Baz Luhrmann to Bring Strictly Ballroom to the Stage

Academy Award-nominated director Baz Luhrmann will adapt his 1992 film Strictly Ballroom for the stage. Luhrmann will begin a creative workshop for the production's book and music this December in Sydney, Australia. No premiere date has been announced.

"Strictly Ballroom has always been very personal to me," Luhrmann said. "The genesis drawn from my childhood experience in the world of ballroom dancing. The creative and life ideals of the story, that being that a life lived in fear is a life half lived; and creativity triumphing over creative oppression, the belief there’s always more than just one way (to cha cha cha), are ideals I live and create by to this day.”

Luhrmann wrote and directed the movie, which was originally conceived as a stage show while he was a student at Sydney's National Institute of Dramatic Art. The film follows Scott, a young dance instructor who rebels against the traditional dance styles of his iconic competitive ballroom dancer parents by bringing modern and ethnic sensibilities to his routines. He also seeks the help of a Fran, a shy young girl, as his dance partner. Strictly Ballroom is the first in Luhrmann's stylish and popular Red Curtain film trilogy which also featured William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge. Strictly Ballroom earned awards at the Cannes Film Festival as well as the BAFTA Awards and took home a Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture.

Luhrmann has previously directed for the stage including bringing Puccini's opera La Boheme to Broadway in 2002. The production earned seven Tony nominations including Best Revival of a Musical and Best Director for Luhrmann, as well as a win for his wife, scenic designer Catherine Martin. The show will be produced by Global Creatures and Bazmark, the media company founded by Luhrmann and Martin (who created the film's scenic design and will do so again for the show).

For a look at the original film's trailer, click below!