The Australian Ballet is in resplendent form in the revival of David McAllister’s The Sleeping Beauty – and this right off the back of the terrific contemporary triple bill Prism.

TAB artistic director David Hallberg has the company firing. The clarity, polish and individuality of the dancers’ artistry is exciting to see. In what could not have been better news, Hallberg renewed his contract to 2030 earlier this year.

Benedicte Bemet and company in The Australian Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty. Photo © Daniel Boud

All ballet companies need productions that can be reliably revived at least a few times a decade. Sleeping Beauty is one of these. The opulence could be thought extreme by some but this is a super-charged fantasy; a fairy story meant to inspire and uplift. To banish cares for a few hours.

Gabriela Tylesova’s gorgeous Baroque-inspired designs for Beauty fit the bill and then some. They never fail to thrill the senses. The costumes are to die for, particularly those for the fairies who bestow their gifts upon the baby Aurora and watch over her tenderly. So too for the forest...