Creating the perfect ballet pair in Manon | The Australian Ballet

Principal Repetiteur Kirsty Martin gives insight into how ballet dancers are paired to create onstage chemistry. Discover Manon: https://bit.ly/S25Manon Subscribe to our channel: https://bit.ly/3hBJ2WH

In Sir Kenneth MacMillan's Manon, the characters of Manon and her true love des Grieux embark on a devastating tale of desire and greed. The main roles in the ballet require the dancers to have technical balletic excellence while also building the on-stage chemistry that takes audiences on an emotional journey. In this video, hear Principal Repetiteur Kirsty Martin speak to the process of creating the perfect pair of dancers for the roles.

Manon comes to Sydney from 30 April - 17 May 2025 and Melbourne from 10-22 October 2025. Book tickets: https://bit.ly/S25Manon

Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s adaptation of Abbé Prévost’s 1731 novel, Manon is a tragic romance unlike any other in ballet.

From the echelons of high society 18th-century Paris to the gritty streets of New Orleans, Manon tells a story of a young girl desperate to rise above her lowly origins, seduced by wealth and the power it affords her. Forced to choose between her true love, the penniless des Grieux, or a life of lavish splendour, Manon is ultimately undone by her desires.

One of Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s most celebrated works, Manon premiered in 1974 at the Royal Opera House in London and has been in The Australian Ballet’s repertoire since 1994. It is a powerful classical ballet that exposes the immense class divide, where the rich and powerful exploit the desperate and destitute.

Set to Jules Massenet’s haunting score as arranged by Martin Yates, Manon is a vivid production about escaping poverty and the price of true love.

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