, she said she was passionate about the company and bringing her expertise, knowledge and networks to Qld Ballet.

“Hopefully I will be able to entice a lot of those artists, whatever side, whatever field they are in, whether it is dancers, coaches, choreographers, musicians, designers, I’m hoping that they will all come to work with the dancers,” she said.

In her role Ms Benjamin is hoping to bring her rich experience to the company and with it all of Queensland.

“I remember as a budding ballerina in Rockhampton and having Qld Ballet come to our theatre, it was so uplifting and so inspirational,” she said.

“You can’t always travel down to the bigger cities, and as kid going to the theatre, just to see anything that comes to town, it's fantastic and inspirational and uplifting.”

Queensland Ballet on Tour visited the Empire Theatre on Friday, March 1, and for the next month will work its way up through Queensland to Maryborough, Bundaberg, Caloundra, Charters Towers, Cairns, and Rockhampton.

The company is performing the select four works of Three Preludes, Le Corsaire, A Rhapsody in Motion, and Tchaikovsky Mash.

For more information, visit the Qld Ballet website.