The Australian Ballet. Arts Centre Melbourne

The Australian Ballet's brilliant new Spartacus, choreographed by Lucas Jervies and with music by Aram Khachaturian, is based on the story of the heroic gladiator from ancient Rome who led the slave rebellion against the Roman Empire. In addition to discussing concepts such as passion, honour and revenge, Jervies uses history to explore the dynamics and consequences of power structures in political systems. In this way, the choreographer presents the legend as an allegory of resistance against tyrannical regimes.