Established in 1952, West Australian Ballet is passionate about bringing ballet to all corners of the State and is celebrating its ongoing commitment to accessibility as it nears its 75th anniversary.
As the longest continuously performing ballet company in Australia, West Australian Ballet is gearing up to celebrate a big milestone in 2027: its 75th anniversary.
Founded in 1952 by the incomparable Madame Kira Bousloff – a classically trained dancer from France with Russian roots – she came to Australia in 1938 as part of Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. The company performed 170 shows across Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. Yet it was on holiday in Perth where she found her calling.
“When I came to the airport in little Perth at the end of the world, I put my feet on the ground, I looked around, and I said loudly and strongly, ‘This is where I'm going to live, and this where I'm going to die... This is my place.’” she recalls.
Her arrival in Perth in 1952 set the stage for a dream that would soon flourish.
Despite training in Paris and working with the most celebrated choreographers of the day in Europe and America – Bousloff’s sheer love of her new home laid the foundation for a ballet company that wasn’t just for the elite, but for all Western Australians.
Mary Miller in Kira Bousloff's Kooree and the Mists - Capitol Theatre, 1960
She set into motion her vision of performing ballet with themes and stories inspired by Australian legends, with sets designed by local artists and music composed by Australians like The Beach Inspector and the Mermaid (1958), Kooree and the Mists (1960) – performed by Mary Miller, Australia’s first Indigenous ballerina – and Fire at Ross' Farm (1961) based on the Henry Lawson poem of the same name.
The company even took to (what was then) the backroads to Western Australia, performing in Broome and Kununurra, often on makeshift stages atop 44-gallon drums.
Nearly 75 years on, and Bousloff’s vision for the ballet company of Western Australia remains at its core. Now one of three major ballet companies in Australia, West Australian Ballet - who employs and supports 40 full-time dancers - is dedicated to enriching the lives of all West Australians through dance, and its impact goes beyond the stage. It engages with the community through outreach programs and educational initiatives that aim to inspire the next generation of dancers and provide the same quality of experiences for all West Australians, whether that be in metropolitan areas or regions.
Oscar Valdés at Basilio & Chihiro Nomura as Kitri. Photograph by Julio Blanes
In 2024 alone, West Australian Ballet hosted nearly 3,000 community events and programs, engaging over 11,000 unpaid participants and more than 27,000 paid participants – including spending 22 weeks connecting with young people in Karratha, Port Hedland, South Hedland, Mingenew, Pannawonica, Wickham, Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Busselton, and Mandurah - all made possible by generous donations and key community partners.
With so much history to celebrate, the company is starting the commemorations this year.
In honour of their founder, West Australian Ballet’s Guest Artistic Director and legendary dancer David McAllister has selected an all-female roster of choreographers for the mainstage ballets at His Majesty’s Theatre in 2025.
The program features Dame Lucette Aldous’ high-energy Don Quixote (16 – 31 May), Jayne Smeulders’ captivating rendition of Cinderella (21 November – 14 December) , and the highly anticipated world premiere of Butterfly Effect, choreographed by Alice Topp (5 – 20 September).
David McAllister AC. Photo by Stef King
“Ballet is often criticised for sort of idolising a woman as an artist, but not as a creator, and when I was looking through the repertoire, there’s so many great, strong women,” McAllister says.
“This is sort of like a nod, I guess, to our founding director Kira Bousloff, who herself created work, but was also a visionary leader and an incredible woman.”
