Brought to the stage by The Australian Ballet, and remaining faithful to the 19th-century original, rediscover the childlike joys of the season or create your own family tradition with this special festive event.

Be filled with the Christmas spirit by whirling snowflakes, band-box soldiers, a magical Christmas tree, a Sugar Plum Fairy in luscious candy-floss pink, and of course, Tchaikovsky’s iconic score, as this magical production of the beloved ballet charms you anew.

The Australian Ballet Live: The Nutcracker
Dendy Cinemas Coorparoo
Thursday December 12 – 6:15pm
www.coorparoo.dendy.com.au

Join the Dendy Cinemas Coorparoo on Thursday, 6 July at 7.15pm for a night of Ballet with a glass of sparkling on arrival to compliment the sparkle of JEWELS – The Australian Ballet’s Live Screening.

George Balanchine’s JEWELS is a three-part ballet celebrating his vision of three jewels. Visually and thematically structured around the motifs of Emeralds, Rubies and Diamonds, the piece explores the idea of movement radiating from the body through each specific jewel.

JEWELS showcases Balanchine’s atmospheric musicality. These contrasting works explore his time in Paris, New York and St Petersburg through the harmony of music and the defining visual elements of colour, shape and silhouette.

Each of the three acts is distinct in style and mood, set to music by three different composers: Fauré for Emeralds, Stravinsky for Rubies and Tchaikovsky for Diamonds. Opulent costumes and sets unify each of the three sections to achieve one regal whole, which will showcase the breathtaking classical precision of The Australian Ballet’s artists.

The Australian Ballet Present Jewels Live in Cinema
Thursday, 6 July at 7.15pm
Dendy Cinemas Coorparoo, Brisbane
www.coorparoo.dendy.com.au

In an Australian first, principal dancers from The Royal Ballet, the American Ballet Theatre, and Astana Opera will collaborate with our world class body of Australian artists, each performing from a carefully curated selection of pas de deux from the most iconic ballets over seven intimate performances at the Playhouse, QPAC.

BIG will feature performances from American Ballet Theatre principals, Skylar Brandt and Aran Bell as they grace the stage with their performance from Le Corsaire, while the Royal Ballet’s Francesca Hayward and Cesar Corrales will captivate audiences with Swan Lake’s White Swan pas de deux.

Astana Opera principals, Bakhtiyar Adamzhan and Shugyla Adepkhan will deliver one of the most breathtaking and explosive performances from Spartacus.

Queensland Ballet’s power couple Mia Heathcote and Victor Estevez will fittingly perform the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet, while Queensland Ballet icon, Neneka Yoshida will partner with Artistic Director of United Ballet Theatre Joseph Gatti as they move audiences with their performance of the grand pas de deux from Pas de Esclave.

Juliet Doherty and BIG co-founder Joel Burke, stars from the upcoming ballet feature film, Red Shoes – The Next Step, will perform their new works, while Paris Opera Ballet and Stuttgart Ballet alumni Dani Gibson and Alexander Smith will perform their Australian premieres.

BIG is excited to welcome back internationally renowned tap dancer, Bill Simpson, after previously starring in Queensland Ballet’s production of Strictly Gershwin. Bill will perform an exclusive ballet/tap collaboration with BIG’s world class line up.

The evening will close with a world exclusive finale, featuring a collaboration of each of BIG’s artists and one of Queensland’s most promising musical acts!

Join BIG, as they take you on a journey – through London, New York, Paris, Stuttgart and Nur-Sultan, for the first time in a long time.

Ballet International Gala
26 – 30 January 2022
Playhouse, QPAC, Brisbane
www.qpac.com.au

The Victorian State Ballet’s Beauty & The Beast is rich with vibrant colour, virtue, sensibility, grace, intrigue and outstanding skill. Don’t miss all your favourite characters come to life, exhilarating solos and pas de deuxs with a cast of leading classical ballet artists from across Australia and abroad.

This is classical ballet at its finest! A memorable experience for the whole family.

This event includes a meet & greet with the cast after the show.

“Every aspect of the performance excelled, a work to remember for years to come.” Dance Australia

“I adored every second and was completely overwhelmed.” Dance Informa

Beauty & The Beast
30 May 2020
QPAC, Brisbane
www.qpac.com.au

Their acclaimed dancers will be joined by international guest stars paying tribute to the contributions of Queensland Ballet’s five Artistic Directors: Charles Lisner OBE, Harry Haythorne, Harold Collins MBE, François Klaus and Li Cunxin AO.

Enjoy excerpts from iconic works, including Charles Lisner’s Chopin pas de deux (1965), Jacqui Carroll’s Carmina Burana (1982), Harold Collins’ The Lady of the Camellias (1996) and Francois Klaus’s The Little Mermaid (2003) and Cloudland (2004). Fittingly, the season will culminate in Harald Lander’s thrilling and masterful homage to classical ballet, Études (1948) as we showcase Queensland Ballet today, under current Artistic Director, Li Cunxin AO.

Queensland Ballet 60th Anniversary Gala
20 – 28 March 2020
QPAC, Brisbane
www.queenslandballet.com.au

The possibilities for dance in Wilde’s characters – the golden Prince, his loyal friend the Swallow, the seductive Reed, the pitiful Match Girl – will be fabulously realised in Murphy’s distinctive choreographic style.

The Happy Prince features a specially commissioned score from the renowned composer Christopher Gordon, who composed the scores for the films Mao’s Last Dancer, Ladies in Black and Master and Commander, alongside the work of award-winning artist and director Kim Carpenter, who adapted the story and created the colourful design for the ballet.

Playful and poignant, The Happy Prince will capture children’s imagination with its vivid spectacle and adults’ attention with its timely message: a kind heart shines brighter than gold.

The Happy Prince
25 – 29 February 2020
QPAC, Brisbane
www.qpac.com.au

A young man of just 22, dressed in a black beret and a dark narrow suit, is on an aeroplane flying from St Petersburg to Paris. It is 1961 and Rudolf Nureyev, not yet the imperious figure of legend, is a member of the world-renowned Kirov Ballet Company, travelling for the first time outside the Soviet Union.

Parisian life delights Nureyev and the young dancer is eager to consume all the culture, art and music the dazzling city has to offer. But the KGB officers who watch his every move become increasingly suspicious of his behaviour and his friendship with the young Parisienne Clara Saint. When they finally confront Nureyev with a shocking demand, he is forced to make a heart-breaking decision, one that may change the course of his life forever and put his family and friends in terrible danger.

From Nureyev’s poverty-stricken childhood in the Soviet city of Ufa, to his blossoming as a student dancer in Leningrad, to his arrival at the epicentre of western culture in Paris in the early 1960s and a nail-biting stand-off at the Le Bourget airport, “THE WHITE CROW” is the true story of an incredible journey by a unique artist who transformed the world of ballet forever.

The White Crow will be released in Australian cinemas July 18!
www.facebook.com/UniversalPicturesAU

Based on Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ time-honoured novel, Queensland Ballet’s Artistic Associate and world-renowned choreographer Liam Scarlett breathes life into this sultry tale in a world premiere production. Set amongst the aristocratic elite of late 18th century France, this evocative and vivid work will scintillate audiences.

With a story that has captivated audiences around the world for over 200 years, Dangerous Liaisons is a hedonistic tale of love, virtue and humanity, reimagined into a dramatic new ballet for mature audiences.

Dangerous Liaisons
22 March — 6 April
Playhouse, QPAC
www.queenslandballet.com.au

After sell-out seasons in 2017, Christopher Wheeldon’s madcap Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland© is coming to Brisbane.

Witness as Wheeldon translates the wit and charm of Lewis Carroll’s story into dance, with extravagant sets, magnificent costumes and an extraordinary score. Wonderland comes to life with puppetry, eye-bending illusions and playful costumes. Join Alice as she meets a twitchy White Rabbit, tap-dancing Mad Hatter and a tyrannical Red Queen in this family-friendly adventure.

Experience breathtaking visuals from Tony Award-winning designer Bob Crowley and a colourful score by Joby Talbot performed live by Queensland Symphony Orchestra. With the spectacle of Broadway, this ballet will transport you into the depths of your imagination.

It’s time to fall down the rabbit hole – don’t be late for this very important date!

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
25 February to 2 March 2019
QPAC, Brisbane
www.qpac.com.au

This November, Italy’s celebrated Teatro alla Scala Ballet Company (La Scala Ballet) performs live for the first time in Australia and only in Brisbane. La Scala Ballet will be accompanied by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra.

Enjoy the ultimate La Scala Ballet experience. See both Don Quixote and Giselle over one spectacular weekend in Brisbane from 16 to 18 November 2018.

QPAC is located in South Bank, Brisbane’s cultural epicentre. Make the most of your Brisbane rendezvous and discover what’s on in Brisbane this November.

La Scala Ballet
QPAC, Brisbane
7 to 18 November 2018
www.qpac.com.au