Review: Hansel & Gretel

The RNZB’s Hansel & Gretel is back for an end of year sweet treat. This was my first ever ballet when I moved to Wellington, and it was an utter delight to get a chance to check it out again for this year’s iteration. Choregraphed and composed by my favourite RNZB duo, Loughlan Prior and […]

Review: Lightscapes

Imagery by Stephen A’Court. The Royal New Zealand Ballet is back with another series of four ballets to warm you up this winter. Celebrating the power and possibility of dance, these four ballets range from the classic to the experimental, a wonderful tableau that accurately sums up the RZNB’s 70th anniversary. Opening the show is […]

Review: Romeo & Juliet

Image credit: Stephen A’Court Reviewed by Talia Carlisle What a magical place Wellington is, when you can start your evening with gin and fresh seafood at Cinderella’s for the Wellington on a Plate Launch – and pop down to the St James Theatre, home of the Royal New Zealand Ballet for their opening night of […]

Review: Venus Rising

The Royal New Zealand Ballet is back for their final offering this year, a trio of celestial ballets within the show Venus Rising. I’ve been waiting to see this show for a couple of years now, for it’s been delayed twice by COVID, so it was an absolute delight to finally catch it at its […]

Review: RNZB’s Cinderella

RNZB’s Cinderella is a carnival of excess, packed full of joy and beauty and delight. It shines with queerness, and as a queer dancer myself, this ballet was a revolutionary take on a well-hewn story and hit me right in the chest. Cinderella (Mayu Tanigaito) is the same woman we all know, stuck in a […]

Interview Feature: Venus Rising

I sat down with Katherine Minor, a soloist with the Royal New Zealand Ballet, to discuss rehearsing during COVID lockdown, what it’s like being back in the studio, and the RNZB’s upcoming Venus Rising tour.  The Royal New Zealand Ballet will be one of the first dance companies in the world to return to the […]