The Royal New Zealand Ballet's 2022 season will open with Venus Rising - a spectacular programme of three female-choreographed ballets that was originally cancelled in 2020 due to Covid-19.

The radiant and much-anticipated programme is making its way to Christchurch on Friday March 4, capturing the spirit of Venus, the brightest of stars, a sacred goddess of love, and beauty and victory over adversity.

The three extraordinary works choreographed by three formidable women include Aurum by Alice Topp, The Autumn Ball by Sarah Foster-Sproull and Waterbaby Bagatelles by Twyla Tharp. RNZB Artistic Director Patricia Barker describes the programme as "a generous, glorious celebration of ballet and the joy of pure dance created by some of the finest choreographers working on the international stage today."

Meditative and moving, Alice Topp’s award-winning Aurum is inspired by the Japanese art of kintsugi, the practice of mending cracks in precious ceramics with gold, creating a new whole which celebrates the beauty of the broken. Alice Topp is Resident Choreographer at the Australian Ballet, and she began her career dancing with the RNZB, which holds a special place in her heart.

The Autumn Ball, created by one of New Zealand’s brightest choreographic stars Sarah Foster-Sproull, dances through the circle of life with tenderness, grace and floor-filling fun. The driving rhythms of Eden Mulholland’s commissioned score will have the audience wishing that they could join in the dance.

Twyla Tharp is one of the world’s greatest living choreographers. In Waterbaby Bagatelles, created in 1994 and never before seen in Aotearoa, 27 dancers leap and spin across the stage in an ever-changing ocean of light; the music flowing seamlessly as groups of dancers sparkle and glow.

Venus Rising
Isaac Theatre Royal
Fri 4 - Sat 5 Mar
rnzb.co.nz