Rare chance to see top ballet in city

Dancers from the Royal New Zealand Ballet.

Dancers from the Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB) take to the stage at Baycourt Theatre tomorrow night, showcasing their talents in a series of classic and contemporary performances.

The RNZB is celebrating its 60th birthday year with Tower Tutus on Tour, a 47-centre "ultimate tiki tour" of heartland New Zealand.

The tour will see the dancers perform in community theatres, town halls and school gymnasiums from Kaitaia to Stewart Island.

Artistic director Ethan Stiefel said the tour was all about introducing as many Kiwis as possible to the ballet company.

"The 2013 tour includes a few blasts from the past, as well as some RNZB premieres," he said.

"Classical and contemporary selections are capped off with a newly created production of Peter and the Wolf, narrated by Te Radar.

"If any ballet programme could define the phrase 'something for everyone', this show just might get as close as one can get."

The tour opened in Wellington on October 22 and runs until December 8, with the dancers splitting into two groups to get to as many smaller centres as possible.

Mr Stiefel said the tour gave audiences the chance to see the virtuosity of RNZB dancers performing 150 years of ballet.