A season of love, magic and daring: The Australian Ballet’s 2026 program revealed
The hush before the curtain rises, the swell of the orchestra tuning, the anticipation that hangs in the dark. Ballet lives in these moments of expectancy as much as in the brilliance of what follows, and it is this sense of wonder that The Australian Ballet promises to capture in its newly announced 2026 season.
What follows is a year of stories that stretch across centuries and cultures: Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers, an evocative meditation on Australia’s natural world, a regal fairytale from Stuttgart, and the exuberant rhythms of Aaron Copland. Tradition and innovation will share the stage, each illuminating the other.
Artistic Director David Hallberg describes the season as a gift to audiences, both long-standing and new. “The 2026 season reflects our commitment to presenting ballet in its expressive depth for life-long devotees, newcomers and everyone in between,” he said. “With five classical and contemporary works, some timeless and others ground-breaking, this season is dedicated to our audiences and celebrates the many ways ballet inspires, moves and connects us all.”
The year opens in Melbourne with Signature Works, a weekend celebration of some of the Company’s most treasured repertoire. It offers a chance to revisit defining pas de deux and contemporary masterpieces, performed with the full brilliance of Orchestra Victoria, and serves as a reminder of the artistry that has shaped the Company for more than sixty years.
At the centre of the season sits Flora, a new collaboration with Bangarra Dance Theatre. Choreographed by Mirning woman Frances Rings and featuring a new score by Kalkadungu composer William Barton, the work unites 18 dancers from each company in a profound exploration of ecology, identity and renewal. With designs by Grace Lillian Lee and Elizabeth Gadsby and cultural guidance from Matthew Doyle, Flora is a meditation on Australia’s natural world and the resilience of its First Peoples. For Hallberg, it exemplifies the spirit of 2026. “Season 2026 promises to reignite cherished memories and create vivid new ones. It is a season of collaboration and cultural dialogue, most notably through Flora,” he said. “By bringing together diverse voices and perspectives, we honour ballet’s rich heritage while shaping a future that is vibrant, relevant and inclusive.”
John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet also returns, bringing with it all the splendour and devastation of Shakespeare’s most enduring love story. With Sergei Prokofiev’s sweeping score and Jürgen Rose’s sumptuous designs, the ballet captures both the elation of first love and the inevitability of its loss. Touring Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, it remains one of the Company’s most powerful works, binding artists and audiences in a shared emotional experience.
For the first time in Australia, audiences will encounter Justin Peck’s Copland Dance Episodes. Bursting with colour and energy, the ballet brings thirty dancers together across twenty-two episodes set to Aaron Copland’s vivid music. With bold designs by Choctaw-Cherokee artist Jeffrey Gibson, the work celebrates the spirit of dance itself, marrying classical technique with modern vitality in a way that leaves audiences exhilarated.
October will bring an extraordinary cultural exchange as The Stuttgart Ballet visits Melbourne to perform Marcia Haydée’s celebrated staging of The Sleeping Beauty. This lavish production, at once dreamlike and darkly dramatic, breathes psychological depth into the familiar fairytale and gives Australian audiences a rare chance to experience one of Europe’s foremost ballet companies on home soil.
The year concludes with the glitter and wonder of Sir Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker at the Sydney Opera House. With John F. Macfarlane’s jewel-like designs and Tchaikovsky’s luminous score, this beloved classic transforms the stage into a world of snowflakes, toys and Christmas dreams, offering families a chance to share in a tradition that continues to enchant across generations.
The 2026 program reveals a company intent on both celebrating its heritage and opening new artistic pathways. It invites audiences to return to worlds of romance, imagination and cultural dialogue, with each work offering its own sense of wonder. Hallberg captures this spirit in his words: “We can’t wait to transport you through the beauty that only ballet can offer. This is a season that honours the past that has shaped us and the future we dare to imagine, a season of stories that move us and artistry that amazes. It is a season for joy, for love, for tradition and for connection. We made it for you.”
Explore the season.