A royal adventure

The Australian Ballet last performed at the Royal Opera House in 1988 in a spectacular event for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II under the artistic direction of Maina Gielgud. The program featured Steven Heathcote, Elizabeth Toohey and David McAllister in The Sleeping Beauty as part of the company’s bicentennial celebrations.

Appointed as Artistic Director in 2021, David Hallberg is finally able to facilitate the company’s return to international touring, the first since the pandemic that closed theatres across the world.

The Australian Ballet premiered George Balanchine’s Jewels in Sydney and Melbourne in 2023. As the first time being entrusted with a work of this magnitude, the dancers have shown the depth of their talent with their personalised to approach to the work.

In 2020, after a season as a guest artist in The Sleeping Beauty alongside Natalia Osipova, David Hallberg was in rehearsals for Swan Lake. It was at this moment that the world unexpectedly locked down, turning theatre’s dark and signifying his unintentional retirement as an international dancer.

British born Dame Peggy van Praagh’s dancing career began at age four in London, and by age six she had received her first positive press review. “Peggy is only six, but she is quite a clever little artiste and is booked again for Saturday's matinee by request.” Van Praagh was The Australian Ballet’s Artistic Director from the company’s inception in 1962 to 1974, returning to direct again in 1978.