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The Australian Ballet

The Australian Ballet was founded in 1962 and had its first performance at Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney. Today the company, based in Melbourne, regularly tours to all the major cities within Australia, with lengthy seasons in Melbourne at the State Theatre and in Sydney at the Sydney Opera House. For only one week per year, The Australian Ballet performs at the Lyric Theatre at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre in Brisbane, and in Adelaide. The company also occasionally tours internationally.

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 is 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 programme, run by Colin Peasley a former Principal Dancer with the company, to further inspire and educate its audiences.

Box office sales, derived from its strong and loyal audience base, are the foundation of the company’s income stream. The Australian Ballet Company also receives funding from the Australian, Victorian and New South Wales governments, corporate sponsors, private donors and bequests.

The company's current Artistic Director is David McAllister, who was a Principal Dancer until 2001. The company’s previous Artistic Directors were: Ross Stretton (1996-2001); Maina Gielgud (1983–96); Marilyn Jones (1979-82); Anne Woolliams (1976-77); Sir Robert Helpmann (1965-76) and the founding Artistic Director, Dame Peggy van Praagh (1962-74; 1978).

The most recent appointment to the position of Executive Director is Valerie Wilder, succeeding Richard Evans.

Don Quixote

In 1973 the Australian Ballet released a film version of the ballet Don Quixote with music by Ludwig Minkus, starring Rudolf Nureyev as Basilio, Lucette Aldous as Kitri and Sir Robert Helpmann as Don Quixote, along with artists of the Australian Ballet. Set and costumes were designed by Barry Kay. Future artistic director Ross Stretton staged the stage production during his artistic directorship of The Royal Ballet.

The Merry Widow

The ballet The Merry Widow, with music from Franz Lehár's operetta of the same name, was created by Sir Robert Helpmann and choreographed by Ronald Hynd especially for The Australian Ballet. The designer was Desmond Healey. The adaptation from operetta score to ballet score was done by John Lanchbery (then musical director of The Australian Ballet) and his colleague Alan Abbot. The ballet premiered on 13 November 1975 at the Palais Theatre, Melbourne. Dame Margot Fonteyn, who was guesting with The Australian Ballet, danced the leading role of Hanna Glawari in 1976.