Dance and performing arts

Sydney is Australia's cultural capital where you'll find marvellous performances of ballet, opera and contemporary dance, as well as symphonies, drama and comedy. Seasons run a various times of the year and the exciting events calendar lists shows and venues such as the iconic Sydney Opera House.

This beautiful harbour city is home to Australia's leading arts and dance companies, including Opera Australia, Sydney Dance Company, Australian Ballet, Sydney Theatre Company, Belvoir St Theatre, and Bangarra Dance Theatre, the internationally acclaimed indigenous contemporary dance troupe.

The Australian Ballet has seasons each year at the Sydney Opera House, which is on the edge of one of the great natural harbours in the world. Opera lovers will delight in the outdoor Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour in autumn, with the spectacular backdrop of the World Heritage-listed white sails.

The Sydney Dance Company is one of Australia's most innovative performance companies. Artistic director Rafael Bonachela leads the contemporary dance troupe at Walsh Bay, a lively arts precinct with performance venues on heritage finger wharves. You can even take a dance class of your own.

Walsh Bay is also home to Bangarra Dance Theatre, which tells the story of the Dreamtime through contemporary dance. Nearby are the Sydney Theatre Company and the Roslyn Packer Theatre, where you can reserve your seats for musicals, dance, plays and other enticing performances.

The Belvoir St Theatre in Surry Hills, the Seymour Centre at the University of Sydney, the Enmore Theatre in Newtown, and the Riverside Theatre in Parramatta all have exciting programs. You can watch more riveting works at smaller theatres in Potts Point, Kings Cross and Darlinghurst.