This year’s annual season by Ballet Theatre of Queensland was held over four nights at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre – the first full-length ballet to be staged in the venue since March, 2020, and the Covid-19 lockdown. All nine performances were sold out.
The company of 60 young dancers performed Cinderella, choreographed by artistic director Clare Morehen, with sumptuous costumes by Carmel Wenck and sets by Bill Haycock. Jessi Hough and Kate Muller with guest artists Tristan Fraser-Preston and Jordan Lennon shared the roles of Cinderella and the Prince.
BTQ was formed 80 years ago by Phyllis Danaher, when she established the Australasian Society of Operatic Dancing, an umbrella organisation for teachers of ballet. Young dancers from all over South Queensland are welcome to audition, regardless of what school they attend. The company bridges the divide between the academy and the professional stage, by introducing dancers to the processes behind the production of a professional ballet, staged in a professional venue. The patron is David McAllister, recently retired artistic director of the Australian Ballet.
Enjoy our gallery of photos, taken by Tom Baker.
(The executive director of BTQ is Denise Richardson, Brisbane correspondent for Dance Australia).