Cape Ballet Africa's SWAN LAKE Will Tour Australia in April 2027

Cape Ballet Africa announced that 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 travel to 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, 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.

Tour Dates