Swan Lake reimagined with cows to have world premiere at Wollongong's IPAC

Families will get a giggle out of Swan Lake ... But With Cows, presented by The Ballet Team, which mixes classical music by Tchaikovsky with modern tunes to compliment a cow running from a butchers knife.

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"We set the ballet on a South Coast dairy farm ... and we do deviate from [the original] Swan Lake a little bit with side stories," said artistic director Ryley Gillen.

"It's basically a great way to show kids classical ballet, throw in some comedy and actually have a live orchestra accompanying as well, playing music that the kids haven't heard before."

Similar to the original, the principal dancer Odette is transformed into an animal by a devious sorcerer, but in this case rather than a swan she is turned into a prime beef.

More than 20 dancers will take the stage - the youngest under 10 while the oldest is a seasoned dancer in his '80s, Tony Purdon.

He will give his final "swan song" in the production as a "crazy butcher", Gillen said, before he hangs up his tap-shoes for good.

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There'll also be around 30 musicians in the orchestra, many who teach at the Wollongong Conservatorium of Music.

"The idea is that it actually becomes a touring school production, because it's very much focused on it's an introductory to ballet," Gillen said.

"It crosses between comedy and your classic ballet."

Swan Lake ... But With Cows runs for one hour, 30 minutes (including interval). It runs for four performances across Friday August 4 and Saturday August 5, at IPAC.

Ticket details are via: www.merrigong.com.au.

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