Dancing dolls bring classic ballet to life

The Royal New Zealand Ballet will bring Coppelia to Rotorua on Wednesday. Photo/Supplied

Locals are set to be captivated when the ballet Coppelia comes to Rotorua.

The Royal New Zealand Ballet will bring the much-loved comic show to Rotorua's Civic Theatre on Wednesday, May 21, as part of a nationwide tour.

The ballet tells the tale of a beautiful life-sized dancing doll, created by Dr Coppelius, who is mistaken for a real girl.

She is so lifelike that Franz, a village swain, becomes infatuated with her and sets aside his true heart's desire, Swanhilde.

The ballet premiered in 1870 at the Theatre Imperial l'Opera in Paris, with the 16-year-old Giuseppina Bozzacchi in the role of Swanhilde.

Royal New Zealand Ballet master Martin Vedel described the ballet as fit for all audiences with exhilarating character dances, including the show-stopping czardas, wonderful classical solos and pas de deux, and a memorable score.

"Values such as true love, devotion and friendship are strong in Coppelia and I will be preserving and presenting traditional theatre and classical ballet as an art form, while sharpening up the main story so it is relevant today," Mr Vedel said.

Along with beautiful tutus, audiences will also get to enjoy the antics of the ten outrageous dolls in the story, he said.

The show starts at 7.30pm. Tickets are available from www.ticketmaster.co.nz.

For more information visit www.nzballet.org.nz.