The Queensland Ballet's 2015 season is set to entertain and enthral with a range of shows to please ballet aficionados and novices, young and old alike.
The season opens in March with a magical tale from the highlands of Scotland. Adapted by August Bournonville in 1836 from an earlier French ballet, 'La Sylphide' is to this day one of the world's most loved romantic ballets. It tells the story of James, a Scotsman, who is woken on the morning of his wedding day by a beautiful, winged sylph (a mythological spirit of the air). James begins an obsessive pursuit of the sylph after she professes her love for him, which leads him to abandon his fiancee and follow the sylph into the dangerous realm of the forest sprits.
© Georges AntoniA co-production with West Australian Ballet, audiences will be able to enjoy 'Coppelia' as it tours regional venues in May. The story of two bickering young lovers, Franz and Swanilda, who become curious about a beautiful girl they see on Dr Coppelius' balcony. When Swanilda decides to sneak over to the doctor's house to confront her apparent love rival, she finds that Coppelia is not what she seems. When Dr Coppelius and Franz arrive, the devious Swanilda decides to become a real, living doll. Comic chaos inside Dr Coppelius' workshop ensues. Drawing upon real life stories of 19th century German immigrants to South Australia, choreography is undertaken by Greg Horsman, with music from Leo Delibes.
June sees the arrival of the boy who never grew up. Trey McIntyre's 'Peter Pan' uses a cunning mix of dance and theatre to tell the classic J.M Barrie tale, bringing a modern spirit to the production. In this impressive reinterpretation of one of the world's most popular and widely told children's stories, Wendy and her two brothers literally fly into the adventure of a lifetime when Peter Pan leads them to a fantastical dream world of mermaids, fairies and pirates. The story is told with swashbuckling sword fights, giant puppets and breathtaking flying sequences.
© Georges AntoniFrom late August, ballet enthusiasts will have the chance to get up close to new and emerging talent, with short works performed by the accomplished young dancers of the QB's Jetter Parker Young Artist Program and Pre-Professional Programme. There is also the opportunity to see new works created by emerging choreographers, including dancers from the QB company, and to gain an insight into how these creative artists seek to express their ideas through dance. Also witness working rehearsals with artistic staff coaching dancers in excerpts of repertoire for upcoming performances.
In October, choreographer Greg Horsman re-imagines the fabled story of a sleeping princess in 'The Sleeping Beauty', set to the famous music of Tchaikovsky. The classical masterpiece employs a backdrop of majestic sets, adorned with renaissance inspired costumes. Following Princess Aurora, who pricks her finger on her 16th birthday and succumbs to a spell cast upon her by the wicked fairy, Carabosse. The Lilac Fairy intervenes and causes an enchanted sleep to descend upon the palace, but after one hundred years, Aurora is awoken by a Prince's kiss and joyous celebrations follow.
© Georges AntoniQB's much loved production of 'The Nutcracker' has quickly become a seasonal tradition in Brisbane. Running from mid-December, this family friendly production features sumptuous sets designed by Thomas Boyd, fascinating costumes from Desmond Healy and spectacular dance choreographed by Ben Stevenson OBE. The tale begins on Christmas Eve when little Clara begins a magical journey into a wondrous world of toys who come to life – King Rat and his giant mice, delicate dancing snowflakes and the beautiful Sugar Plum Fairy, who reigns over the kingdom of sweets. Tchaikovsky's evocative music underpins the performance to create a festive classic.
Queensland Ballet's 2015 season opens with 'La Sylphide', 20- 31 March.
