Media release

 The Royal New Zealand Ballet’s much-loved Tutus on Tour, in association with Ryman Healthcare, returns to 16 theatres across the country in February and March 2021 – the largest number of stop-offs since the popular regional touring programme was reintroduced in 2017. 

Picking up where the company left off when the country went into lockdown in March 2020, the dancers travel at whistle-stop speed to perform as far across the country as possible. 

In 2021, Tutus on Tour brings together two classical ballet favourites with two brilliant new works which were postponed in 2020. It is a stunning celebration of the enduring power of dance. 

Royal New Zealand Ballet Artistic Director Patricia Barker says, “We, at the RNZB, feel extremely fortunate to be on stage performing exciting ballets for our audiences. To launch our 2021 season with such a spectacular Tutus on Tour line-up is truly a treat for the dancers and our audiences. The four works being presented are powerful, moving and beautifully crafted, each a shining jewel on their own. Put them together and it becomes a totally stunning evening of dance.” 

The famous ‘White Swan’ pas de deux from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake is achingly beautiful, tender and melancholic, and encapsulates the ‘poetry without words’ that makes Swan Lake the ultimate ballet. As the restless Prince Siegfried meets a mysterious swan maiden beside the moonlit lake, their magnetic attraction sets in motion a timeless, iconic love story.  

Delicacy, grace and charm abound in Jules Perrot’s Pas de Quatre (1845), a gorgeous showpiece that dates from the Romantic era of ballet and turns all the hallmarks of romantic ballet into a lilting waltz. 

Two bold, colourful works originally planned for the cancelled Venus Rising season in 2020 complete the Tutus on Tour programme. 

Andrea Schermoly’s Within Without is a beautiful, powerful and sentimental piece depicting the pain of unintended childlessness. Graceful movement represents the strong bonds that a couple maintains in the face of this hardship, and love prevails.  

Respected New Zealand choreographer Sarah Foster-Sproull’s Ultra Folly lays bare the dancers’ secret desires and visions in this compelling chamber ballet, commissioned by RNZB Artistic Director Patricia Barker in 2020. Foster-Sproull’s choreography is obsessed with detail and craft, and draws from the emotional depths of the early baroque music La Folia to expose detailed choreographic interactions for this complex era we now live in. 

Ryman Healthcare CEO Gordon MacLeod says, “We’re delighted to have been asked to support the Tutus on Tour. After a year of COVID it is wonderful to see the RNZB’s grassroots tour back on the bus again, and New Zealand is in for a treat with four wonderful works on show. Go the Tutus!’’ 

Tutus on Tour, in association with Ryman Healthcare, is a chance for ballet lovers across the country to indulge their passion. This enchanting summer programme offers tickets at just $27-$37 for adults and $12-$22 for children. These special shows in small theatres sell fast, so it is recommended ticket buyers move quickly. 

Free Tutus on Tour for Schools performances are also offered in most regions. Please visit here for more information. 

Ends 

For further information, images and interviews, please contact Siobhan Waterhouse, Publicist, on siobhan.waterhouse@rnzb.org.nz or 022 126 4149. 

Tutus on Tour 
In association with Ryman Healthcare 
26 February to 16 March 2021 

WHITE SWAN PAS DE DEUX FROM SWAN LAKE 
Choreography / Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov 
Music / Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 

PAS DE QUATRE 
Choreography / Jules Perrot 
Music / Cesare Pugni 

WITHIN WITHOUT 
Choreography / Andrea Schermoly 
Music / Hildur Guđnadóttir, Vivaldi, Chopin, Ólafur Arnolds 
Design / Patricia Barker 
Original lighting design / Nathan W. Scheuer 
Lighting realisation / Daniel Wilson 

ULTRA FOLLY 
Choreography / Sarah Foster-Sproull 
Music / Antonio de Cabezón, Andrea Falconieri and Anonymous 
Costume design / Donna Jefferis 
Lighting design / Daniel Wilson 

KAPITI | Te Raukura ki Kapiti – 26 & 27 February 
CARTERTON | Events Centre – 27 February 
NEW PLYMOUTH | TSB Showplace – 1 March 
WHANGANUI | The Royal Wanganui Opera House – 2 March 
HASTINGS | Toitoi Hawke’s Bay Arts & Events Centre – 2 March 
GISBORNE | War Memorial Theatre – 4 March 
NELSON | Theatre Royal – 5 & 6 March 
TAURANGA | Baycourt Community and Arts Centre – 6 March 
BLENHEIM | ASB Theatre, Marlborough – 9 March 
HAMILTON | Clarence Street Theatre – 9 & 10 March 
ASHBURTON | Ashburton Trust Event Centre – 11 March 
MANUKAU | Vodafone Manukau Events Centre – 11 March 
WHANGAREI | Capitaine Bougainville Theatre – 13 March 
OAMARU | Opera House – 13 March 
KERIKERI | Turner Centre – 16 March 
GORE | St James Theatre – 16 March