Ballet belles

Hot on the satin heels of Trelise Cooper designing costumes for the NBR NZ Opera’s Xerxes, and Rodarte for Natalie Portman film Black Swan, Royal New Zealand Ballet presents Stravinsky Selection with stunning costumes by Karen Walker…

Hot on the satin heels of Trelise Cooper designing costumes for the NBR NZ Opera’s Xerxes at the Auckland Arts Festival, and Rodarte for Natalie Portman film Black Swan, Royal New Zealand Ballet presents Stravinsky Selection with stunning costumes by Karen Walker.

Read our reviews of Xerxes on Thread.co.nz here and Black Swan here.

With three short ballets, the RNZB will be sure to deliver one extraordinary experience, from 20 May – 9 June with performances in Wellington, Auckland, Napier and Invercargill.

Pictured left, dancer Tonia Looker wears the canary yellow full skirt and grey knit tank top ‘Patio Dress’ by Karen Walker, pictured below on the runway.

The three-ballet Stravinsky Selection salutes the enduring influence of Igor Stravinsky. The 20th century composer revolutionised modern ballet with his groundbreaking collaborations with Pablo Picasso, Coco Chanel, Ballets Russes impresario Sergei Diaghilev and choreographer George Balanchine.

“Underscored by Stravinsky’s musical brilliance, these three vividly contrasting works span a century of extraordinary creativity. Passion, fashion and dazzling artistry; spend a night in our company and experience first-hand ballet’s genius for live spectacle,” says Matz Skoog, the company’s interim artistic director.

Walker lends her trademark style to the costumes in Satisfied with Great Success, a new ballet by expat dance star Cameron McMillan. Steeped in dance heritage, the line-up also features Petrouchka, a dramatic masterpiece created in 1911 for the Ballets Russes, lovingly restaged by Christchurch choreographer Russell Kerr;

and Javier De Frutos’ Milagros, a powerfully modern retelling of The Rite of Spring, which earned the RNZB international awards attention following its 2003 premiere.

Wellington: 20-22 May, St James Theatre. Featuring the Vector Wellington Orchestra.
Auckland: 25-28 May, ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre, THE EDGE. Featuring the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.
Napier: 31 May and 1 June, Napier Municipal Theatre.
Invercargill: 8 and 9 June, Civic Theatre.
Christchurch performances scheduled for 4 and 5 June have been cancelled due to the earthquake.

Photos Ross Brown.
1 May 2011.