04.10.2024
Royal New Zealand Ballet and West Australian Ballet dancer exchange
The Royal New Zealand Ballet and West Australian Ballet are making a special Trans-Tasman trade deal in the lead up to Christmas.
The RNZB will next week welcome West Australian Ballet Principal Gakuro Matsui to Wellington, where he is joining the RNZB for performances of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, dancing the virtuoso role of Puck in Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.
Meanwhile, RNZB Soloist Kirby Selchow, who this year marks ten years with New Zealand’s national ballet company, is packing her bags to head to Perth in mid-November, where she will perform the show-stopping role of evil fairy Carabosse in West Australian Ballet’s Christmas production of The Sleeping Beauty.
For Kirby, who joined the RNZB straight out of The Australian Ballet School in 2014, it’s a special homecoming, and a first opportunity to perform as a professional dancer in her home town of Perth. Having left home as a teenager to study full time in Melbourne, before moving to New Zealand, it’s a unique chance to perform in front of friends and family, in a much-loved classic production.
For Gakuro, whose ballet career has taken him from his native Japan to Australia and Scandinavia, it’s a chance to make his debut in a new ballet and a starring role which is sure to make the most of his talents, as Puck soars through the air with impeccable comic timing and dazzling speed.
» We are thrilled to build on our long-standing friendship with West Australian Ballet through this exciting dancer exchange. It is a wonderful opportunity for our respective dancers to have the buzz of performing on a different stage, and to share their skill and experience in a new environment with a new audience. I hope this is just the beginning of many further collaborations between our two companies. «
Ty King-Wall, RNZB Artistic Director
‘As a Perth boy myself, it was always such a buzz to come home to perform for the people who were there at the start of my own dance journey’, says West Australian Ballet Guest Artistic Director David McAllister. ‘I’m delighted to give Kirby that opportunity this year as she celebrates ten years in the profession. I know that Gakuro will have a wonderful time with the RNZB and will return to West Australian Ballet with many special memories, but also inspiration and joy from working with new friends in the studio, and sharing his art with new audiences in Aotearoa New Zealand.’
Gakuro Matsui says, ‘I’m really excited to meet the company and work with the dancers for A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Liam Scarlett’s choreography is known for being difficult so I’m a bit nervous, but it’s a challenge I’m up for. This is also my first time being part of a dancer exchange. It’s nice that I’ll be part of a work the Royal New Zealand Ballet has performed before, and they can share all their knowledge and experience with me.’
Kirby Selchow says, ‘I am incredibly honoured and excited to be returning to my hometown on exchange with West Australian Ballet for their season of Sleeping Beauty. it’s thrilling to have this opportunity to perform for my family and friends in Perth especially as it’s a full circle moment to return as a professional dancer. I am so grateful to Ty King- Wall and to David McAllister for making this a reality. Dancing on home soil after all these years will be a truly special experience, and I can’t wait to share it with everyone.’