Together, we’re lifting Marcus higher. You voted Marcus Morelli as 2019 Telstra People’s Choice Winner. We’re proud to support his brilliant ballet talent through the Telstra Ballet Dancer Awards. Telstra and The Australian Ballet, celebrating 36 years of partnership. Marcus Morelli 2019 Telstra People’s Choice Winner Photographer: Justin Ridler 2 THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET 2020 SEASON Together, we’re lifting Marcus higher. You voted Marcus Morelli as 2019 Telstra People’s Choice Winner. We’re proud to support his brilliant ballet talent through the Telstra Ballet Dancer Awards. Telstra and The Australian Ballet, celebrating 36 years of partnership. 13 – 24 MARCH | Arts Centre Melbourne 3 – 22 APRIL | Sydney Opera House Government Commissioning Production Lead & Production Lead Principal Partners Partner Partner Partner Partner Partner Marcus Morelli 2019 Telstra People’s Choice Winner Imogen Chapman. Photography Justin Ridler Photographer: Justin Ridler Tzu-Chao Chou and Lana Jones in Dyad 1929 Photography Jim McFarlane 4 THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET 2020 SEASON NOTE FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR New works are the lifeblood of all arts companies. Over the centuries, dancers and dance makers have shaped and changed ballet, taking its technique to fresh and exciting places. In every generation a handful of visionaries can inspire us to see ballet through a new lens, and in turn inspire others to create. Volt is a celebration of this process. I first saw Wayne McGregor’s work in the early 2000s. The piece, brainstate, featured Deborah Bull, then a principal of The Royal Ballet, and it was riveting. Wayne went on to create works for the world’s most prestigious ballet companies. His extraordinary vision, creativity and intellect have revolutionised the way we look at ballet in the 21st century. In 2009 Wayne created Dyad 1929 on our company as part of our four-year curation of works celebrating the innovations of the Ballets Russes, and thus began our dancers’ love affair with his work. A young Alice Topp was part of the creation process for Dyad 1929, and this experience was one of the catalysts for her to begin her own choreographic journey by making a piece for our bodytorque program in 2010. I want to thank Wayne for the opportunity to revive two of his masterworks, Chroma and Dyad 1929. It has been a joy to have Antoine Vereecken return to our studios to oversee the staging of these works, and to have Neil Fleming-Brown with us to teach Chroma. Their profound knowledge of Wayne’s oeuvre has allowed us to revive these works in all their sharp and astonishing detail. It has been wonderful to hear the very different but equally galvanising scores of Joby Talbot and Steve Reich echoing through the corridors; they instantly make you want to dance. We have been amazed afresh by John Pawson’s powerful set for Chroma under Lucy Carter’s lighting and the sleek subtlety of Moritz Junge’s costumes. Lucy's marvellous creativity is again on display in her lighting design for Dyad 1929; she also devised the stunning stage concept in collaboration with Wayne. It is always a thrill to present a world premiere. Alice Topp’s Logos was co-commissioned by Wayne’s company Studio Wayne McGregor, The Australian Ballet and Dance@TheGrange. A duet from it, made on the dancers of Company Wayne McGregor, was performed for the first time in 2019 as part of Dance@TheGrange; we are now excited to unveil the full work as part of our Volt seasons. After the huge success of Alice’s Helpmann Award-winning Aurum in 2018, she has chosen to continue her journey with long-time collaborator Jon Buswell, who designed both the set and the lighting for Logos, and her musical muse Ludovico Einaudi. Another of Alice’s muses, our former Principal Artist Leanne Stojmenov, has returned to dance with us in Logos, bringing all the passion and dynamism of the performances we treasured during her 18 years with the company. During my two decades as artistic director, it has been such a joy to see the growing audiences for our annual contemporary program. In The Australian Ballet’s first season, Artistic Director Peggy van Praagh staged a choreographic workshop and commissioned a new Australian work, Rex Reid’s Melbourne Cup. Since then, each director has added to our repertoire with works by the world's leading choreographers and Australia’s unique dancemakers. I am sure this will continue well into the future, and that our company and audiences will always be challenged, excited and inspired. I hope you enjoy both this season of Volt and ballet’s continuing evolution. David McAllister AM THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET VOLT 5 NOTE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR True to our motto ‘Caring for tradition, daring to be different’, we are committed to presenting an exciting contemporary ballet season each year. This year we are proud to bring you the electrifying Volt – a brilliant showcase of 21st-century British and Australian works. World-renowned choreographer Wayne McGregor makes ballets that beautifully suit our dancers’ athletic, bold style. We are thrilled to revive two of his one-act works: Chroma, which we first danced in 2014, and Dyad 1929, commissioned by The Australian Ballet in 2009. We are also proud to present Logos, a world premiere by Resident Choreographer Alice Topp, co-commissioned by The Australian Ballet, Studio Wayne McGregor and Dance@TheGrange. Alice credits Wayne with inspiring her to discover her own artistic voice. Watching Alice’s transformation from dancer to acclaimed choreographer has been a thrill both for the company and our audiences. Just as we all enjoy the wonderful partnerships we see on stage, we appreciate our loyal corporate partners, who share our passion for this extraordinary art form and our ambition for the company. This year marks our 36th year of support and friendship with Principal Partner Telstra. This invaluable partnership has transformed the lives of so many Australians, from our dancers, through the Telstra Ballet Dancer of the Year Awards, to the hundreds of thousands who have enjoyed our annual regional tour, which Telstra supports. Our Lead Partner Qantas makes it possible for this touring company to travel the country and the world in comfort and safety. Our other Lead Partner, the Australian luxury property developer Aqualand, is also a Production Partner for Volt. Major Partners Herbert Smith Freehills and Kawai, both key supporters of the company and exemplars of excellence, are Commissioning and Production Partners, respectively, for Volt. Our thanks to all of these vitally important partners. Since its inception in 1962, The Australian Ballet has been generously supported by our corporate and government partners and our philanthropic patrons as well as you, our loyal audience members. Our shared love of dance has made it possible for the company to grow and present world-class performances and exciting seasons. Quite simply we wouldn’t be here without you. Thank you. We hope that you enjoy Volt as much as our dancers enjoy performing it for you. Libby Christie 6 THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET 2020 SEASON Adam Bull and Amber Scott in Chroma Photography Jess Bialek THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET VOLT 7 Volt With Orchestra Victoria and Opera Australia Orchestra CHROMA (2006) LOGOS (2020) DYAD 1929 (2009) Choreography Wayne McGregor Choreography and costume design Alice Topp Choreography Wayne McGregor Music Joby Talbot Music Ludovico Einaudi Music Steve Reich Double Sextet 'Cloudpark', 'A Yellow Disc Rising From the Sea', 'Whirling Winds', 'Ultimi Fuochi', 'Logos' and Wayne McGregor and Lucy Carter 'Transit of Venus' and 'Hovercraft' 'Elegy for the Arctic' Stage concept Published by Chester Music Limited and used by kind Costume design Moritz Junge permission of the Music Sales Group Set and lighting design Jon Buswell Lighting design Lucy Carter Jack White III Logos is a co-commission by Studio Wayne 'Aluminum', 'The Hardest Button to Button' McGregor, The Australian Ballet and Dance@The Principal Restager Antoine Vereecken and 'Blue Orchid' Grange. It is generously supported by the Robert Dyad 1929 was originally commissioned by Published by Peppermint Stripe Music/EMI Music Publishing Ltd Southey Fund for Australian Choreography. New arrangement by Joby Talbot The Australian Ballet and had its premiere at 'Whirling Winds', 'Logos' and 'Elegy for the Arctic' are Arts Centre Melbourne on 21 August 2009 orchestrated by Christopher Austin published by Chester Music Limited and used by kind Used by kind permission of the Music Sales Group permission of the Music Sales Group. These performances of Double Sextet by Steve Reich are given by permission of Hal Leonard Australia Pty Ltd, exclusive 'Ultimi Fuochi' is used by kind permission of Ludovico Einaudi Set design John Pawson agents for Boosey and Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd of London Costume design Moritz Junge “And you really will have to make it through that violent, metaphysical and symbolic storm … CHOREOGRAPHER’S NOTE Lighting design Lucy Carter people will bleed there, and you will bleed too …” In 2009, to celebrate the centenary of Stager Neil Fleming Brown Haruki Murakami the magnificent Ballets Russes, I embarked upon generating a diptych: two contrasting Coached by Principal Restager Antoine Vereecken “Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses yet complementary ideas produced on two who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with sides of the world – Dyad 1909 (London) Chroma was commissioned by The Royal Ballet beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that and Dyad 1929 (Melbourne). and had its premiere at The Royal Opera House, frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something Covent Garden, on 17 November 2006 helpless that wants our love.” The maverick impresario and founder of the Ballets Russes, Sergei Diaghilev, had a creative Rainer Maria Rilke vision that served to challenge the social norms chroma kro¯’ma of the day.