Kuranui thrills to royal ballet

Every two years the Royal New Zealand Ballet makes a tour of the provinces.
It is a road trip that would not be possible without the hard work of groups such as the Wairarapa branch of Friends of the RNZB, which purchases the performance, promotes and sells the tickets, and then delivers any profits back to national Friends to buy pointe shoes for the dancers.
So it was basically thanks to the Friends that the audience, which filled Kuranui College's Performing Arts Centre, got to enjoy another superb performance from the ballet.
Part of the purpose of these tours is to introduce a new, and often very young, audience to ballet, so a classical ballet performance is a matter of course.
That role was filled by the first performance of the evening, Verdi Variations, choreographer Greg Horsman, inspired by Verdi's operas I Vespri Siciliani and Jerusalem "to create a ballet that touches on the rivalry, competition and hierarchy that exists within a ballet company and is part of every dancer's life, in a beautifully classical way".
Verdi Variations was essentially a sweet, confection filled classical ballet, made all the more exquisite by the tutus and tiaras designed by Gary Harris.
The main performance of the night, The Adventures of Pinocchio, was undoubtedly chosen with a younger audience in mind.
It's a tall order to entertain a 6-year-old at the same time as appealing to ballet connoisseurs.
The company achieved this as much as was practically possible, especially through Julian Southgate's set design and costumes, with the production walking a fine line at times between ballet and pantomime.
A veteran of children's and street theatre, Southgate takes the story of Pinocchio back to its roots, author Carlo Collodi's original story strongly evocative of the wild Tuscan countryside and old streets and workshops of Florence, where Geppetto lives.
Southgate dresses his dancers in outfits from the late 18th/early 19th century, including the Commedia Dell'Arte, Italy's traditional travelling theatre.
This visual imagery, aided by talents of lighting designer Nigel Percy, is at times stunning, as when an iridescent and transparent whale swallows Pinocchio and Geppetto.
And just as importantly, choreographer Toby Behan takes the story of Pinocchio back to its moral roots - the importance of choices in the evolution of the spirit - Pinocchio guided by a striking "luminati" who comprises the truthful spirit of the poor cricket he has killed, the good heart of the Blue Fairy and Geppetto's devotion to his new son.
It was a much more profound version of this fairy tale than the trivialised version we all know, well expressed through the storytelling and dancing talents of an international company of dancers.
 
Review
Tower Tutus on Tour: Royal New Zealand Ballet
Kuranui College, Greytown
Tuesday, March 1