All pointes bulletin

All pointes bulletin

Welcome to the first All Pointes Bulletin, an occasional newsletter keeping you up to date with all that's happening during New Zealand Post Tutus on Tour.

Last week Wellington city got the first glimpse of the tour line-up in a short two-night season at the Opera House. Snippets from the reviews will be posted on our website at http://www.nzballet.org.nz/news/reviews.htm as they are published. The website also has a dancers' section which includes short bios and photos of all company members.

Tomorrow morning the dancers leave Ballet HQ in Wellington for their first performances on the road. They'll pile into two buses (one for the North contingent, one for the South) with everything they need for the duration of the tour. First up, Paraparaumu and then Taihape, where local retailers will welcome the company with a ballet-themed shop window competition in the main street. Dancers will judge the winners tomorrow.

On the road, we'll be hard to miss. Season sponsor New Zealand Post has arranged to have our tour buses suitably decked out with giant-sized dancers' feet and the slogan "you have 50 feet to pass".

Behind the scenes, our crew has also been kept on their toes, planning the 50-centre, 45-day tour, down to the nth degree. We take two five-tonne trucks on the road, each is packed with between four to six costume changes for every dancer, hundreds of pointe shoes, 120 metres of dance floor, a kilometre of cabling, 280 rolls of PVC tape, a washing machine and drier, first aid packs, and the all important kettle for afternoon tea.

Jennifer Shennan's history of the company, A Time to Dance, will be on sale for $25 at performances within the next fortnight. Richly illustrated, the book is a stunning overview of 50 glorious dancing years. The book can be ordered by emailing inquiry@nzballet.org.nz or at New Zealand Post Tutus on Tour performances.

Television arts show Mercury Lane returns to the screen on March 8. Look out for a feature on choreographer Javier De Frutos, filmed as he rehearsed Milagros on the company, which is scheduled to air on Saturday 22 March on TV ONE around 9.30pm.

Dress rehearsal images will be available from Tuesday 25 February. Please get in touch with me if you would like to be sent any of these images by email.

See you on the road!

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