Creating history with Canberra Theatre Centre

On 24 June 1965, The Australian Ballet was honoured to open the Canberra Theatre Centre with a triple bill production featuring Swan Lake Act II by Marius Petipa, revised by Peggy van Praagh, The Display by Robert Helpmann and Melbourne Cup by Rex Reid.

Ballet’s most exquisite dancers have graced the stage at Canberra Theatre Centre over the last 60 years and include one of the most legendary partnerships in ballet history. In 1965, Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn performed Raymonda for delighted audiences. The two artists would continue to return to Australia throughout their careers, as would many other revered local and international guest artists.

Ballet ’75 championed Australian choreographers with the world premiere of four contemporary pieces in collaboration with The Canberra Times. In May 2013, Garry Stewart premiered his work, Monument, as one half of The Australian Ballet’s double bill Symmetries at the Canberra Theatre. In celebration of Canberra’s centenary and the 25th anniversary of Parliament House, Stewart was tasked with creating a ballet that paid homage to the iconic building. Nineteen dancers performed Stewart’s distinctive choreography in an uniquely Australian production.

The Australian Ballet is lucky to have an esteemed collection of Canberra-born and raised artists in our collection. Former Principal Artist Lana Jones hails from Kambah, while current Principal Artist Dimity Azoury is from Queanbeyan (technically New South Wales, but only a 15-minute drive from Canberra). Current Canberra artists within the company include soloist Drew Hedditch, coryphée Alain Juelg, and corps de ballet dancers Matthew Paten and Macy Trethewey.

Throughout the last six decades, The Australian Ballet has performed on the Canberra Theatre Centre stage hundreds of times. We’ve danced traditional favourites and premiered new works for audiences and brought the biggest celebrity dancers to the capital city. 60 years after we opened the theatre, we are delighted to be returning to Canberra with a bold new vision of Carmen, Johan Inger’s contemporary retelling that pushes ballet’s boundaries into the next 60 years.