Local jet-set attend Houston Ballet's opening night festivities in Melbourne Houston Ballet's artistic director returns to Australian hometown for inaugural tour

Artists of Houston Ballet Artists of Houston Ballet Photo: Courtesy Of Houston Ballet Photo: Courtesy Of Houston Ballet Image 1 of / 21 Caption Close Local jet-set attend Houston Ballet's opening night festivities in Melbourne 1 / 21 Back to Gallery

It's been 13 years since Stanton Welch left Australia to become artistic director of Houston Ballet. Last month, the Melbourne native returned to his birthplace for a historic homecoming and company milestone.

From June 30 – July 9, the Houston Ballet's inaugural Australian tour will include 12 performances of Welch's critically acclaimed "Romeo and Juliet" at the Arts Centre Melbourne State Theatre; the world premiere debuted before a Houston audience back in February 2015.

Bayou City residents and longtime ballet patrons Phoebe and Bobby Tudor, Allison and Troy Thacker, Jim Jordan and Shawn Stephens, Kelly and Stephen Lubanko, and Jay Jones and Terry Wayne Jones flew out to attend yesterday's opening night festivities. The Tudors, Thackers, and Jordan each brought their daughters along, too.

Since 2003, the Australian Ballet and Houston Ballet have sustained a mutually beneficial relationship. Welch, who remains the Australian Ballet's resident choreographer, established an artistic exchange program between the two companies. The most recent swap took place in November and December 2014 when Australian principal artists, Leanne Stojmenov and Daniel Gaudiello, were sent to Houston as leads in "The Nutcracker" while Bayou City principal dancers, Karina Gonzales and Connor Walsh, performed in Welch's "La Bayadere" in Sydney.

Welch descends from a long line of performers that have been described as Australia's "first family of ballet." His mother, father, and brother – Marilyn Jones, Garth Welch, and Damien Welch, respectively - have all danced with the Australian Ballet; Jones is also a former artistic director.