Another Season Of ‘Nutcracker’

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31097, 28 June 1966, Page 12

Another Season Of ‘Nutcracker’

Two London Festival Ballet dancers, Denise Le Comte and Desmond Kelly, will appear as guest principals with the New Zealand Ballet during a four-week tour of South Island in July.

The company will open the tour in Christchurch on Saturday, July 2 at the Theatre Royal, giving a ■second performance on July 4. i This will be the New Zealand Ballet’s first tour ■ since its outstanding success I at the Auckland Festival i where the company gave its longest season to its largest audience. “The Nutcracker” (which is to be seen during the forthcoming winter tour) was one of the most popular attractions of the festival, and the “house full” sign was set up for six out of the seven performances of this fairy-tale ballet. Except for four performances at the Pan-Pacific Arts Festival last year, “The Nutcracker” has not been presented in its entirety in the South Island before. Since its first introduction into the New Zealand Ballet’s reper-

toire in 1963, all “Nutcracker" seasons have proved extremely popular. Seeking family audiences, the company will start evening performances at 7 p.m. and will offer familyconcessions.

The artistic director Russell Kerr-has kept the company up to its full strength, 18 dancers and 4 soloists. Loma Rogers, whose Bluebird pas de deux in “The Sleeping Beauty” attracted particular attention during the 1965 winter tour, is first soloist. Other soloists are Gillian Francis, Sherril Cooper and Paul Wright, who has joined the New Zealand Ballet by special arrangement with the Australian Ballet. The winter tour includes visits to Tiinaru, July 23, Grey mouth, July 25, Nelson, July 27 and 28, before it finishes in Blenheim, July 30.