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Some of the text in The Australian Ballet timeline is adapted from essays in Luminous. These were written by Valerie Lawson (The Sixties), Jill Sykes (The Seventies), Lee Christofis (The Eighties), Michael Shmith (The Nineties) and Deborah Jones (The New Millennium).
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2 November 1962
The first performance by the fledgling company is Peggy van Praagh’s production of Swan Lake at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Sydney. “It’s a terrifying night for us,” van Praagh tells a reporter. The principal roles are danced by Erik Bruhn, star of The Royal Danish Ballet, and Sonia Arova, a Bulgarian ballerina (and his former fiancée).
Also in 1962
Peggy van Praagh returns to Australia to take up the directorship of the new company.
June 1962
On this Saturday, the dancers assemble to sign their contracts and take their first class together.
1 September 1962
The Australian Ballet has its first day of rehearsals in their East Melbourne studios.
3 September 1962
Melbourne Cup, the first work to be commissioned by The Australian Ballet, premieres in Sydney.
16 November 1962
Rudolf Nureyev, the explosive superstar recently defected from the Soviet Union, arrives in Sydney.
