| What: Swan Lake, presented by Cape Ballet Africa Venues: Crown Theatre (Perth), Her Majesty’s Theatre (Adelaide) and The Princess Theatre (Melbourne) Swan Lake Australian Tour April 2027: Crown Theatre, Perth –April 9-11, 2027 Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide –April 15-18, 2027 The Princess Theatre, Melbourne –April 21-25, 2027 Bookings: Further details on performances can be found at swanlake.com.au |
Beyond thrilling news is that Cape Ballet Africa is touring to Australia – April 2027 – with its acclaimed production of Swan Lake. Whoohoo! This much loved ballet will be staged at three of Australia’s prestigious venues – in Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne. The production references Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov classical iteration and is choreographically produced by Elena Glurjidze. She trained at the Vaganova Academy in St Petersburg and is a former Lead Principal of English National Ballet and a celebrated Odette and Odile in her own right. Yes – wow – wow. Read on for more:
Cape Ballet Africa announces first overseas tour for a South African full-length production of
Swan Lake
Cape Ballet Africa announced today the company has secured its first international tour for its acclaimed production of the timeless masterpiece Swan Lake.
Following the company’s two week run at the Artscape Opera House in Cape Town in February 2027, Swan Lake will travelto Australia in April 2027 to three of country’s most prestigious venues; Crown Theatre (Perth), Her Majesty’s Theatre (Adelaide) and The Princess Theatre (Melbourne).
Presented by Theatre Tours International under the company’s touring brand, Cape Ballet, this landmark opportunity marks yet another milestone for what is arguably South Africa’s most ambitious and dynamic ballet company.
“We are overwhelmingly proud to be embarking on our first international tour to Australia, enabling us to highlight the immense talent of our South African artists on a global stage,” says Debbie Turner, Artistic Director and Founder of Cape Ballet Africa.
Turner adds, “When I established Cape Ballet Africa in 2024, I could not have imagined we would have an opportunity to be cultural ambassadors for the South African performing arts, staging the world’s most iconic ballet overseas. Humbling and exciting in equal measure, it’s amazing to think that immediately following the February Artscape season, our beautiful South African sets and costumes will be loaded on a ship bound for Australia.”
Simon Bryce, CEO of Theatre Tours International says, “Witnessing the audience reaction at Teatro, Montecasino (Johannesburg) just a few months ago, we knew this production was destined for a larger audience. This is Swan Lake as it is meant to be seen; a company of sixty, the great traditions intact, and a production staged on the scale Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece demands. Please take the opportunity to see this magnificent production at Artscape in February ahead of the Australian tour.”
About Swan Lake:
To stage Swan Lake is to enter a tradition that stretches across more than a century of ballet history. Cape Ballet Africa’s production honours that tradition while bringing together an international team of artists with deep experience of the classical repertoire.
The staging follows the classical lineage of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov. The production is choreographically produced by Elena Glurjidze – trained at the Vaganova Academy in St Petersburg. She is a former Lead Principal of English National Ballet, and a celebrated Odette and Odile in her own right.
Additional settings are by Diane van Schoor, former Ballet Principal of The Royal Ballet School at White Lodge in London, and by Cape Ballet Africa’s own Lindy Raizenberg. Magnificent sets come from Michael Mitchell, whose designs have been seen at London’s Royal Festival Hall, the Dubai Opera House and the Hong Kong Festival, with sumptuous costumes by award-winning designer Marcel Meyer and lighting by the acclaimed Oliver Hauser.
About Cape Ballet Africa:
Founded by Debbie Turner and an Associated Company of Artscape Theatre Centre, Cape Ballet Africa’s repertoire has expanded at remarkable speed. After opening with Salt and Breathwords, Cape Ballet Africa moved into the great classical canon with Giselle, The Nutcracker and Swan Lake in rapid succession. Its Nutcracker was nominated for two Naledi Theatre Awards and broke box office records for its Teatro, Montecasino Johannesburg season, setting a new attendance record for the African continent.
At the heart of the company is Debbie Turner, a defining figure in dance for almost four decades. Her career has encompassed work by some of the leading choreographers of the international dance world, including Maina Gielgud, Veronica Paeper, Mthuthuzeli November, Jiří Kylián, George Balanchine, Sir Frederick Ashton and Kenneth Tindall.
Turner’s global vision for ballet sees dancers from her orbit forging award winning careers throughout Europe and North America. The international outlook of Cape Ballet Africa brings together exceptional dancers from South Africa and beyond its borders, performing the great classical repertoire and commissioning new work with the ambition to build a company for the next century.
In 2025, Cape Ballet Africa dancer Joshua Williams received the prestigious Prix Benois de la Danse for Best Male Dancer, one of international ballet’s most significant honours. His name now joins a remarkable lineage of laureates including Carlos Acosta, Vadim Muntagirov and The Australian Ballet’s David Hallberg. He is one of only two South Africans to join the laureate, the other, Olivier Award winner Mthuthuzeli November (best choreography), a former student of Turner.
When not on stage, Cape Ballet Africa is based at a purpose-built home at the Sports Science Institute of South Africa in Cape Town, designed for the company and built to its specifications – a rare thing for a company of any age. From there it also runs its BalletFutures© Education Associate Programme, the Apprenticeship Programme for young dancers as well as its apprenticeship positions in the Wardrobe and Administration departments, investing in the next generation of artists. The intention is simple: that the dancers who fill this stage in a decade’s time are the ones being trained on it now.
About Theatre Tours International:
Cape Ballet Africa’s Swan Lake is presented in Australia by Theatre Tours International Pty Ltd and its South African subsidiary, Global Star Events (Pty) Ltd. Under the leadership of Simon Bryce, the company has presented all genres of live entertainment but is best known for presenting world-class ballet across Australasia, Asia, South Africa and Europe. In recent years the company has enjoyed collaborations with Estonian National Ballet, State Ballet of Georgia, The United Ukrainian Ballet, Shanghai Ballet, Ballet de Santiago and Cape Ballet.
Cape Town Season February 2027:
Before travelling to Australia, Cape Ballet Africa’s Swan Lake will play a limited two-week season at Artscape’s Opera House from February 3, 2027. Selected performances will be accompanied by live orchestra.
Tickets are selling fast and available from Webtickets.co.za
Australian Tour April 2027:
In Australia, Swan Lake will perform as follows:
Crown Theatre, Perth –April 9-11, 2027
Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide –April 15-18, 2027
The Princess Theatre, Melbourne –April 21-25, 2027
Further details on performances can be found at swanlake.com.au
❇ Cape Ballet Africa’s Swan Lake is touring Australia in April 2027. Sponsored feature. Pic: Lauge Sorensen. Images supplied.
