“When curating our 70th anniversary season, I first selected works that represent seven decades of beautiful ballets presented on our stages,” Artistic Director Patricia Barker says.
“I then sought choreographers and works which were tailor made for the company, while infusing new work, by an array of talented dance makers, which will continue to delight our audiences, challenge our dancers and grow our organisation.”
Romeo and Juliet
4 MAY – 10 JUNE
Shakespeare’s great love story returns in May 2023. In a passionate re-telling, with exquisite sets and costumes by Academy Award-winning designer James Acheson (The Last Emperor, Dangerous Liaisons), and new choreography by Andrea Schermoly (Stand to Reason, Within Without), Romeo and Juliet was first seen onstage in 2017 and went on to universal acclaim.
It brings all the splendour and seduction of Renaissance Verona, swept up in Prokofiev’s exhilarating, sensuous score.
Lightscapes
27 JULY – 12 AUGUST
The RNZB celebrates 70 years in July with Lightscapes, a collection of four large-scale works that depict the powerful lifeforce of dance.
Moss Te Ururangi Patterson is creating a new work inspired by haka which will be powered by the men of the RNZB. Balanchine’s Serenade (1934) was first staged for the company by the late Una Kai in 1975 and holds a special place in the hearts of generations of dancers, here and around the world.
Barker is delighted to restage Serenade as a celebration of the joy of ballet to mark this special anniversary. The second half of the generous Lightscapes programme features two New Zealand premieres by choreographers making waves in the international dance world.
Annabelle Lopez-Ochoa will stage her Requiem for a Rose, created for Pennsylvania Ballet in 2009 as an exploration of love. Then, the RNZB is proud to present Logos by company alumna Alice Topp (Aurum, Absence of Light), created for The Australian Ballet in 2020.
Hansel & Gretel
26 OCTOBER – 9 DECEMBER
A special Christmas gift will close the year, as the RNZB brings back to the stage the ballet dream team of Loughlan Prior and Claire Cowan’sHansel & Gretelfollowing a triumphant premiere in 2019.
Belly laughter and frightened shivers are served with plenty of sugar and just a touch of spice in this truly wonderful ballet for all ages.
Tutus on Tour
23 FEBRUARY – 12 MARCH
Tutus on Tour will look back with affection to the RNZB’s early days with performances in some of the smaller cities and towns in Aotearoa, and most cherished and charming historic theatres.
Barker has carefully curated a collection of works which encapsulate the history of ballet, and her desire to share treasures from the RNZB’s recent past alongside both new and old works the dancers can’t wait to perform.
Le Papillon and After the Rain – made almost two centuries apart – both convey the intimate magic of a couple dancing together, creating a miniature world-in-the-spotlight onstage.
Mark Baldwin’s ‘Nobody Takes Me Seriously’ from 2001’s landmark FrENZy is a toe-tapping solo to Tim Finn’s Kiwi classic and the chance for one of the company’s men to cut loose, with style.
The programme is completed with two works for eight dancers each: the New Zealand premiere of Brian Enos’ elegantly neo-classical Cold Winter’s Waiting (2013) and Greg Horsman’s classical showpiece Holberg Suite, created for Tutus on Tour in 2009 and now given a welcome revival.
The full RNZB 2023 programme can be found on www.rnzb.org.nz
