swan-lake – New Zealand Arts Review

The Royal New Zealand Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty tours New Zealand

Preview: John Daly-Peoples

Royal New Zealand Ballet

Sleeping Beauty

In association with New Zealand Community Trust (NZCT)

29 Oct-Dec 20, 2026

The Royal New Zealand Ballet final ballet of its 2026 series invites audiences to enter a world of fairytale magic as Greg Horsman’s acclaimed production of The Sleeping Beauty returns for a nationwide tour from October to December 2026.

Celebrating the arrival of summer and the festive season, this spectacular production revives one of the Company’s most cherished works. Since its triumphant premiere in 2011, The Sleeping Beauty has become a favourite with audiences across Aotearoa, with more than 42,000 people experiencing its original nationwide tour.

“It is wonderful for the Royal New Zealand Ballet to return to The Sleeping Beauty to bring our 2026 season to a close,” says Artistic Director Ty King-Wall. “Created for our company, Greg Horsman’s production is an evocative and respectful staging of one of the great ballets of the 19th century. We look forward to a new generation of dancers taking on these coveted roles as this much-loved story awakens once more.”

Set to Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s iconic score, The Sleeping Beauty tells the timeless story of Princess Aurora, whose destiny is altered by a wicked curse before true love awakens her from an enchanted sleep. Combining exquisite classical choreography with breathtaking theatrical design, this production offers an unforgettable ballet experience for audiences of every generation.

Greg Horsman’s elegant choreography honours the grandeur of the classical tradition while bringing warmth, humour and humanity to one of ballet’s greatest masterpieces. Richly detailed sets and costumes by acclaimed designer and former RNZB Artistic Director Gary Harris transport audiences into a storybook kingdom filled with glittering courts, enchanted forests and unforgettable fairytale characters.

Adding an unmistakably New Zealand touch, the production features magical elements created by Wellington’s Wētā Workshop, whose artistry brings an extra sense of wonder to Aurora’s enchanted world. Together with Jon Buswell’s atmospheric lighting design, the production creates a visually stunning theatrical experience that continues to captivate audiences more than a decade after its premiere.

Following its success with the RNZB in 2011, Horsman’s production travelled across the Tasman after the choreographer joined Queensland Ballet in 2012. Since then, it has been staged there several times to widespread critical and audience acclaim, cementing its reputation as one of the most beautiful contemporary interpretations of this enduring classic.

The 2026 tour will feature live orchestral accompaniment in Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland, with Hamish McKeich conducting. Performances in Wellington will be accompanied by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Christchurch performances by Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, and Auckland performances by Auckland Philharmonia. Performances in all other touring centres will be accompanied by a recording of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

“We’re proud to support the Royal New Zealand Ballet as it brings this remarkable production to communities around the country,” says NZCT’s GM of Grants, Marketing and Communications, Ben Hodges. “The tour will give thousands of New Zealanders, including many living beyond the country’s main centres, the chance to experience the magic of world-class live ballet.”

Perfect for first-time ballet-goers, devoted dance lovers and families looking to share a magical experience together, The Sleeping Beauty is the ideal pre-Christmas outing. Overflowing with romance, adventure, dazzling dancing and unforgettable music, this much-loved production promises an afternoon or evening of enchantment for audiences of all ages.

PRODUCTION TEAM

Choreography: Greg Horsman 

Music: Pyotr Tchaikovsky 

Set and Costume Design: Gary Harris 

Lighting Design: Jon Buswell 

Conductor: Hamish McKeich

Live Orchestra

Wellington: New Zealand Symphony Orchestra

Christchurch: Christchurch Symphony Orchestra

Auckland: Auckland Philharmonia

* All other venues: Recorded performance by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra

TOUR SCHEDULE

Wellington: St James Theatre 29 October-7 November 2026

Christchurch: Isaac Theatre Royal 11–14 November 2026

Invercargill: Civic Theatre 18 November 2026

Dunedin: Regent Theatre 21-22 November 2026

Hamilton: BNZ Theatre 27-29 November

Auckland: Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Aotea Centre 3-12 December 2026

Palmerston North: Regent on Broadway 16 December 2026

Napier: Municipal Theatre 19-20 December 2026

Swan Lake: A Warm Glow Inside

Swan Lake

Royal New Zealand Ballet in association with AVIS

Choreography: Russell Kerr ONZM QSM after Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov
Staging: Turid Revfeim

Set & Costume Design: Kristian Fredrikson

Lighting: Jon Buswell

Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Auckland Philharmonia, Conductor Hamish McKeich

Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Aotea Centre, Auckland until 12 May

Review by Malcolm Calder

Swan Lake is a classic. And rightly so.

This production, originally choreographed by the legendary late Russell Kerr, lives on and will continue to remain something of a benchmark for the company.

Swan Lake is a work of staggering beauty and power. The magic of the swans, the sumptuous costuming and the elaborately subtle set changes continue to captivate.

Mesmeric and somehow timeless, it truly suspends disbelief, draws on both imagination and
emotion and eventually ushers its audience homeward shrouded in an inner warmth and secure in the knowledge that tradition is something to be both valued and prized.

The work itself is as familiar as old boots, is far removed from the concept of a ‘hackneyed standby’ as occasionally perceived by some, and showcases the traditions, skills and techniques that are such an essential part of the artform.
Drawing on sets and costumes nearly 30 years old, this RNZB Swan Lake remains lush, vibrant and very, very satisfying. Assiduous attention to detail has resulted in a restoration job to be applauded,

giving Wardrobe a more than gentle workout and Staging with a restoration that is far from counterfeit.

Other commitments prevented this reviewer from attending Opening Night in Auckland, and I was delighted to be able to see the second night cast with the alternate principals and some shuffles in the corp.

Under maestro Hamish McKeich, the Auckland Philharmonia brought the much-loved and thoroughly familiar Tchaikovsky score to life establishing and maintaining the atmospheric and at times mesmeric tone that marries brilliantly well with Turid Revfeim’s staging. Special mention too to the work of harpist Ingrid Bauer.

I found Joshue Guillemot-Rodgerson to be rivettingly imperious as Prince Siegfried in Act 1 – outstanding control and very much a Prince among his subjects. Then I delighted further as he smoothly grew into the smitten and then the confused, before finally leaving us with a feeling of hope for the future. It was a remarkably well-conveyed journey of maturation and growth perhaps drawing from his own journey from the one I first saw in Romeo and Juliet a couple of years back.

However, I found Ana Gallardo Lobaina initially a little aloof, daunting and even ice-like at times as Odette. Her technique was flawlessly detailed and her control immaculate but her connection with
Siegfried only really flowered for me after she had slid seamlessly into her alter ego of Odile. However I soon stopped fretting as the two came breathtakingly together in their two pas de deux in Act 3.

Dane Head was delightfully cheeky as the athletic Jester and Zacharie Dun gave us a sleek and
demonically insidious Rothbart we all love to hate.
But Swan Lake is about swans after all. At a lake. And swans, being swans, are something of pack
animals. In turn it follows that they move in unison, think in unison and breathe in unison. And these swans did so with only the slightest of occasional nerves from newcomers, conjuring images
that personify Swan Lake.
My only disappointment was that, despite their three multi-cultural scenes and significant overall contribution, for some reason the boys did no final bow at the performance I attended. What a pity – I would have applauded them too.

This Swan Lake is a rather mammoth production and RNZB is to be congratulated. It has an enormous energy, is fabulously presented and attracted an audience representing pretty much every age-group. It presents few intellectual challenges, only aesthetic ones and has many, many talking points.

As more than one writer has suggested, this alone may be responsible for drawing more children into dance than any other. That this work will tour regionally will no doubt assist this process.

RNZB Touring to:

Napier, Municipal Theatre, May 17-18
Christchurch, Isaac Theatre Royal, May 23-26
Dunedin, Regent Theatre, May 30
Invercargill, Civic Theatre, June 2