Mia Heathcote – Landgraf on Dance

“The Sleeping Beauty”
The Australian Ballet
Sydney Opera House/Joan Sutherland Theatre
Sydney, Australia
December 16, 2025 (live stream)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

According to the Australian Ballet’s artistic director, David Hallberg, The Sleeping Beauty is “a splendor for the eyes.” The production, which originated ten years ago under the directorship of Hallberg’s predecessor, David McAllister (who also contributed choreography based on Petipa’s original), is more; it is food for the soul.

As if zooming in on the painting of a distant palace projected on the curtain, the first scene showed the royal writing cabinet, where the whimsical Catalabutte (Jarryd Madden) omitted Carabosse from the list of invitees to Princess Aurora’s christening party. The curve of the painting’s frame recurred in the shape of the banisters that led down to the royal hall. Jon Buswell’s lighting increased the impression of paintings in motion. Continue reading ““A Splendor for the Eyes””

“Oscar©”
The Australian Ballet
Sydney Opera House/Joan Sutherland Theatre
Sydney, Australia
November 19, 2024 (live stream)

One long year has passed since The Australian Ballet’s last live stream, and it was uncertain if the company would dance again for an online audience. But after moving from Melbourne’s State Theatre (which is closed for major renovations) to their temporary home at the nearby Regent Theatre, they are back online. Christopher Wheeldon’s Oscar^© was the first ballet streamed live from the Sydney Opera House. Moreover, it is the first full-length commission by artistic director, David Hallberg, who has been friends with Wheeldon for twenty years. As a choreographer, Wheeldon is “hot property,” Hallberg stated. Oscar^© combines biographical aspects of the well-known, yet divisive, Irish author Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) with two pieces of his oeuvre.

As usual, Hallberg and presenter Catherine Murphy co-hosted the live stream, conducting backstage interviews and chatting about the piece. Hallberg quickly made clear that when approaching Wheeldon, he had a bold, unapologetic story in mind that wouldn’t shy away from telling uncomfortable realities, such as Wilde’s homosexuality for which he was persecuted and sentenced to two years in prison. Continue reading “Coming Out”