Wellington’s freshly re-opened St James Theatre has been given a Fairy Godmother-style transformation as it prepares to host the world premiere of the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s new production of Cinderella.
Bespoke animations can be seen lighting up the facade of the St James in the evenings, to celebrate the return of the national ballet company to its Wellington home.
The animations – which are a partnership between the RNZB, Wellington City Council and two Wellington creative companies, Click Suite and Streamliner – incorporate video footage of dancers with 3-D modelling and special FX.
The animations will be live until Cinderella’s carriage departs the city on 7 August.
With the St James being RNZB’s creative base, the theatre will be the first stop for RNZB’s brand-new ballet Cinderella, created by the dream team of choreographer Loughlan Prior and composer Claire Cowan.
The show opens at the St James on 3 August before heading off on tour to Auckland, Christchurch, Napier and Dunedin.
Feisty, funny, and fabulous, Cinderella, commissioned by Patricia Barker for the RNZB as a follow-up to 2019’s fabulously successful Hansel & Gretel, is the brainchild of award-winning ballet storyteller Prior, with a magical new score by Cowan, and fashion-forward designs by the San Francisco-based Australian designer Emma Kingsbury.
Highs, lows, fairy-tale endings, and happy-ever-afters spill from the stage in every shade of the rainbow, with dancing and storytelling that will bring joy to the young and young at heart.
The show opens 3 to 6 August at the St James Theatre but audiences best be quick as tickets are dancing out the door.
