Annual Report 2010 - Royal New Zealand Ballet

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10 / Annual Report 2010Artistic Director’s ReportThe TOWER season of From Here to ThereThree stunning works, two of which were world premiers, and the introduction of a verytalented young choreographer meant this season was one of the most satisfying mixed billprogrammes to date.One is never quite sure where a new work will go when it is being created, but with bothChristopher Hampson’s Silhouette and Andrew Simmon’s A Song in the Dark, along withA Million Kisses to My Skin, the programme came together beautifully and showed thecompany at its best.The feedback from audience members was quite astounding, particularly for A Song in theDark and the reviews couldn’t have been better if we had written them ourselves.Regardless of the box office results, it is vital that the company present programmes suchas this. Creating new work, nurturing young choreographers and presenting fresh andexciting new works on the main stage is what we are all about.Choreographic WorkshopFollowing the Easter break the dancers were busy creating works on each other for thechoreographic workshop which resulted in an informal showing at the end of April.The workshop proved to be more of a success that everyone anticipated. Choreographedby Jaered Glavin, “Lady Gaga –The Ballet”, took New Zealand by storm. Due to its slightly‘leftfield’ appeal, media interest was phenomenal. There have now been over 300,000 viewssince it was posted on YouTube giving the RNZB significant profile both here and overseas.The feedback was quite astounding.The other nine works were of varying degrees of accomplishment and finish; the favouritesbeing from Pierre Doncq and Brendan Bradshaw. Performances took place over two nightsto a ‘packed house’ in studio one.The Meridian season of CarmenDance notator, Tatiana Novaes, was with the company for six weeks re-staging the work.Choreographer, Didy Veldman, joined the company for the final two weeks of rehearsals.An excellent season for the company. Three strong casts and good solid performances fromall concerned. Didy Veldman was thrilled with the way the company worked on all levels.Although not a great choreographic work, Carmen is a good piece of theatre and I think thataudiences around the country enjoyed something a bit different. There was certainly a goodbuzz in the theatres, and the feedback from audiences and reviewers was very positive.Tom Woods conducted the season. Based in Australia, Tom is currently Music Director ofthe Christchurch Symphony Orchestra.Australia tour – Romeo and JulietThere is something about not having enough rehearsal time that gives the company anedge to its work. Both artistic staff and dancers often bemoan the length of rehearsal
Annual Report 2010\ 11periods, wanting to get on with it and get the show on stage. As this ballet had beenrecently performed, it was relatively easy to slot in the new dancers and get on withrunning the scenes, rather than spending time teaching and placing every move. Just aswell as we only had three weeks in which to prepare the work.Two casts performed in Australia, with a notable debut from Tonia Looker in the role ofJuliet.Performances in both Canberra and Wollongong were well attended, with great feedbackfrom both venues. Particularly Canberra, who constantly mentioned the fact that TheAustralian Ballet never tour there, but we could. It was also good to have live music playedby the Canberra Symphony Orchestra.The NutcrackerThe season went extremely well and this show seemed to be the tonic that NZ audienceswere looking for at the end of 2010. Performances around the country were very wellreceived by both audiences and reviewers.It was good to give this work a second outing and have the time to add and fiddle with theexisting choreography. All three casts gave their own interpretation and there were somegood strong performances from all concerned.The season ran very smoothly with no serious injuries and the dancers finished the tour ingood spirits.PersonnelAnnual company auditions took place at the beginning of October. Thirty-three dancersregistered and attended the audition. A record turnout for recent years.Former company dancer Pieter Symonds returned as guest artist for the Carmen season.Pieter left RNZB in 2004 and is now one of the UK’s Rambert Dance Company’s leadingdancers.Former Northern Ballet Theatre, principal dancer, Christopher Hinton-Lewis joined thecompany as a full-time member at the beginning of the Carmen season.After six years with the company, Alessia Lugoboni left at the end of the Carmen season.Alessia returned to Italy to pursue a career in musical theatre.Michael Braun left the company at the end of the Romeo & Juliet tour to return home toAustralia to be with his family.NZ School of Dance student, Emmi Coupe, joined the company for The Nutcracker season.Matt Dillon joined us for The Nutcracker season having performed with the company duringthe Peter Pan season in 2009.The following dancers left the RNZB at the end of The Nutcracker season:Paul Russell returned home to his family in Australia and is taking a year off dancing toconsider his future options.
Page 3 and 4: Annual Report 2010\ 1Chair’s Repo
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Page 8 and 9: 6 / Annual Report 2010For the first
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Page 16 and 17: 14 / Annual Report 2010Guiding Prin
Page 18 and 19: 16 / Annual Report 2010The Year’s
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Page 22 and 23: 20 /Annual Report 2010THE FINANCIAL
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Annual Report 2010 - Royal New Zealand Ballet

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