Our History in Tutus

On the cover of our 2023 Season brochure, Evie Ferris wears the tutu for the lead ballerina in the Petipa ballet Raymonda. In 1965, only three years after The Australian Ballet was formed, the company toured the United Kingdom in Rudolf Nureyev’s newly staged production, with Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn dancing the leading roles – a spectacular way for the new company to debut on the world stage.

The Australian Ballet deepened its connection with Nureyev when the company starred in his 1973 film of Don Quixote, still acclaimed as one of the most innovative dance films of all time. This tutu, designed by Barry Kay and worn by Amy Harris, is for a dryad in the vision scene where the Don, after being struck on the head, dreams that he finds his love Dulcinea in a splendid garden filled with mythical creatures.

In 1965, Robert Helpmann became the co-Artistic Director of The Australian Ballet, sharing the position with Peggy van Praagh. Helpmann had been a member of London’s Vic-Wells Ballet and was close with its choreographer, Frederick Ashton. In 1972, he brought Ashton’s Cinderella into the company’s repertoire; he and Ashton played the drag parts of the Ugly Stepsisters. Yuumi Yamada is wearing Cinderella’s tutu from the ballroom scene, designed by Kristian Fredrikson. It was his first major commission for The Australian Ballet and the start of his long relationship with the company.

Also from Ashton’s Cinderella is this costume for the Autumn Fairy, worn by Evie Ferris. The Fairies of the Four Seasons visit Cinderella to dress her for the ball. In this tutu you can see Fredrikson’s characteristic love of layering, painting and appliqué.

The tutu for Clara’s performance of The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy in Graeme Murphy’s 1992 ballet Nutcracker – The Story of Clara, worn by Amy Harris, is one of Kristian Fredrikson’s finest achievements, and made it into our Top 10 Tutus list. Its layers of gold, silver and topaz evoke the richness of Imperial Russia

In 2015, then Artistic Director David McAllister created a new production of The Sleeping Beauty for the company, with sets and costumes by Gabriela Tylesova. The third act, in which Aurora marries her prince, is based on the grandeur of Louis XIV and his court. Isobelle Dashwood wears Aurora’s wedding tutu with its curlicues of gold.

In this short comic work by John Taras, choreographed in 1955, a haughty prima ballerina and her partner battle for the spotlight. It featured in The Australian Ballet’s 1986 gala A Galaxy of Stars. Evie Ferris wears the prima ballerina’s simple but sumptuous chocolate-brown tutu.

Our Storytime Ballet series is specially designed as an introduction to ballet for young children. For Storytime Ballet: The Nutcracker, choreographed by David McAllister, designer Krystal Giddings created costumes based on Edwardian style. The Sugar Plum Fairy’s tutu, worn here by Isobelle Dashwood, is a froth of lilac lace, adorned with stars.