Athletes Of A Different Kind

Fans will have the chance to watch elite athletes of a different kind in Wellington during the Rugby World Cup. The New Zealand School of Dance is presenting INSIGHT, a studio performance of classical and contemporary dance, for the REAL NZ festival from 4-7 October.

Performed in the studio, where the students of our national dance school train and rehearse, this is a chance to get up close to this physically demanding and technically precise art form. “Audiences will be able to see the sweat and hear the dancers breathing and will gain a real appreciation of how athletic and skilled our top New Zealand dancers are” points out Paula-Steeds Huston, Head of Contemporary Dance at the School.

The four performances of INSIGHT will include group works from the ballet classics Cinderella and La Bayadère and the dazzling pas de trois from Emeralds by George Balanchine. The programme will feature a new work by Victoria Colombus and Michael Parmenter’s BACH as well as solos by two students preparing to compete at prestigious international ballet competition, the Prix de Lausanne, in January.

Visiting tutor from New York Richard Chen See has been teaching the students work by legendary US choreographer Paul Taylor for their graduation performances in November. Extracts from this work, the ebullient Company B, will be presented for INSIGHT. Following graduation, senior students of the New Zealand School of Dance will begin careers as professional dancers, joining dance companies throughout Australasia and abroad.

Te Whaea National Dance & Drama Centre is a short ten minute bus ride from Wellington’s CBD. Entry to the performances is by koha (donation) and there is no need to book. Just come along at 6pm, 4–7 October and experience dance ‘in the raw’.
ENDS

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