# Cape Ballet brings Swan Lake to Australia this April **Featured** — On Your Markus **Event:** Swan Lake **Tickets:** http://www.swanlake.com.au/ **Published:** 28 September 2026 **Author:** Markus Hamence **Source:** https://onyourmarkus.au/swan-lake/ Cape Ballet's 60-strong company performs Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake at Her Majesty's Theatre, Adelaide, 15-18 April 2027, in a production directed by former English National Ballet principal Elena Glurjidze and featuring sets by Michael Mitchell and costumes by Marcel Meyer. The staging honours the classical lineage of Petipa and Ivanov, with the demanding dual role of Odette and Odile at its centre. --- Cape Ballet arrives in Australia this April 2027 with the world’s most loved ballet, *SWAN LAKE*. The company will perform strictly limited one-week seasons in Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne. ![Ballerina in a white tutu performs centre stage under moonlight with corps de ballet in the background.](https://media.onyourmarkus.au/admin/2026/09/68f5248f-a46e-42e1-8a10-1f38bc930f08.jpg) A defining icon of classical ballet, *SWAN LAKE* has captivated audiences for generations with its timeless story brought to life through Tchaikovsky's unforgettable music and some of the most breathtaking choreography ever created for the stage. Cape Ballet's acclaimed company of 60 perform this spectacular production, featuring exquisite choreography, magnificent sets and lavish costumes. A princess bound by a sorcerer's curse to live as a swan. A prince whose love alone can set her free. At the heart of Princess Odette and Prince Siegfried's fates lies a breathtaking world of romance, betrayal and eternal devotion. *“Luxurious… sheer wonderment” - *De Beer Necessities * “Elegant, powerful, visually magnificent and deeply emotional” - *DK Expressions ![Ensemble of ballet dancers in striped costumes perform a dramatic scene with raised arms on stage.](https://media.onyourmarkus.au/admin/2026/09/431f4820-2398-46a9-9547-5f8ae2711849.jpg) **CAPE BALLET'S SWAN LAKE** Few works in the classical repertoire make greater demands on a ballet company than *SWAN LAKE*. At its centre is the extraordinary dual role of Odette and Odile – the White Swan and the Black Swan – requiring a single ballerina to move from vulnerability and innocence to seduction and command. Surrounding her is the great corps of swans, whose unity, musicality and precision have made SWAN LAKE an icon of classical ballet. And, beneath it all is Tchaikovsky's incomparable score. To stage *SWAN LAKE *is to enter a tradition that stretches across more than a century of ballet history. Cape Ballet'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 under the direction of Elena Glurjidze – trained at the Vaganova Academy in St Petersburg, former Lead Principal of English National Ballet, and a celebrated Odette and Odile in her own right. Glurjidze is joined by Diane van Schoor, former Ballet Principal of The Royal Ballet School at White Lodge in London, and by Cape Ballet'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. The sumptuous costumes by award-winning designer Marcel Meyer and lighting by the acclaimed Oliver Hauser. Presenter of the Australian tour, CEO of Theatre Tours International, Simon Bryce said, *“The result of Cape Ballet’s achievement is SWAN LAKE as it was meant to be seen: a company of 60, the great tradition intact, and a production staged on the scale Tchaikovsky's masterpiece demands.”* ![Ballet dancers in elaborate costumes perform Swan Lake on stage, with central figures in blue and purple tutus surrounded by ensemble members.](https://media.onyourmarkus.au/admin/2026/09/ed329d4d-8110-4c62-a7ac-229161593c22.jpg) **ABOUT CAPE BALLET** Some companies inherit their reputation. Cape Ballet is building its own. Founded in Cape Town by Debbie Turner and a home company of the prestigious Artscape Theatre Centre, Cape Ballet’s repertoire has expanded at remarkable speed. After opening with *Salt *and *Breathwords*, Cape Ballet moved into the great classical canon with *Giselle*, *The Nutcracker *and *Swan Lake *in rapid succession. Its *Nutcracker *was nominated for two Naledi Awards and broke box office records at Teatro, Montecasino in Johannesburg. 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 brings together exceptional dancers from South Africa and beyond its borders, performing the great classical repertoire at the scale it demands, and commissioning new work with the ambition to build a company for the next century. In 2025, Cape Ballet 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 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 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 BalletFutures© Associate Ballet School of the company where students are taught by the ballet staff of the company, and guest master teachers. 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’s *SWAN LAKE *is presented in Australia by Theatre Tours International 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. The company also co-produces bespoke orchestral concerts recently undertaking national tours of *The Man From Snowy River in Concert*, the *Classic Rock Live*series and *Fernando – The Music of ABBA Orchestrated*. ![Ballet dancers in elaborate red and gold costumes perform on a darkly lit stage with ornate architectural set pieces during Swan Lake.](https://media.onyourmarkus.au/admin/2026/09/b45a1874-f294-42f0-98fa-5935df0b2e9e.jpg) **CAPE BALLET – SWAN LAKE** **Crown Theatre, Perth** – 9-11 April 2027 **Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide **–** **15-18 April 2027 **The Princess Theatre, Melbourne **–** **21-25 April 2027 **TICKETS ON SALE** Perth – Thursday 1 October 2026 Adelaide – Tuesday 29 September 2026 Melbourne – Wednesday 30 September 2026 [SWANLAKE.COM.AU](http://SWANLAKE.COM.AU)   [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/capeballetswanlake/) | [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/capeballetswanlake/) ![Ballerina in white pointe extends leg en arabesque whilst corps de ballet in blue tutus performs behind her under moonlit stage lighting.](https://media.onyourmarkus.au/admin/2026/09/1f448dc6-647d-4859-8a32-5f2a1d766293.jpg)