RNZB Workshop

About a week ago, the Royal New Zealand Ballet came to New Plymouth for their Tutus on Tour performance. They - and our students - had a busy day, with Ballet in the Box (a school-focused ballet program) followed by a visit to the studio by RNZB Dance Educator Chloe Bishop. A few dozen of our younger students joined her for a fun twist on a normal class - dancing ballet to pop music - followed by learning some of the choreography from Nae Regrets, a Scottish-themed contemporary piece that was part of the bill for the performance that night. The RNZB also performed selections from Flames of Paris, The Fairy Doll, Flower Festival in Genzano, and Napoli.

I'm told the performance was superb, and I'm so happy the RNZB has started coming back to New Plymouth! Also, the repertoire choices are indicative of Patricia Barker's American experience has broaden the company's horizons in terms of performance pieces, with Bournonville and Balanchine being choreographers who have recently featured. A big thank you to Chloe for coming in to teach the students, they were all thrilled!