5 Ballets Breaking New Ground

Pontus Lidberg, Cassi Abranches, Raúl Reinoso
Premiere: 2023, Birmingham, Birmingham Royal Ballet

It’s the collaboration we never knew we needed. British band Black Sabbath defined the heavy metal genre in the 1960s and is as far removed from classical ballet as one can imagine. Featured in a series of three Birmingham-focussed commissions, Director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, Carlos Acosta, was drawn to both the band’s work and musical legacy that has its origins in the West Midlands city.

Each act is choreographed and composed by different creatives in a unique collaboration that includes voice overs from the band members and a giant metal car with the Black Sabbath devil placed on top. Finding the line between music, dance, visual art and fan culture, Black Sabbath - The Ballet is the unlikely melding of opposite genres for the ultimate heavy metal ballet experience.

Christopher Wheeldon
Premiere: 2024, Melbourne, The Australian Ballet

I’d be remiss not to bring attention to Christopher Wheeldon’s most recent full-length story ballet. Created on The Australian Ballet dancers, Wheeldon’s choreography and knack for storytelling brought a queer love story to the ballet stage in a world-premiere production.

From the creator behind ballets Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland©, The Winter’s Tale, and the musicals An American in Paris and MJ The Musical, Oscar© was a ballet feat that blended Wheeldon’s theatrical background with classical dance in an emotive production that brought greater representation of the queer community to ballet audiences.

Annabelle Lopez Ochoa
Premiere: 2023, Hong Kong, a co-production of Queensland Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet and Atlanta Ballet

A ballet based around designer Coco Chanel is destined to be a visual spectacle of elegant costumes and early 20th-century themes. A co-production between Queensland Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet and Atlanta Ballet, Coco Chanel: the Life of a Fashion Icon was first performed in Hong Kong on 24 March 2023.

Following the rags-to-riches tale of Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel as she successfully navigated her way from penniless orphan to the pinnacle of high fashion, choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa doesn’t shy away from the darker sides of Chanel’s journey, including her affiliation with the Nazi Party during WWII and callous opportunism which caused her ostracization from Parisian society post-war.

Including an original score by Peter Salem and costumes by the award-winning designer Jérôme Kaplan, Coco Chanel: the Life of a Fashion Icon is a narrative ballet that explores the complex character behind one of the world's most famous brands.

Helen Pickett
Premiere: 2019, Edinburgh International Festival, Scottish Ballet

Continuing the theme of drawing inspiration from iconic sources, Helen Pickett’s 2019 ballet adaptation of Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, is a bold modern production grounded in classical technique. Set during the Salem witch trials of the 17th century, The Crucible’s dramatic themes of fear, oppression, passion and betrayal make the transition to ballet with ease.

Pickett more recently created a ballet version of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s 1866 novel Crime and Punishment for American Ballet Theatre in 2024. Not only is Crime and Punishment a complex and revolutionary work, it also marks the first time American Ballet Theatre has produced a full-length ballet choregraphed and scored by a woman.

William Forsythe
Premiere: 2016, Paris Opera Ballet (Blake Works I). 2021, CLI Studios (Blake Works II). 2022, Boston Ballet (Blake Works III). 2023, Dance Theatre of Harlem (Blake Works IV). 2023, Teatro alla Scala (Blake Works V). 2025, The Australian Ballet (Blake Works VI).

William Forsythe’s dynamic creation is a constantly evolving piece of art that bends and moves alongside the company performing it. Set to musician James Blake’s compositions, Blake Works has existed in many forms since Forsythe first choreographed Blake Works I to seven songs from James Blake’s album, The Colour in Anything, for Paris Opera Ballet in 2016.

When the Covid-19 pandemic closed ballet studios and performance venues, Forsythe pivoted to choreographing and rehearsing remotely via Zoom. What eventuated was Blake Works II (The Barre Project), a five-episode work created for film that has since spawned several other Blake Works (III, IV and V).

Each version of Blake Works (The Barre Project) is an extraordinary love letter to the art form of ballet that combines the collective knowledge and expertise of the company dancers to create a living breathing work, unique to each performance.