As part of our Aotearoa New Zealand tour, we are delighted to be sharing the stage with The Royal New Zealand Ballet for three Wellington-only performances to showcase contemporary works that are unique to both companies, created in a spirit of celebration and joy.

We will be presenting two recent works. Dextera (2019) by Sophie Laplane, was commissioned to mark our 50th anniversary. It is a tour de force of creative ideas, set to the music of Mozart, and an ode to creators and their hands, paying tribute to an artistic vision that often involves hard physical graft. Schachmatt (Checkmate!) by internationally acclaimed choreographer Cayetano Soto, had audiences on their feet at its premiere in 2017. This quirky, energetic, 20-minute ballet is inspired by the words of Joan Rivers, the films of Pedro Almodóvar and the choreography of Bob Fosse, and sees dancers perform with precision and razor-sharp wit across a giant chessboard to a retro pop soundtrack.

The RNZB’s contributions to the programme will be RNZB alumna Annaliese Macdonald’s Limerence, and a revival of Shaun James Kelly’s Prismatic, originally commissioned to mark the RNZB’s 70th birthday in 2023 and inspired by Russell Kerr and Poul Gnatt’s landmark Prismatic Variations (1960). Shaun, who in 2024 celebrated a decade of performing and choreographing with the RNZB, was born in Scotland and is proud to share his work alongside his compatriots for the first time.