At its heart is the New Zealand premiere of Sir Frederick Ashton’s Birthday Offering, performed as a centenary tribute to Southland-born ballerina Rowena Jackson and as part of Ashton Worldwide 2024–8.
Completing the programme are two works created for the RNZB: Sarah Foster-Sproull’s exuberant Ultra Folly, inspired by the rhythmic energy of La Folia, and Andrea Schermoly’s Stand to Reason, a powerful tribute to the women of Aotearoa and the enduring fight for equality. Together, these three works honour legacies, connection and the timeless spirit of dance.
Birthday Offering
The evening’s highlight is the New Zealand debut of Birthday Offering, a ballet created by Sir Frederick Ashton to celebrate The Royal Ballet’s 25th anniversary.
It originally featured dancers like Rowena Jackson, Philip Chatfield, Alexander Grant, and Bryan Ashbridge—who all helped shape ballet in New Zealand and the Royal New Zealand Ballet.
RNZB is honoured to present this special performance as a tribute to Rowena Jackson and part of the global Ashton Worldwide 2024–8 celebration. Click here for more information.
Ultra Folly
Ultra Folly was created in 2020, the rhythmic drive and vigour of its score, the lively La Folia variations performed by renowned early music ensemble Hesperion XXI and their founder Jordi Savall, inspiring highly physical and intricate choreography that not only celebrates the pleasure of moving to music with friends, but the joy of human touch and connection. Click here for more information.
Stand to Reason
Since its creation in 2018, Stand to Reason has become a talisman and a taonga for the women of the Royal New Zealand Ballet. The work builds on the power and unity of a highly trained corps de ballet, as the dancers channel the courage and conviction of the women who won the vote, in choreography that is by turns athletic, cathartic, defiant and tender.
‘Ten Reasons Why The Women Of New Zealand Should Vote’, published in 1888, serves both as inspiration and a sobering reminder that democracy is hard-won and never to be taken for granted.
More at RNZB
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