Ballerina dances on Wellington Harbour as part of The Performance Arcade

Passersby in Wellington's Oriental Bay can expect to be stunned over the next week by the 20m-tall image of a ballerina dancing in the harbour.

The Carter Fountain in the bay has been modified to allow a projection of the dancing ballerina on the water.

The spectacular image of the ballerina dancing excerpts from Fokine's The Dying Swan and Mario Radacovsky's Black Swan, White Swan, is a projection presented by Trustpower to launch The Performance Arcade 2019.

The free festival of live arts is now in its ninth year and will run on the Wellington waterfront until March 3.

The projection is 20 metres tall. Photo / Supplied

Swans was developed by video artist Jeremy Brick, who worked with Royal NZ Ballet dancers Abigail Boyle and Sara Garbowski, to create the special projection for this year's event.

It marks the first time in 36 years that the fountain has been used for a creative, public installation. The last time an installation took place was for The Sun Festival of 1983.

A fixture built for the 1983 event is in fact being reused decades later — altering the shape of the water jet, it helps form a transparent screen which allows the 20m-tall image of a dancer to be projected over the harbour.

Trustpower's marketing communications manager, Carolyn Schofield, said they wanted to contribute something "truly magical" to this year's event.

"Swans is the perfect way for members of the public to take a few minutes out of their busy lives and enjoy this amazing sight in Oriental Bay."

Passersby will be able to see the stunning installation after sunset until the end of next week. Photo / Supplied

For the first-time, visitors to The Performance Arcade this year are invited to "Follow the Pink Line" — a 3km trail extending along the waterfront from the Wellington Railway Station to Oriental Bay.

A walk along the pathway will connect audiences with a diverse range of experiences in live art, culinary art, music and public installation.

A colourful container village directly outside Te Papa forms a hub for The Performance Arcade, housing many of the works all featuring in the event.