Tutus on Tour

Robert Ray created The Romantics as part of a triple bill program for The Dancer's Company 1989 tour. Alternatively titled Les Amoureux, Ray choreographed the non-narrative ballet which employed five waltz styles throughout. Each waltz is set at a different time of the day. The first is danced in the late autumn afternoon, where seven sets of lovers meet in a garden. As the day wears on, the waltzes progress through the evening and finish with a midnight waltz from Cinderella. With no set story, The Romantics simply flows through the joyous highs and devastating lows that only young love brings.

In 1994 Stephen Baynes created the "celebration of life at the turning point of youth to adulthood" for The Dancer's Company. Titled Souvenirs, the piece is a nostalgic reflection on the time spent together with loved ones before circumstance leads us in different directions. A time when days were endless, and friendships were forever, when the first flush of young love was as thrilling as the heartache that would almost certainly follow.

On creating the work Baynes says, "In many ways it mirrors the experiences of these young dancers at this point in their lives when the security of their student days is coming to an end and the uncertainty and excitement of a professional career awaits them."

Souvenirs is a unique collection of moments and memories that bind us to each other regardless of time or distance.

Tim Harbour created the youthful, physical poem Songs of Light in 2009 for The Dancers Company. A reflection of young love, passion and friendship, solidarity and trust bind the dancers together as they flirtatiously dance in pairs. Songs of Light captures the dramatic time in life when individuality is discovered through the relationships we form with one another.

When Simon Dow was invited by then Artistic Director of The Dancer's Company, Danilo Radojevic, to create a work on the male students at The Australian Ballet School, he was inspired by a Gioachino Rossini overture and Rimbombo was born. Italian for rumble, Rimbombo took advantage of the abilities as well as the expression and artistry of the students. Based on historical evidence of young males competing for the top spot or highest status, Rimbombo follows a group of youths as they rumble to achieve the elusive spotlight and claim their winnings. Ultimately thwarted by matters of the heart, Dow created a poignantly hilarious observation of human nature, and comments on how we all ultimately bow down to love.

Former Artistic Director of The Australian Ballet, David McAllister paid tribute to the magic of Tchaikovsky with Swan Lake Variations. Showcasing excerpts from one of the world’s most loved classical ballets. McAllister choreographed the piece especially for the tour.

Tim Harbour has returned many times throughout the years to choreograph for The Australian Ballet, and, in 2021, was inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s short story, Hills Like White Elephants. What eventuated was In A Landscape, an atmospheric pas de deux that captures the physical and emotional interaction of a man and woman at a critical point in their relationship. The piece takes audiences from the soft edges of the couple’s carefree relationship, to the sharpness of critical decision-making. Balletic in nature with a clarity of form, In A Landscape is set to a ten-minute piano piece by composer John Cage.

Framed through the universally recognised scene of a wedding ceremony, The Vow was a newly created Australian commission that explored the complications of love, and the idea that partnership is a choice, not a destiny. Centred around the narrative of a bride, Peggy, her groom, Robert and Peggy’s ex, Peter, choreographer Lucas Jervies created an Australian-centric work featuring characters inspired by key figures from The Australian Ballet’s formative years, including Dame Peggy van Praagh, Sir Robert Helpmann and Peter Baines. Set to an arrangement of Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite by Tormod Tvete Vik, The Vow pays tribute to the company’s history through a playful and romantic modern fable.

Before Resident Choreographer Stephanie Lake began rehearsing Circle Electric on over 50 company artists, it began as 15-minute piece with just six dancers. Lake premiered Circle Electric: Prologue during the The Australian Ballet On Tour 2023 season and has since developed it into a fully-fledged spectacle with her largest cast to date.