You could consider it a parting gift from outgoing chief executive John Kotzas – the return of the QPAC International Series.
Kotzas finishes up in December in a role he has dedicated his life to. (The new head honcho will be respected arts industry figure Rachel Healy.)
And one of the crowning glories of Kotzas’s long career is the QPAC International Series, which was killed off by the pandemic. But not before it had brought us some of the world’s greatest arts companies including, as a finale just before Covid hit, the Bolshoi Ballet.
Now Kotzas has just announced that he’s rebooting the series with an exclusive Australian season of Swan Lake featuring France’s acclaimed Ballet Preljocaj (May 31 to June 7, 2025) as part of the QPAC International Series and the centre’s 40th anniversary celebrations.
Kotzas welcomes the return of Ballet Preljocaj following its sold-out season for the 2016 QPAC International Series.
“Angelin Preljocaj is one of Europe’s greatest choreographers and the company has redefined contemporary ballet,” he says. “This is a Swan Lake for modern times – there’s not a pointe shoe in sight – but you will still be hit with the full spectacle, technical virtuosity and depth of storytelling that is expected of this much-loved ballet.
“As we plan our 40th anniversary celebrations for next year, we are excited to announce this exclusive season of Swan Lake as a fitting highlight of a broad program marking 40 years of hosting the best artists in the world and pushing the art of performance making.
“Although Ballet Preljocaj will perform only in Brisbane, we will soon be announcing opportunities for all Queenslanders to connect with the company. For everyone else around Australia, I encourage you to join us for this season of eight performances only of Swan Lake like you have never seen before.”
Founded in 1985 by maverick French choreographer Angelin Preljocaj, the Aix-en-Provence-based Ballet Preljocaj last wowed audiences here in 2016 with the sell-out season of Snow White and is world renowned for warping the notion of ballet.
The contemporary ballet company is fuelled by Preljocaj’s propensity for collaboration, with a roll call of artistic partnerships boasting the likes of costumes by Jean Paul Gaultier and Azzedine Alaïa to scores by Thomas Bangalter (Daft Punk) and Nicolas Godin (Air).
Famed for his iconoclastic deconstruction of great story ballets, Preljocaj’s Swan Lake is a dystopian juxtaposition of corporate greed – in which Siegfried is the son of a wealthy property developer – and the pristine environment of the swans, which sees Odette and the Prince as eco-warriors battling the fossil-fuelled industrialist Rothbart.
While he has leaned on some elements of Marius Pepita and Lev Ivanov’s original choreography, this is Swan Lake reimagined by Preljocaj with “audacity and respect” and challenges ballet norms with a run time of less than two hours with no interval.
Preljocaj was also compelled to dissect Tchaikovsky’s original score and reassemble it with extracts from the Russian composer’s symphonic works. This amalgamation will be played live by Queensland Symphony Orchestra and mixed with music studio 79D’s futuristic house music.
Video design by Boris Labbé, lighting by Éric Soyer and costumes by Igor Chapurin give the ballet an end-of-days decadence – from a penthouse rave to a silent lake at midnight – as the company urges the audience to reflect on the world and its fragility through “dizzying dance and inventive choreography” (Chroniques de danse).
Ballet Preljocaj founder Angelin Preljocaj says presenting the Australian premiere of Swan Lake at QPAC will be an honour for him and his company.
“We fondly remember the enthusiasm Brisbane had for Snow White, so we know we will be welcomed warmly by audiences and I hope they will enjoy this contemporary version of Swan Lake,” Preljocaj says. “We cannot wait to perform in Queensland, especially as we have the chance to perform live with Queensland Symphony Orchestra.”
State Minister for the Arts Leeanne Enoch says the return of Ballet Preljocaj to QPAC’s International Series reinforced Queensland’s reputation as a vibrant cultural tourism destination. (The QPAC International Series is supported by the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland.)
“I am delighted that one of the world’s leading contemporary ballet companies is returning to Queensland as part of QPAC’s 40th anniversary celebrations,” Enoch says. “Ballet Preljocaj’s spectacular interpretation of Swan Lake is set to attract audiences from across the country.”
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Since its inaugural presentation in 2009, the QPAC International Series has welcomed some of the world’s finest performing arts companies. As well as the Bolshoi we have had the The Royal Ballet, Teatro alla Scala and others, exclusively to Queensland, with many of them making their Australian debuts.
Ballet Preljocaj’s Swan Lake plays the Lyric Theatre, QPAC, May 31 to June 7; general public tickets on sale from 9am on September 25.
qpac.com.au.
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