After Covid-19 caused a blip in the calendar, seeing the scheduled visit pushed back a few weeks, Tauranga was glad to welcome the RNZB under the spotlight.
In my opinion, they were amazing ... I couldn't peel my eyes off the stage for the whole 90-minute performance.
"Beautiful", "gorgeous", "amazing". The words bounced through the audience after every act.
But the one question on many audience members' lips was: "Where was Katherine Skelton?"
The Tauranga ballerina featured on the front page of the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend and Rotorua Daily Post Weekend's Essence publication in February.
Local fans were keen to see the 31-year-old ballerina dance in front of her home crowd.
Well, we've since learned there is never a guarantee a dancer will perform in their home town, unfortunately.
Plus, the rescheduled performances meant the casts were all shifted around the country.
The news disappointed some, but despite the absence of Skelton, the show as a whole was far from disappointing.
The five works were powerful, moving and beautifully crafted.
The first - Pas de Quatre - choreographed by French dancer, choreographer and teacher Jules Perrot was a beautiful rendition of the romantic period.
Dressed in blushing pink tutus, the dancers embraced their roles of four of the most celebrated ballerinas of the early 1800s-1900s era.
The piece demands strong legs and precise footwork with a softness of the upper body, which dancers Georgia Baxter, Annaliese MacDonald, Teagan Tank and Ana Gallardo Lobaina totally nailed.
The second - Ultra Folly - choreographed by Dunedin-born senior lecturer in Dance Studies at the University of Auckland Sarah Foster-Sproull was a cleverly-choreographed piece.
This one was my mother's favourite.
The dance responded to a period of isolation and involved the tensions between limited touch and full contact partnering. On stage, the dancers explored touch, avoided touch, and engaged in physical contact in detailed and complex ways.
The fun and playful costumes - a total contrast to the pink romantic tutus of the prior act - nodded to the peasants and shepherds who traditionally performed the dance form as one of the earliest recorded musical themes.
Next was a nod to the more enduring ballet classics - Romeo and Juliet's pas de deux and the lakeside meeting scene of the White Swan.
Then, my favourite - Within Without - choreographed by the South-African-born resident choreographer at Louisville Ballet Company Andrea Schermoly.
This piece explored the grief and a love letter to the men and women who have endured the painful struggle of being unable to conceive their own child.
What I loved about this piece was its testament to the strong bond that a couple maintains and strengthens through such hardship. It was powerful and emotional.
It was also great to see most of the cast dance on stage together in a group dance, with their purple corset costumes striking on stage.
Overall, RNZB's visit to Tauranga for Tutus on Tour was simply breathtaking.
Who knows, maybe we will see you next time Katherine Skelton!
