Swan Lake flying in from Russia

Swan Lake, St Petersburg Ballet Theatre
National Tour

Christchurch: Isaac Theatre Royal from Thursday,  December 29, 2016; Wellington: St James Theatre from Thursday, January 5, 2017; Auckland: ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre from Thursday, January 12, 2017

For the first time in more than 15 years, the internationally acclaimed St Petersburg Ballet Theatre returns to New Zealand in December to present its full-length classic production of the world’s most loved ballet, Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake.

First performed in St Petersburg in 1895, the immortal and enchanting Swan Lake, with its unrivalled “white acts,” its spectacular and dramatic ballroom scene, sublime music and deeply moving story, is the ballet that towers above all others.

Founded in 1994, The St Petersburg Ballet Theatre is renowned for the quality of the dancers who have virtually all trained at the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet and also for its stunning, grand, full-length productions. The company travels internationally complete with breath-taking scenery and magnificent costumes.

It is the only classical ballet company in the world that is completely independent of government financial aid or sponsor funding. 

The company has in its repertoire the classical masterpieces Giselle, Don Quixote, La Bayadère, Les Sylphides, Paquita, The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty. Because of the company’s popularity, it is in such demand that it gives 200 to 250 performances every year.

Tour producer Andrew Guild said: “The St Petersburg Ballet Theatre is truly traditional Russian classical ballet at its very best.

We’re delighted to be bringing this superb company back to New Zealand after more than 15 years. This is the real thing; grand-scale Russian ballet and a complete classical full-length work. If you see only one ballet in your life, let it be this.”

The 60-member St Petersburg Ballet Theatre comes to New Zealand from sold out seasons in London and Paris and has toured to six continents with performances in Spain, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Austria, USA, Brazil, Turkey, South Africa, South Korea, Japan, China, Macau and Taiwan.

Tune into NBR Radio’s Sunday Business with Andrew Patterson on Sunday morning, for analysis and feature-length interviews.