Made to Move at Napier Municipal Theatre

Three brand new works that celebrate the joy of dance.

Royal New Zealand Ballet Artistic Director Ethan Stiefel creates his first original work for the RNZB, a spirited comedy set in a Bavarian beer hall. Expect laughter, lederhosen and virtuoso technique, as the whole company take up their steins and whirl away to the waltzes and polkas of Johann Strauss II.

Former RNZB dancer Andrew Simmons, Christchurch-born and now living and working in Dresden, creates the eagerly-awaited follow-up to 2010’s haunting A Song in the Dark, a hit with audiences around New Zealand and with dance lovers in the UK and France on the company’s 2011 tour. Drawing on New Zealand’s wide open landscapes and set to the gentle minimalism of music by Dustin O’Halloran, Ludovico Einaudi and Olafur Arnalds, this new work promises to be a very special experience for dancers and audience alike.

Venezuelan choreographer Javier de Frutos, choreographer of the RNZB’s award-winning Milagros (2003) The Celebrated Soubrette (2004) and Banderillero (2006) creates a new piece inspired by the Pacific. In the ten years since he first worked with the RNZB, De Frutos has continued to make dance works to both critical and popular acclaim around the world. His choreography for the 2007 West End production of Cabaret received an Olivier Award, London theatre’s highest accolade, and his recent collaboration with Pet Shop Boys, The Most Incredible Thing, enjoyed two sell-out seasons at London’s Sadler’s Wells. He continues to challenge the boundaries between the worlds of ballet, contemporary dance and musicals.