Royal New Zealand Ballet 2025 Season

Scottish Ballet visits New Zealand for the first time in 2025. In three Wellington-exclusive performances, contemporary works that are unique to both companies will highlight the spirit of celebration and joy. 

The Scots present ‘Dextera’ by Sophie Laplane. The work is set to the music of Mozart and ‘Schachmatt (Checkmate!)’ by Cayetano Soto. This quirky, energetic, 20-minute ballet sees dancers perform with precision and razor-sharp wit across a giant chessboard to a retro pop soundtrack. 

The RNZB contributes two homegrown works. ‘Limerence’, by RNZB alumna Annaliese Macdonald and a revival of Shaun James Kelly’s ‘Prismatic’.

Based on the award-winning story of the persuasive pig who won’t take no for an answer. This ballet is a hot favourite with young audiences, parents, and grandparents alike. Dancers get moving and grooving to the enchanting original music by William Phillipson. With laugh-out-loud character costumes by Victoria Gridley, this ballet is a spectacle for the whole family. 

April sees the return of the incredibly popular ‘The Firebird’, choreographed by Loughlan Prior. Built on Stravinsky’s epic score, this powerful ballet unfolds in a desert world where water is infinitely precious. Immersive projections and stunning designs animate this fairy tale and bring it to life. 

‘The Firebird’ will be paired with the one-act ballet ‘My Brilliant Career’. It’s based on the novel by Miles Franklin, and familiar to many through the 1979 film starring Judy Davis and Sam Neill. UK choreographer Cathy Marston created the ballet in 2023. Cathy is in demand throughout the ballet world for her imaginative and emotional storytelling.

New Zealanders will relate to these three moving ballets as they explore locally shared heritage. This collaboration with The New Zealand Dance Company sees acclaimed choreographer and Arts Laureate Moss Te Ururangi Patterson explore the importance of people and place. In the title work, New Zealand’s cultural heritage is woven through with the historical echoes of Cook’s Endeavour voyages. The music brings together traditional Māori instruments with modern sounds. Created in a collaboration between respected composer Tane Upjohn-Beatson and iconic musician Shayne Carter of rock bands Straitjacket Fits and Dimmer.

Everyone’s Christmas favourite returns to the stage. In 2025 RNZB artistic director Ty King-Wall brings a distinctly New Zealand touch to this original toy story loved around the world. Celebrating being ‘home for Christmas’ and the nostalgia of childhood holidays. Audiences will be transported from the beach in Act I to the iconic snowy Southern Alps in Act II. Designer Tracy Grant Lord brings her original and breathtaking creativity to the sets and costumes. Lighting designer Jon Buswell and POW Studios showcase some incredible visual effects. And tying it all together, the moving and magical music of Tchaikovsky.