Join Royal Ballet principals Marianela Núñez (Giselle) and Vadim Muntagirov (Albrecht) as they discuss dancing together for the first time in Giselle.

Giselle: Dancing Together

Scottish Ballet’s 50th anniversary year comes to a spectacular close with the world premiere of The Snow Queen. This glittering new production is inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s much-loved tale – which was also the basis for Frozen. It will be set to the music of Rimsky-Korsakov, performed live by the full Scottish Ballet Orchestra. From the bustle of a winter’s market to the shivers of a fairytale forest, take a journey to the Snow Queen’s palace, where you’ll find her surrounded by the icy fragments of an enchanted mirror. Along the way you’ll meet a colourful cast of characters, from young lovers parted by a spell to a circus ringmaster with a few tricks up his sleeve.

Scottish Ballet’s 50th anniversary year comes to a spectacular close with the world premiere of The Snow Queen.

The Snow Queen

Choreographer and dancer, Akram Khan’s first full-length ballet for the English National Ballet (ENB) first premiered in 2016 in London. 

Inspired by the 1841 ballet, the story follows a peasant girl – Giselle – who falls in love with a Duke called Albrecht.  Heartache ensues when Giselle realizes she has been deceived by the Duke who is betrothed to another. Mad with grief she dies, falling victim in death to an evil sisterhood who want her to seek vengeance on her loved one.  

Masterfully updating both the setting and musical score, this is Khan’s first interpretation of a classical ballet.  His ''Giselle,'' played here by the sublime ENB Artistic Director, Tamara Rojo, is now part of a community of migrant workers based in a garment factory.  It is a bold move but one that pays off. The production carries all the hallmarks of Khan’s signature choreography from Kathak-inspired gestures, classical and contemporary dance steps, and high emotional intensity.  

Referred to as, ''entrancingly sad,'' ''thought-provoking,'' and ''beautiful'' Khan’s work is accompanied by a haunting score by Vincenzo Lamagna and includes some stunning synchronized ensemble moments. Fine performances include Stena Quagebeur as Myrtha and Jeffrey Cirio as Hilarion; the latter also shining brightly in the title role of Khan’s cinematic exploration, "Creature" (2023).

An ethereal and original look at the spirituality of love and redemption.

Akram Khan’s daring and unconventional reimagining of one of the world’s greatest romantic ballets danced to perfection by the English National ballet.

Akram Khan's Giselle

Royal Ballet Principal Marianela Nuñez delights as Princess Aurora, with Vadim Muntagirov as her Prince Florimund, in this performance of a timeless classic. Marius Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty holds a special place in The Royal Ballet’s repertory, with its vibrant sets and glittering costumes and featuring such iconic moments as the Rose Adage, the Vision pas de deux, the exuberant wedding celebration and the charming fairy-tale guests, all danced to Tchaikovsky’s richly layered music – one of the most beloved ballet scores of all time. This Sleeping Beauty captures all the magic and virtuosity that ballet has to offer.

Marianela Nuñez delights as Princess Aurora, with Vadim Muntagirov as her Prince Florimund, in this performance of a timeless classic.

Sleeping Beauty (2017)

This ‘’Swan Lake’’ is a ‘’Swan Lake” for our times capable of transporting the audience to another world. The magic in the story suddenly takes hold of the viewer. Ballet is not simply a way of telling the story. Rather than gestures asking to be deciphered, the choreographer created large-scale, visionary movements closer to an artistic language of symbols and plays on the whole spectrum of human emotions. It always maintains a relationship of creative tension with its surroundings, especially the music, the poetry of the set, the use of light and colour, the texture of the costumes. A key element of this artistic responsibility is to tell the story precisely but openly, without pinning it down, especially the ending – an ending which is in a many-facetted sense a “deliverance”. Does this mean that the lovers are saved? Is the spell’s power broken? Are there other kinds of salvation and deliverance? Perhaps even by death and transfiguration? Ballerina Polina Semionova performs the mythic parts of Odette and Odile (white swan and black swan) with her great partner Stanislav Jermakov. The Zurich Opera House Orchestra is conducted by Russian musical director Vladimir Fedoseyev acclaimed in this repertoire.

This ‘’Swan Lake’’ is a ‘’Swan Lake” for our times capable of transporting the audience to another world.

Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake

Nothing lasts forever. In this poignant dance short by filmmaker Ramón Verdugo, a couple confronts the inevitable fading of their relationship. 

Inspired by the Japanese concept of ‘Mono no Aware’, which captures the emptiness associated with acknowledging the impermanence of life, this moving dance piece focuses on the quiet and devastating moments of limbo as a couple acknowledges that their love will not last.  Shot on the captivating set of Orca Studios, this production uses a virtual landscape to transport the couple through space and time - from lush landscapes of budding love to the stark emptiness of growing apart.  


Nothing lasts forever. In this poignant dance short by filmmaker Ramón Verdugo, a couple confronts the inevitable fading of their relationship. 

Aware

Discover acclaimed Swedish choreographer Mats Ek’s 1987 reworking of the ballet classic, Giselle, for the Cullberg Ballet.  

With the sensational Ana Laguna in the title role, Mats Ek’s interpretation of the ballet classic has all the whimsy and imaginative innovation so closely associated with the choreographer. In this version of Giselle, the traditional romantic Rhineland village is replaced by a landscape in the shape of breasts, and the supernatural realm of the Wilis is replaced by the harsh reality of a lunatic asylum giving this interpretation a harsh modern relevance.  Ana Laguna dances superbly as the barefoot girl who falls ‘madly in love’.

Discover acclaimed Swedish choreographer Mats Ek’s 1987 reworking of the ballet classic, Giselle, for the Cullberg Ballet. 

Mats Ek's Giselle

A sparkling tale of magic and mischief, Coppélia has everything a good story ballet should: a touch of enchantment, a dash of romance and masses of sumptuous costumes.
Swanilda and her merry boyfriend Franz live in a village with Dr Coppelius, a sinister magician and inventor who has created a beautiful doll that he sits on his balcony. One day Franz sees the doll, Coppélia, and becomes infatuated with her. Swanilda and her friends decide to explore Dr Coppelius’ house while he is out to see who the mysterious woman is, but he returns suddenly and Swanilda hides – pretending to be Coppélia. At the same time, the love struck Franz finds a ladder and climbs into Dr Coppelius’ house, so Coppelius, who plans to steal his life force to animate his doll, pours him a drink with a sleeping draught in it. When Franz passes out, Coppelius brings out Coppélia so Swanilda pretends to be a doll coming to life. Coppelius is delighted – until Swanilda manages to wake Franz and they escape from the house and are married, sealing their love with a tender pas de deux.
Sorcery and masquerade, romance and high jinks – this is the funniest, sunniest ballet you’ll see all year.

A sparkling tale of magic and mischief, Coppélia has everything a ballet should: a touch of enchantment, a dash of romance and sumptuous costumes.

Coppélia

The Australian Ballet presents La Sylphide, in a production by Erik Bruhn after August Bournonville’s nineteenth-century original. A ballet in two acts, La Sylphide tells the tale of the Scottish dreamer James, who is fascinated by a woodland sprite and spurns his fiancée to follow her. Intent on capturing the ethereal beauty for his own, he accepts the help of the vengeful witch Madge, who leads him to his downfall.

The Australian Ballet presents La Sylphide, in a production by Erik Bruhn after August Bournonville’s nineteenth-century original.

La Sylphide

The story takes place in Naples where Pulcinella is a local rogue with an eye for the girls. Rosetta, Isabella and Prudenza are infatuated with him, much to the irritation of their boyfriends and Pulcinella's wife, Pimpinella. One night, the boyfriends lie in wait for Pulcinella and beat him soundly. To escape, Pulcinella falls down 'dead' and the men sneak guiltily away, leaving the 'corpse' to be discovered by their girlfriends. Meanwhile, Pimpinella, having caught Pulcinella flirting once too often, persuades her friends to disguise themselves as Pulcinella and pester the girls, to teach them a lesson. When the girls and their boyfriends see the fake Pulcinellas, they are convinced they are seeing ghosts. Pimpinella arrives, the fake Pulcinellas reveal themselves, and the real Pulcinella re-appears. The lovers ask forgiveness, and everyone celebrates.

The story takes place in Naples where Pulcinella is a local rogue with an eye for the girls.

Pulcinella

Because of Tchaikovsky’s imaginative music, “The Nutcracker” is one of the most popular works of the ballet repertoire, instantly bringing to mind scenes of a splendidly decorated Christmas room, dancing snowflakes and the waltz of the flowers. 

The plot of “The Nutcracker” is based on a novella by E.T.A. Hoffmann, one of the most famous writers of German Romanticism. While Hoffmann’s masterful fairy tale jumps eerily back and forth from a dream to reality, many of the ballet adaptations, like Peter Wright's and Marius Petipa's, have lost the darkness woven throughout this romantic fantasy.

In this production, choreographer Christian Spuck attempts to distance himself from traditional choreography and puts the literary origin at the heart of his ballet. Spuck emphasizes the fantastical nature of Hoffman's story and brings back the tale of princess Pirlipat, who turns into a nut monster. 

In Rufus Didwiszus’ stage setting, the workshop of the godfather Drosselmeier turns into an old revue theater, where the characters of the ballet come to life. Spucks’ choreography plays with the richness of characters in E.T.A. Hoffmann’s narrative cosmos, the absurdity and overwrought humor that inhabit them while at the same time looking down into the dark abyss of Romanticism.

Christian Spuck attempts to distance himself from the Dumas/Petipas version and puts the literary origin at the heart of his ballet.

The Nutcracker and the Mouse King

A hundred years later, the Lilac Fairy shows Prince Désiré the sleeping Princess in a vision. He falls in love and sets out to find her. When he kisses her, the spell is broken and she awakes. She chooses him as her husband, and they celebrate their marriage with a lavish masked ball.

In Sleeping Beauty, the Prince kisses Princess Aurora, her spell is broken and she awakes and they celebrate their marriage with a masked ball.

Sleeping Beauty

Watch three bite-sized performances inspired by Tchaikovsky’s iconic Swan lake. 

Choreographer Eric Gauthier asked star choreographers Hofesh Shechter, Cayetano Sato, and Marco Goecke tending to take a single aspect or idea from the classic swan lake and transform it into something completely unique. There are no swans or white tutus here. Instead, each piece is a new and exciting creation. 

Hofesh Schechter’s Swan Cake is a burst of energy featuring 8 dancers in constant motion. 

Cayetano Sato’s Untitled for 7 Dancers is a moody exploration of transformation set to an electro-score by the young composer and cellist Peter Gregson.

Marco Goecke’s Shara Nur was inspired by a lake in Russia whose water is rumored to turn the body red after a swim.

Eric Gauthier asked choreographers to create their very own version of Tchaikovsky‘s ballet “SWAN LAKE”.

Swan Lakes

Symphonic Variations was Frederic Ashton’s first work after World War II, and one of the Company’s first to be performed on the huge main stage of the Royal Opera House, in 1946. With six dancers performing a series of quartets, duets, sextets and solos to Franck’s brooding Variations symphoniques, this seminal masterpiece celebrates the pure beauty of movement.

Ashton celebrates movement with six dancers in a series of quartets, duets, sextets and solos to Franck’s brooding Variations symphoniques.

Symphonic Variations

In a new production for the Royal Swedish Ballet, Eskapist is an entrancing, enthralling testament to the power of dance. 

Choreographed by Alexander Ekman with music from Mikael Karlsson, Eskapist revels in pushing the limits of what can be done on a stage, and the boundless potential of dance. Moving, funny, uplifting and other-worldly, this stunning production is not to be missed.

With Eskapist, Alexander Ekman choreographs a bold new work for the Swedish Royal Ballet.

Eskapist

Set outside of place and time, Graeme Murphy’s Romeo & Juliet is a transcendent ode to the timeless love story. 

Spanning multiple locations, vividly realized by set designer Gerard Manion and fashion designer Akira Isogawa, this striking ballet centers on the universal tale of love overcoming adversity. 

With nuanced performances from principal dancers Madeline Eastoe and Kevin Jackson, this unique take on the classic love story was filmed at the Sydney Opera House.

Graeme Murphy reimagines Romeo and Juliet for a striking ballet filmed at the Sydney Opera House.

Giselle

La Scala

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