Queensland Ballet recorded a net operating loss of $5.24 million in 2025 after annual box office revenue fell by almost 30 per cent, although the result was a marked improvement on the previous year.
The Brisbane-based company’s loss narrowed from $9.5 million in 2024, when it cut 29 positions, including eight dancers. Total income rose by 13 per cent to $24.9 million, according to its annual report.
Queensland Ballet’s box office takings fell from more than $7.6 million in 2024 to just over $5.1 million last year, with 50,098 tickets sold.
The Nutcracker remained the company’s strongest performer, attracting 19,782 ticket sales and generating $2.5 million in revenue. Romeo & Juliet and Dangerous Liaisons were also among the popular productions.
Chair Brett Clark said the figures showed encouraging progress in a difficult environment, but warned that the company’s long-term sustainability depended on maintaining tight control of spending.
“While there is considerably more work ahead, we now have a stronger foundation, greater clarity and a clear path toward building a financially resilient, artistically ambitious Queensland Ballet,” he said.
Queensland Ballet funding and new programming
Queensland Ballet received $3.7 million from the state government through Arts Queensland in 2025, while the Department of Education and Queensland Health provided a further $1.3 million.
The Department of Housing and Public Works contributed another $1.9 million towards the fit-out of a cafe and restaurant at the company’s West End headquarters, the Thomas Dixon Centre.
However, its annual investment from Creative Australia under the National Performing Arts Partnership Framework was $873,440. The Australian Ballet received more than $7 million under the same framework, which is locked in until 2028.
A petition organised by Queensland Ballet dancers calling for greater federal funding attracted almost 4,000 signatures last year.
The company’s annual Giving Day raised more than $2.22 million for the Academy of Queensland Ballet, exceeding its $2 million target.
Queensland Ballet also expanded performances at its Talbot Theatre, opened the Layla by Shane Delia restaurant and recorded 187,000 visitors to the Thomas Dixon Centre.
It began a three-year partnership with HOTA and Experience Gold Coast, premiering Elastic Hearts, a dance work inspired by the music of Sia, on the Gold Coast.
Artistic director Ivan Gil-Ortega said the company needed to develop new work while being careful about how and where it was produced.
“We must be ambitious about creating new work, but also intelligent about how it is created, where it premieres, and the audiences it can reach,” he said.
