The Australian Ballet celebrates 60 years with style and star turns!

Marcus Morelli as Harlequin in Alexei Ratmansky's Harlequinade

Chengwu Guo and Ako Kondo in George Balanchine's Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux

Artists of The Australian Ballet in Justin Peck's Everywhere We Go

Benedicte Bemet and Joseph Caley in Rudolf Nureyev's (after Petipa) Don Quixote

Dana Stephensen and Joseph Romancewicz in Rudolf Nureyev's (after Petipa) Don Quixote

By Deborah Weiss, 07 August 2023

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“even a missed lift could not dampen the rapturous and well-deserved reception from the audience”

Reviewed at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 6 August 2023

Other (60th Anniversary)

Harlequinade (Marius Petipa, Alexei Ratmansky)

Concerto (MacMillan) (Sir Kenneth MacMillan)

I new then (Johan Inger)

Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux (George Balanchine)

Everywhere We Go (Justin Peck)

Anna Karenina (Yuri Possokhov)

Watermark (Pam Tanowitz)

Little Atlas (Alice Topp)

Don Quixote: pas de deux (Marius Petipa, Rudolf Nureyev)

The Australian Ballet

Jonathan Lo, Conductor

David Hallberg, Director

Royal Ballet Sinfonia

Sharni Spencer, Dancer

Marcus Morelli, Dancer

Amy Harris, Dancer

Nathan Brook, Dancer

Ako Kondo, Dancer

Chengwu Guo, Dancer

Brett Chynoweth, Dancer

Imogen Chapman, Dancer

Dimity Azoury, Dancer

Benedicte Bemet, Dancer

Jarryd Madden, Dancer

Jake Mangakahia, Dancer

Joseph Caley, Dancer

Acosta's Don Quixote for BRB: polished but not quite enough panache

Jonathan Gray, 23rd April

Carlos Acosta's Don Quixote for Birmingham Royal Ballet returned to Sadler's Wells with polished but low-key interpretations across the board.

***11

Natalia Makarova's La Bayadère: a night to remember in Oslo

Vikki Jane Vile, 17th April

Norwegian National Ballet gives a marvellous rendition of Natalia Makarova's La Bayadère. Opening night in Oslo was a strong argument for its place in any season, displaying ballet escapism at its best.

****1

José Martínez unveils his latest Don Quichotte in Palermo

Vito Lentini, 29th March

José Martínez has envisioned a Don Quichotte that recalls the original 19th century choreography while also acknowledging some of the notable 20th century versions and it's splendid looking.

****1

Dutch National Ballet's reimagined La Bayadère triumphs

Mark Vicente, 26th March

Dutch National Ballet's new production of La Bayadère does away with the ballet’s problematic gestures and movements, allowing the choreography to truly shine.

****1

American Ballet Theatre's double bill is short and sweet in New York

Ivy Lin, 15th March

American Ballet Theatre presents Balanchine's Raymonda: Grand Pas Hongrois and Ratmansky's Firebird which showcases the company well and provides a strong contrast.

****1

Mejia debuts in a sumptuous Sleeping Beauty at New York City Ballet

Carla Escoda, 12th February

Roman Mejia and a raft of soloist debuts galvanized Peter Martins' Sleeping Beauty. An elegant production with some incidental messiness and the structural liability of a princess' dependence on a kiss.

****1

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Deborah Weiss

Deb joined Bachtrack in 2022 and commissions reviews and writing on ballet and dance. She was Royal Ballet School-trained and is a former principal dancer for companies including London Festival Ballet (now English National Ballet) and Bayerisches Staatsballett. She has been writing for more than 30 years – publications have included Dancing Times, DanceTabs, Dance for You and Dance Europe. She also interviews for Voices of British Ballet, an oral archive of people who have worked in the industry in the UK. In addition to her writing, since 2016 she has been facilitating programmes that support victims of domestic abuse. Deb is passionate about her rescue dog, Bruce, and daughters (not in that order), swims a mile at least five days a week and is an avid reader.