Allegro

Overview

Win a double pass to Royal New Zealand Ballet Wellington opening night performance of Allegro at the St James Theatre on Friday, August 15 2014. Email wellington@concreteplayground.co.nz a photo of you dressed in a tutu to go in the draw. Just kidding, put the subject line ALLEGRO and make sure you are subscribed to Concrete Playground.

For his last hurrah as Artistic Director of the Royal New Zealand Ballet, Ethan Stiefel presents Allegro, a season showcase that promises to be a phenomenal grand finale and send off for the talented director of New Zealand’s most prestigious dance company. Allegro is a massive show consisting of five short ballets that are all so diverse that the production claims to span from one balletic extreme to the other, demonstrating the impressive breadth of the dance style.

The first dance, 'Allegro Brillante', is your more classical approach to ballet. A show focussed on precision, musicality and advanced technique, the ballerinas dance a fusion of Russian classicism and New York flair that results in an intense display of classical ballet. Choreographed by George Balachine and music by Tchaikovsky, the two team up and collaborate to redefine classicism in balletic form.

The second ballet is 'Les Lutins'. The French term translates to ‘The Goblins’ although the performance is certainly not based on the small green Harry Potter creatures. Johan Kobborg, the choreographer of the number, has produced a much lighter and more fun number than the dance’s predecessor. Based on a love story where two males are competing for the attention of a single beauty by demonstrating their agility and balletic stunts, the story holds a twist that is signified by accompaniment from a guest violinist and pianist who will join the dancers onstage.

'Satellites' is the next production, and the name compliments the dance perfectly. Choreographer Daniel Belton has teamed up with Jan-Bas Bollen to create electronic, space-age music. The two have also brought animator Jac Grenfell and kinetic sculptor Jim Murphy onboard to produce an integrated, techno-ballet production.

Larry Keigwin, the creator of the Final Dress show for the Royal Ballet’s 2012 season, has choreographed the last two pieces of the show. Firstly, 'Mattress Suite' is a production of six separate but sequential love affairs, and 'Megalopolis' is an illustration of the junction where formalism and club culture collide.