Prism
The Australian Ballet
Three sides of dance join forces.
A triple bill – William Forsythe / Jerome Robbins / Stephanie Lake
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Melbourne / Naarm
25 September – 4 October 2025
Regent Theatre
Melbourne / Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Country
An earth-shattering experience from three of the world’s most inspired choreographers, Prism will leave you breathless with its raw intensity and revolutionary design. Inspired by the three sides of a prism, each work is a reflection of the visionary choreographer behind it. Prism encompasses the spectrum of contemporary dance and demonstrates The Australian Ballet’s commitment to commissioning new works and collaborating with local and international creatives. Featuring scores composed by some of the world’s most popular artists, Prism reflects a new frontier in dance.
David Hallberg's insight
"To showcase these three powerfully unique choreographers in one program is a rarity. Only a company like The Australian Ballet has the range and skill to take on such a wide range of styles in one program."
Tiler Peck, New York City Ballet
Photo Geovanny Santillan
Artists of Miami City Ballet
Photo Gene Schiavone
Jeremy Hargreaves and Yaru Xu
Photo Simon Eeles
Blake Works VI (The Barre Project)
William Forsythe
The Barre Project was conceived at the height of the pandemic as an homage to the legions of dancers who, while holding on to any available piece of domestic furniture, attempted to sustain their professional abilities with at-home barre exercises.
The project’s choreography contains no traditional arrangement of academic barre sequences. Rather, it is a rigorous display of the winding and unwinding kinetic logic that underlies the most fundamental elements of classical ballet’s vocabulary.
Traditionally, the musical accompaniment for barre work has consisted of regularly metered excerpts of classical music repertoire. The composer, James Blake, also uses familiar time signatures to frame diverse facets of classic composition in his densely counterpointed structures. Blake’s musical erudition allows him to navigate between traditional compositional conventions and contemporary genres with sophisticated ease, delighting and exciting performers and audiences alike.
Glass Pieces
Jerome Robbins
Dancer, choreographer and storyteller Jerome Robbins captured the world’s attention with his ground-breaking choreography on the hit Broadway musicals West Side Story and Fiddler on the Roof.
Known for his evocative style, Robbins spoke his truth through his ballets. With Glass Pieces, Robbins extends across genres, fusing slick urban movement with traditional ballet to create a style that is uniquely its own.
Accompanied by Philip Glass’ music from Glassworks and the opera Akhnaten, Glass Pieces is an expansive work of art that moves at an electrifying pace, embodying the pulsing heartbeat of New York City.
World Premiere
Stephanie Lake
Following the success of Circle Electric in 2024, The Australian Ballet’s Resident Choreographer Stephanie Lake returns with a striking new world premiere that marks a bold creative departure. Featuring Peter Brikmanis’s reimagining of J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variation and performed by an intimate cast of seven dancers, this work embraces emotional immediacy and razor-sharp precision.
In contrast to Lake’s typically large-scale productions, this performance strips back to focus on the dancers’ physicality and nuanced movement. The Goldberg Aria loops, and seven wildly different versions of the same dance unfold. Sharply lit by long-time collaborator Bosco Shaw and costumed in distinctive designs by Kate Davis, the piece explores the quiet drama of form, rhythm and human connection, delivered with Lake’s signature explosive physicality and wit.
The Robert & Elizabeth Albert Music Fund will support Peter Brikmanis’s reimagining of J.S. Bach’s 'Goldberg Variations' for Stephanie Lake’s Seven Days
Artists of Miami City Ballet, Glass Pieces (Robbins)
Photo Gene Schiavone
Simone Messmer and Rainer Krenstetter, Miami City Ballet, Glass Pieces (Robbins)
Photo Gene Schiavone
Artists of Miami City Ballet, Glass Pieces (Robbins)
Photo Gene Schiavone
Artist of Miami City Ballet, Glass Pieces (Robbins)
Photo Gene Schiavone
Artist of New York City Ballet, Blake Works (Forsythe)
Photo Geovanny Santillan
Artist of New York City Ballet, Blake Works (Forsythe)
Photo Geovanny Santillan
Brooklyn Mack and Tiler Peck, New York City Ballet, Blake Works (Forsythe)
Photo Geovanny Santillan
Artists of New York City Ballet, Blake Works (Forsythe)
Photo Geovanny Santillan
Tiler Peck, New York City Ballet, Blake Works (Forsythe)
Photo Geovanny Santillan
Artist of New York City Ballet, Blake Works (Forsythe)
Photo Geovanny Santillan
Artist of New York City Ballet, Blake Works (Forsythe)
Photo Geovanny Santillan
Artists of Miami City Ballet, Glass Pieces (Robbins)
Photo Gene Schiavone
Simone Messmer and Rainer Krenstetter, Miami City Ballet, Glass Pieces (Robbins)
Photo Gene Schiavone
Artists of Miami City Ballet, Glass Pieces (Robbins)
Photo Gene Schiavone
Artist of Miami City Ballet, Glass Pieces (Robbins)
Photo Gene Schiavone
Artist of New York City Ballet, Blake Works (Forsythe)
Photo Geovanny Santillan
Artist of New York City Ballet, Blake Works (Forsythe)
Photo Geovanny Santillan
Brooklyn Mack and Tiler Peck, New York City Ballet, Blake Works (Forsythe)
Photo Geovanny Santillan
Artists of New York City Ballet, Blake Works (Forsythe)
Photo Geovanny Santillan
Tiler Peck, New York City Ballet, Blake Works (Forsythe)
Photo Geovanny Santillan
Artist of New York City Ballet, Blake Works (Forsythe)
Photo Geovanny Santillan
Artist of New York City Ballet, Blake Works (Forsythe)
Photo Geovanny Santillan
Production Credits
Blake Works V (The Barre Project)
Choreography William Forsythe
Music James Blake, ‘Lindisfarne I’, ‘Buzzard & Kestrel’, ‘Lullaby for My Insomniac’, ‘200 Press’ Lighting design (Prologue) Tanja Rühl
Lighting design (The Barre Project) Tanja Rühl, based on original design by Brandon Stirling Baker
Stage design William Forsythe
Costume design William Forsythe
Staged by Jodie Gates and Noah Gelber
Sound supervisor Niels Lanz
Premiere: 10 May 2023, Ballet Company Teatro alla Scala, Teatro alla Scala, Milan, Italy.
Originating from The Barre Project (Blake Works II), created and filmed in 2020 for its first broadcast on March 25 2021, on the CLI Studio Digital Platform www.clistudios.com
Glass Pieces
Choreography Jerome Robbins
Music Philip Glass, Glass Pieces (‘Rubric’ and ‘Façades’ from Glassworks, and excerpts from Akhnaten)
Costume design Ben Benson
Lighting design Jennifer Tipton
World Premiere
Choreography Stephanie Lake
Music Peter Brikmanis, after J.S. Bach ‘Goldberg Variations’
Costume design Kate Davis
Lighting design Bosco Shaw
The Robert & Elizabeth Albert Music Fund will support Peter Brikmanis’s reimagining of J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variation for Stephanie Lake’s new work
