The Australian Ballet: 60th Anniversary Celebration review: An assured and versatile display

Staged at London’s Royal Opera House, this company celebration highlighted contemporary work with dynamic results

Marcus Morelli in Harlequinade (Tristram Kenton)

Marking 60 years of the Australian Ballet, this gala performance focuses very much on the here and now. In a speech, new director David Hallberg acknowledged the company’s historic links with Britain’s Royal Ballet – but this programme stresses more recent work. It’s a snapshot of a versatile, confident company.

There’s a strong New York influence, reflecting Hallberg’s time as a star of American Ballet Theatre. An excerpt from Harlequinade, by in-demand choreographer Alexei Ratmansky, made a quirky start to the show. Ratmansky revisits a late work by Marius Petipa, original choreographer of The Sleeping Beauty. It’s a mix of witty steps and Edwardian frou-frou, with garlands of dancing and a corps de ballet in petal hats. Marcus Morelli has bright timing as the scampering hero, while Sharni Spencer is assured in the ballerina role.

Created for New York City Ballet, Justin Peck’s Everywhere We Go sets a large cast moving in crisp lines to music by Sufjan Stevens. Janie Taylor’s striped costumes give it a nautical look, and there’s a sea-breezy freshness to Peck’s interactions. Women soar in group lifts, held up by other women as well as men; individuals literally jump out of the group dances.