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“I like to believe – and as this organisation has always exemplified – that we have to take audiences along on the ride of artistic creation,” he says. “That isn’t always safe. It isn’t always a box office guarantee. So yes, there’s risk in something like Oscar – but any art that was ever created was, at some stage, new.”
The ballet is one of two new commissions to be performed in the 2024 season. In addition to the British-born Wheeldon, Hallberg has recruited Melbourne-based choreographer Stephanie Lake to create a new work for the company. Appearing in a contemporary double bill with Harald Lander’s Études, Lake’s new full-length work Circle Electric is “very fresh, very sharp”, Hallberg says.
The season will also include a Sydney-exclusive production of Carmen, with Marcus Morelli and Jill Ogai.Credit: Chris Hopkins
“Stephanie Lake is one of the most exciting voices in Australian contemporary dance,” he says. “To give Stephanie the opportunity to create this really substantial work is super exciting for me as a director.”
Also on the program is Johan Inger’s Carmen, which takes the well-known opera comique and translates it into a modern setting. The work is dark, passionate and unsparing. “Certain versions of Carmen can lack grit,” Hallberg says. “[Inger has] added this grit to the story and to Carmen’s character. She’s a little raunchy, she’s sensual and that’s what makes her so compelling.”
While most shows in the program will tour, Carmen will be performed exclusively in Sydney.
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Rounding out the season are George Balanchine’s pure dance triptych Jewels, which will be performed in Adelaide, Christopher Wheeldon’s charming Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and seasonal favourite The Nutcracker by Sir Peter Wright.
For Hallberg, programming is one of the most complicated responsibilities of the job. He says his first responsibility is always to the dancers, and his second responsibility is to the audience. Ultimately, he aims to bring outstanding work to the stage.
“We are the nation’s ballet company – we have a responsibility to bring that quality to audiences,” he says. “Whether it’s an Australian choreographer or an international choreographer, we bring in the best creators or existing works, so audiences get to see the best of what’s happening here in Australia and the best of what’s happening in the world. And that’s a huge responsibility.”