By Deborah Jones The Australian Ballet’s Celebration Gala at the Sydney Opera House was greeted with unbridled enthusiasm by an audience starved for dance. End-of-year Sydney performances of Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet and Ratmansky’s Harlequinade had been cancelled, a big blow to the company following the wipe-out of its earlier programming in Melbourne, where it
By Rhys Ryan One year after Lucas Jervies’ gladiatorial epic Spartacus, audiences of the Australian Ballet were again thrust into the wonders of the ancient world. This time, brutality and hypermasculinity were replaced with an intricate plot of heroism and triumph in the company’s co-production with Houston Ballet, Sylvia, which had its Australian premiere at
by Jordan Beth Vincent For longtime patrons of the Australian Ballet, there has only ever been one Spartacus. Back in 1990, principal artist Steven Heathcote’s performance in the ballet was the height of drama and masculinity — his image (powerfully muscular and wearing a leather loincloth and harness) used to promote the company’s tour to