Ben Stevenson’s production of The Nutcracker has become a family favourite for Queensland Ballet, so rumours it would be dropped caused some concern.
Amid all the personal ructions and financial problems, they are canning something that has become a beloved tradition? That’s what we heard … but the company’s new artistic director Ivan Gil-Ortega assures us that The Nutcracker will still be part of QB’s season 2026 – although not as we know it.
Which makes me want to ask, you’re not messing with The Nutcracker, surely? It’s a classic. To fiddle with it would be tantamount to sacrilege. Wouldn’t it? Well, not really, as Gil-Ortega explains unveiling his first season.
“The tradition is good, I don’t want to change that,” Gil-Ortega says. “Ben Stevenson’s production is great but I wanted something made specifically for the company. I want it to be created for the company and that’s what Derek Deane is doing right now.”
Deane, the acclaimed British dancer and choreographer has been here for weeks working with the company to create a new version of The Nutcracker, made with a little philanthropic help, including from the Talbot Foundation.
“This new commission from the same visionary creative team behind the hugely successful Strictly Gershwin features striking new characters and lavish designs by Lez Brotherston, the renowned associate artistic with New Adventures and Matthew Bourne, in a reimagined classic to enchant families for years to come.”
It was Li Cunxin who put his personal stamp on the company by introducing an annual version of The Nutcracker and now Gil-Ortega is making his own statement with a new version of The Nutcracker. But, fear not, he promises it will still be The Nutcracker we all know and love – with a few surprises along the way.
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Gil-Ortega’s quiet confidence is heartening after a turbulent time for the ballet. He came aboard (he’s signed on for four years) understanding that he’d have to focus his attention on the bottom line as well as the creative horizon.
“Before my second interview I asked what the numbers were,” he tells me when we catch up over coffee in his office overlooking one of the rehearsal studios at the revamped Thomas Dixon Centre in West End. “The company had been struggling, I knew that and I am trying to work within those parameters and trying to stabilise things.”
It was money matters (she felt constrained by the company’s financial limitations) that led to the abrupt departure of former artistic director Leanne Benjamin in what was something of an annus horribilis for the company in 2024. Gil-Ortega is determined to deliver his own vision within the budget.
“Money is a challenge for the arts, that’s always been the case,” he says. “It’s nothing new.”
His firm resolve and transparency is refreshing and bodes well for his tenure, even if he hasn’t quite convinced his seven-year-old son Max, who is crazy about skiing, that Brisbane is the right place for the family after Zurich. His wife, Alba, a former dancer and events manager and Max have visited and they will settle here next year with a promise of a trip to the slopes of Japan or New Zeeland as a sweetener for Max.
Talking about The Nutcracker, we’re getting ahead of ourselves because that’s the last show for season 2026. The first is Messa da Requiem which will open at the new Glasshouse Theatre at QPAC in March, a work by Christian Spuck, a friend of Gil-Ortega’s and a man who is “one of the world’s most audacious and trailblazing new choreographers”.
“Christian is the director of Staatsballett Berlin and will stage his epic version of Verdi’s Messa da Requiem and his one-act ballet The Seventh Blue as part of a triple bill in May.
“Messa da Requiem unites Queensland Ballet, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Brisbane Chorale and Canticum Chamber Choir,” Gil-Ortega says. “This landmark collaboration promises to be a profoundly and unforgettable experience, which is sure to resonate deeply with our audiences.”
Live music is essential, he says, blanching at the mention of performing to recorded music.
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“Canned music just isn’t the same,” he says. “Live music is so important. It’s a marriage between the dancers and the musicians.”
Also in the mix next year is Elastic Hearts, featuring the cutting-edge work of internationally acclaimed Australian director and choreographer Garry Stewart, who will bring pop icon Sia’s music to life in an emotionally charged and visually spectacular celebration of humanity.
The winter season continues with Strings, the premiere of three contemporary ballets – Edward Clug’s Chamber Minds, Christian Spuck’s The Seventh Blue and Goyo Montero’s Chacona.
“Together, these contrasting works will showcase the dancers’ versatility and the evolving language of ballet. This is an extraordinary opportunity for our audiences to experience the latest creations from some of the world’s most influential choreographers — works that are shaping ballet’s future.
“Premiering these works in Brisbane then touring them across Queensland we hope to introduce a whole new generation of people to the power and beauty of world-class ballet,” Gil-Ortega says “And in an Australian first, I am also thrilled to present Hamlet by Romanian visionary director Leo Mujić, offering audiences a fresh and unforgettable take on Shakespeare’s classic story.
“Celebrated for his storytelling and striking, contemporary movement language, Leo’s productions have captivated audiences across Europe and North America. We are honoured to introduce his unique vision to Australian dance lovers.”
Add Red Riding Hood and the Wolf in June, the Gala by the Academy of Queensland Ballet in August, Soiree in September (featuring younger dancers in a work inspired by the art of Jeffrey Smart), Bespoke, Queensland Ballet’s contemporary series in October, and that new version of The Nutcracker in December, and you have what sounds like an annus mirabilis.
Is QB back on track after travelling a somewhat rocky road?
Executive director Dilshani Weerasinghe says the answer is yes, with “a 2026 season grounded in cross-cultural collaborations and one that celebrates Queensland Ballet’s long ties to Europe, dating back to its founding by French born, Charles Lisner”.
“Ivan not only brings his own lived-in experience as a principal dancer with Stuttgart Ballet and Dutch National Ballet, but also a global perspective, new ideas and fresh tastes that are shaped by his international career,” she says.
It’s a very European program you have devised, I suggest to Gil-Ortega. As a European that seems like stating the bleeding obvious, I guess.
“Is that even a thing?” he asks.
For us? Yes, I suggest. Or it is now.
To preview QB’s 2026 season, go to shorturl.at/L47sC