A Landmark Collaboration Rehearses at Walsh Bay Arts Precinct
Two of Australia’s leading dance companies, Bangarra Dance Theatre and The Australian Ballet unite to celebrate resilience, kinship and connection in the stunning new production of ‘Flora’.
For the past two months, Walsh Bay Arts Precinct became the creative heart of Australian dance as two of the nation’s most iconic companies - Bangarra Dance Theatre and The Australian Ballet – have come together for a historic collaboration with their production of Flora.
It’s been nearly 15 years since these companies shared the stage, and now they embark on their most significant partnership to date with their first full length collaboration. A group of dancers from The Australian Ballet moved into The Wharf for rehearsals from January, joining Bangarra in their creative home in Walsh Bay Arts Precinct. Nestled on Gadigal Country along Sydney Harbour, the precinct has long been a hub for innovation - a place where artists come to experiment, collaborate, and bring bold ideas to life.
The collaboration is the world premiere of Flora, a bold new work choreographed by Bangarra’s Artistic Director and Co-CEO Frances Rings, opening in Melbourne in March before moving to The Sydney Opera House in April. Flora brings together an ensemble of more than 35 dancers from both companies, tracing the profound influence of major historic and environmental events on both Australia’s landscape and its First Peoples.
"It's been so exciting welcoming The Australian Ballet into our home here at Walsh Bay Arts Precinct. There has been an incredible exchange of energy, where different movement languages, histories and ways of working meet with real generosity. Rehearsing together on Gadigal Country, in our creative home, has deepened our connection - not just to each other as artists, but to the story we’re telling in Flora. There’s a powerful sense that something truly new is being born out of this collaboration."
– Courtney Radford, Bangarra Dance Theatre Dancer
With an original score by Kalkadungu composer William Barton, costumes by designer Grace Lillian Lee, and cultural consultancy from Matthew Doyle, the work explores Australia’s native flora through cultural, environmental, and spiritual lenses. Crafted with deep respect for Country, Flora offers an urgent, poetic reflection on ecology and identity - blending Bangarra’s signature storytelling with The Australian Ballet’s artistry into a moving expression of renewal.
As Walsh Bay Arts Precinct hosted part of this creative process, it reinforces its role as a hub for collaboration and cultural exchange - a place where groundbreaking works are born.
The dancers from both companies have now travelled to Melbourne to finish rehearsals, before opening the show at the Regent Theatre, Melbourne, then continuing performances at the Sydney Opera House from mid-April.