The Australian Ballet facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Australian Ballet
General information
Name	The Australian Ballet
Predecessor	Borovansky Ballet
Year founded	1962; 63 years ago (1962)
Founding Artistic Director	Dame Peggy van Praagh
Principal venue	Level 6 2 Kavanagh Street Southbank Victoria, Australia
Artistic staff
Artistic Director	David Hallberg
Resident Choreographers	Stephen Baynes Tim Harbour Alice Topp Stanton Welch
Other
Associated schools	Australian Ballet School
Formation	Principal Artist Senior Artist Soloist Coryphée Corps de Ballet

The Australian Ballet (often called TAB) is Australia's biggest classical ballet company. It started in 1962. Two groups, J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust, created it. Peggy van Praagh, a dancer and teacher from England, was its first artistic director. Today, The Australian Ballet is known around the world. It performs more than 150 shows each year, both in Australia and in other countries.

The Australian Ballet's Story

The idea for The Australian Ballet came from the Borovansky Ballet. This was a touring dance group started in 1940 by Czech dancer Edouard Borovansky. Borovansky had danced with the famous Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. After visiting Australia, he decided to stay. He opened a ballet school in Melbourne in 1939. From this school, he formed the Borovansky Ballet.

J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd supported this company from 1944. Borovansky passed away in 1959. Peggy van Praagh was then asked to lead the company. In 1961, J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd decided to close the Borovansky Ballet.

Later in 1961, the Australian government helped fund a new national ballet company. J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust set up a foundation. This foundation helped create The Australian Ballet in 1962. Peggy van Praagh became its first artistic director. Most of the new company's dancers had been part of the Borovansky Ballet. The new company aimed to use Australian choreographers and create Australian ballets.

First Performances and Growth

The Australian Ballet's first show was Swan Lake by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It was performed on November 2, 1962, in Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney. The main dancers were Kathleen Gorham, Marilyn Jones, Garth Welch, and Caj Selling. Peggy van Praagh also invited Ray Powell from the Royal Ballet to be the company's first ballet master. Leon Kellaway became the first ballet teacher. Later, famous dancers like Robert Helpmann, Marilyn Jones, and Maina Gielgud also led the company.

In 1964, the company performed its first fully Australian ballet. It was called The Display by Helpmann. That same year, van Praagh started the Australian Ballet School. This school was created to train dancers especially for the company. Dame Margaret Scott was the school's first director. Later directors included Gailene Stock, Marilyn Rowe, and Lisa Pavane. All three were former principal dancers with the company.

Many talented choreographers became well-known at TAB. These included Graeme Murphy, Meryl Tankard, and Natalie Weir. They worked with the company from the 1970s to the 1990s.

Past Artistic Directors

Here are the people who have led The Australian Ballet in the past:

• Dame Peggy van Praagh (1962–1974; also in 1978)
• Sir Robert Helpmann (1965–1976)
• Anne Woolliams (1976–1977)
• Marilyn Jones (1979–1982)
• Maina Gielgud (1983–1996)
• Ross Stretton (1996–2001)
• David McAllister (2001-2021)

About The Australian Ballet

The Australian Ballet (TAB) is based in Melbourne. Its main building in Southbank is called the Primrose Potter Australian Ballet Centre. It is named after Lady (Primrose) Potter, who has supported the company for a long time.

The company travels to major cities across Australia. They have yearly shows in Melbourne at the State Theatre. Here, Orchestra Victoria plays the music. They also perform in Sydney at the Sydney Opera House. The Opera Australia Orchestra plays for them there. Other places they visit include the Lyric Theatre in Brisbane and the Adelaide Festival Centre in Adelaide. The company also performs in other countries.

The Australian Ballet works closely with the Australian Ballet School. Many of the company's dancers trained at this school.

The company gets its money from several places. This includes ticket sales, funding from the Australian, Victorian, and New South Wales governments. They also receive money from companies, private donors, and gifts left in wills.

Key People at The Australian Ballet

Since 2021, David Hallberg has been the artistic director. He was a main dancer with the American Ballet Theatre until 2020.

In December 2022, Lissa Twomey became the Executive Director. She is a leader in the arts world. She has lots of experience managing big performing arts groups in Australia and overseas.

Jonathan Lo became the music director and chief conductor in 2022. He took over from Nicolette Fraillon. She was the only woman chief conductor of a ballet company in the world.

Dancers of The Australian Ballet

The Australian Ballet has five levels for its dancers. They are, from newest to most experienced:

• corps de ballet
• coryphée
• soloist
• senior artist
• principal dancer

Telstra Ballet Dancer Award

The Telstra Ballet Dancer Awards have been given out every year since 2003. These awards help young, talented dancers in The Australian Ballet. It is the biggest prize a dancer can win in Australia. The winner gets $20,000. There is also a Telstra People's Choice Award. This award goes to the most popular dancer chosen by online and text message votes. The winner of the People's Choice Award receives $5,000.

Important Performances

In 1964, Robert Helpmann created The Display. This was the first TAB show where the music, design, story, and choreographer were all Australian. It included things like Australian rules football, lyrebirds, and a picnic in the Australian bush.

In 1992, Graeme Murphy created Clara. This was a new version of The Nutcracker. It was important because he changed the story to be about moving to Australia.

In 1997, TAB asked Stephen Page to create a dance. Stephen Page leads an Indigenous dance company called Bangarra Dance Theatre. This led to Rites, a piece for dancers from both companies. It was set to Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring.

For its 60th birthday in 2023, TAB presented Identity. This was a double bill, meaning two ballets performed together. David Hallberg asked for these new works. Identity first showed in May 2023 at the Sydney Opera House. Then it moved to Arts Centre Melbourne in June. The show included two parts:

• The Hum: This ballet had music by Yorta Yorta woman Deborah Cheetham Fraillon. The costumes were designed by Taungurung designer Annette Sax. They were the first Indigenous women to work in these roles for a TAB show. The dance was created by Wiradjuri choreographer Daniel Riley.
• Paragon: This ballet was created by resident choreographer Alice Topp. It focused on the history of The Australian Ballet.

The Company's Dancers

Principal Artists

Name	Nationality	Training	Joined TAB	Promoted to Principal	Other companies (incl. guest performances)
Dimity Azoury	Australia	Kim Harvey School of Dance in Canberra The Australian Ballet School	2008	2019
Benedicte Bemet		Ransley's Ballet Centre Jean M. Wong School of Ballet The Australian Ballet School	2012	2019
Joseph Caley	United Kingdom	Skelton Hooper School of Dance Royal Ballet School	2022	N/A Joined as Principal	Birmingham Royal Ballet English National Ballet
Brett Chynoweth	Australia	The Australian Ballet School	2009	2018	Nederlands Dans Theatre Birmingham Royal Ballet
Chengwu Guo	China	Beijing Dance Academy The Australian Ballet School	2008	2013
Robyn Hendricks	South Africa	The Australian Ballet School National Ballet School	2005	2016
Ako Kondo	Japan	Shiho Kanazawa Ballet Studio The Royal Ballet School’s International Summer School The Australian Ballet School	2010	2015
Callum Linnane	Australia	Ballarat Centre of Music and the Arts The Australian Ballet School	2015	2022
Marcus Morelli		Jane Moore Academy of Ballet The Australian Ballet School	2014	2023
Jill Ogai		The Australian Ballet School	2012	2023
Sharni Spencer	New Zealand	Sally Kefts School of Dance Marie Walton Mahon Dance Academy New Zealand School of Dance	2008	2022

Senior Artists

Name	Nationality	Training	Joined TAB	Promoted to Soloist	Other companies (incl. guest performances)
Imogen Chapman	Australia	The Australian Ballet School Royal Ballet School	2011	2022	Scottish Ballet
Jarryd Madden		Melbourne’s National Theatre Ballet School	2008	2017
Rina Nemoto	Japan	trained with Daini Kudo and Dominique Khalfouni	2011	2022	The Royal Ballet
Valerie Tereshchenko	Ukraine	West Point Ballet Academy Ballet Theatre of Victoria Australian International School of Coaching The Australian Ballet School	2009	2018
Jade Wood	Australia	Jillanne Reynolds School of Dance The Australian Ballet School	2011	2018
Yuumi Yamada	Japan	Sakurai Classical Ballet Studio The Australian Ballet School	2017	2023

Soloists

Coryphées

Corps de ballet

Orchestra Victoria

Orchestra Victoria became a part of The Australian Ballet in July 2014.

See also

In Spanish: The Australian Ballet para niños

• Australian Archives of the Dance, created by TAB in 1972