A ballet based on Alice in Wonderland and a new Wayne McGregor work with a Steve Reich score are the new season highlights.

Australian Ballet Artistic Director David McAllister is hopeful that a ballet based on Alice in Wonderland will be allurement enough for Sydney audiences to follow the Company to the Capitol Theatre in 2017 while its usual home at the Sydney Opera House undergoes an upgrade.

^{Australian Ballet dancers Christopher Rodgers-Wilson, Vivienne Wong and Robyn Hendricks. Photo by Justin Ridler}

Christopher Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is one of three story ballets in the AB’s 2017 season, each with a young woman at its heart. As well as Alice, there’s Aurora in McAllister’s sumptuous production of The Sleeping Beauty and Clara in Graeme Murphy’s renowned reimagining of The Nutcracker set in Australia. The season also features a triple bill called Faster with works by Wayne McGregor, David Bintley and Tim Harbour; and Symphony in C featuring ballets by George Balanchine, up-and-coming Australian choreographers Alice Topp and Richard House, along with various divertissements.

“I’ve got to say the second half...