So, what’s going on with Queensland Ballet? They are just recycling old stuff now after the shock departure of artistic director Leanne Benjamin? The girl from Rocky who was a ballet superstar in her dancing days seemed the perfect person to fill the shoes of the master, Li Cunxin.
But it didn’t work out and it has left a bad taste in the mouth of many in the arts community. How to claw back credibility?
Put on some great ballets. That’s the philosophy of acting artistic director Greg Horsman, who sounds like he wants to do more than just act in the position. So why not ask him directly? “Would you like the job?”
“Well, I’m really enjoying being in the job,” Horsman says. “I’ve worn many hats and I’m one of the few who has worked across the whole company. I would be happy to sit in the chair for a longer period. We’ll see how that plays out.”
And we will, as today Queensland Ballet has officially launched its search for a new artistic director, the company’s seventh since its founding. The QB board says it is “looking to appoint a candidate who understands the unique culture of the organisation and can contribute to Queensland Ballet’s three strategic pillars – artistic, academy and community”.
Adds QB chair Brett Clark: “As we approach our 65th year, we’re very aware of our responsibility to engage an artistic guardian who understands our DNA and will also deepen our contribution and relevance across all our endeavours, on stage and off stage.
“We are inviting those who know us and understand our company to engage in discussions with us and outline their vision, and how it will positively contribute to our three strategic pillars.”
Meanwhile, QB has a new season to announce, kicking off with Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet at QPAC’s Lyric Theatre in March 2025.
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But we’ve seen this ballet before, haven’t we? A couple of times. Yes, but it’s worth doing it again if only to use the costumes QB bought for the production. For previous presentations of this ballet, they had to borrow costumes, but now they have their own stage sets and costumes, purchased from a company in Germany.
“That’s a great asset which we haven’t used yet,” Horsman explains. “And next year is the 60th anniversary of the production, so that’s another good reason to do it again.”
Of course, the audience never tires of classics and this production does rate in that realm.
Also, there is a nice synergy between the company and Lady Deborah MacMillan, the keeper of the MacMillan flame for some decades since the death of her husband, the renowned choreographer Kenneth MacMillan. Lady Deborah, who is a Queenslander, will likely return to Brisbane to help stage the production, which features the iconic music of Prokofiev.
Horsman is bullish about 2025, shaking off any suggestions it will be a lesser year due to financial constraints, which seem to have hobbled Leanne Benjamin’s grand plans for the company.
“Queensland Ballet is bigger than one person,” Horsman says. “The company has become quite resilient. We’ve had to deal with Covid, floods, Li being sick, Leanne being appointed and it not working out for various reasons that have already been talked about.
“My point being that we are very resilient, very adaptable and there is a lot of support and we have come together quite strongly as an organisation.”
Horsman is starting to sound more like the artistic director as we chat and although he’s just acting in the position, he is certainly qualified for the main gig after 12 years with the company and a solid career in ballet.
“Next year is going to be a really wonderful year,” he insists. “The nice thing about bringing back a ballet like Romeo and Juliet is that it gives dancers an opportunity and it shows, through them, that the company has evolved.”
In June and July in the QPAC Playhouse audiences can look forward to a dazzling Triple Bill, featuring the talents of Queensland favourites Natalie Weir, Jack Lister and Greg Horsman. This program will include Weir’s 4Seasons set to the music of Vivaldi and Richter, a world premiere by Lister featuring Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 recomposed by Louis Frere-Harvey and Horsman’s A Rhapsody in Motion performed to Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini Opus 43, all performed live by Camerata – Queensland’s chamber orchestra.
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In July the Bespoke program returns, introducing three fresh contemporary works from choreographers Amelia Waller, Yolande Brown and Robert Binet. This initiative has already produced 21 new works since its inception in 2017, continuing to push the boundaries of dance
Waller is a former Queensland Ballet dancer who performed many principal roles under Francois Klaus before moving to Leipzig Ballet as a soloist. Brown is a Bidjara woman and former senior artist and choreographer with Bangarra Dance Theatre and Binet is a renowned Canadian choreographer and former dancer.
In August we get the Queensland Ballet Academy Gala, a sell-out success in 2024, showcasing the remarkable talents of the next generation of dancers in a vibrant program of classical and contemporary works.
The season includes the evocative and rather sexy Dangerous Liaisons, a narrative ballet that explores themes of seduction and betrayal, created by internationally renowned choreographer Liam Scarlett. That will be in October.
“This will be the first time the company has presented a full story-length ballet at the (Thomas Dixon Centre’s) Talbot Theatre,” Horsman says. “It will mean Dangerous Liaisons will be a more immersive experience.
“People have been asking about when we would bring back Dangerous Liaisons. Scarlett crafted this evocative ballet for Queensland Ballet, and it remains a poignant reflection of the complex web of human relationships.”
Following a successful run in Brisbane and the Gold Coast in 2024, Queensland Ballet will continue its commitment to touring, taking the much-loved production of Coppélia to Toowoomba and Cairns in April and May.
Families will also delight in the My First Ballet series, featuring two of the company’s most loved productions at the Talbot Theatre. Horsman has reimagined Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, with live music in conjunction with the Griffith Conservatorium of Music, for the June-July school holidays.
But wait, there’s more … including the annual Soiree event in November, a fusion of visual art, dance and live music in collaboration with Philip Bacon Galleries and Camerata, and then The Nutcracker in December 2025 (we may be bidding a fond farewell to that Christmas tradition, but more on that later).
The newly minted minister for education and the arts, John-Paul Langbroek, also a regular at the ballet, has congratulated Queensland Ballet on its 2025 season:
“Queensland Ballet has a well-earned reputation for producing leading classical and contemporary dance works, developed and performed by internationally acclaimed practitioners,” Langbroek says. “The Queensland Government’s investment in Queensland Ballet supports employment for our state’s talented arts workers, provides careers pathways for dancers and ensures delivery of community dance programs, performances and touring activities for regional communities.”
Which is good to hear, because the way things are the ballet may be asking the State Government for more financial assistance sooner rather than later.
queenslandballet.com.au