The Royal New Zealand Ballet will bring its 2026 Winter Season to Wellington’s St James Theatre for four performances from Thursday 16 July to Saturday 18 July.
Performances are at 7.30pm on Thursday and Friday, followed by shows at 1.30pm and 7.30pm on Saturday.
The three-work programme celebrates the RNZB’s heritage and the artists who have helped shape ballet in New Zealand.
Its centrepiece is the New Zealand premiere of Sir Frederick Ashton’s Birthday Offering, presented as a centenary tribute to Southland-born ballerina Rowena Jackson.
Ashton created the ballet for The Royal Ballet’s 25th birthday in 1956.
Jackson and her husband, Philip Chatfield, were members of the original cast, alongside Wellington-born dancer Alexander Grant and Bryan Ashbridge.
All four later made significant contributions to ballet in New Zealand as dancers, teachers and directors, including through their connections with the RNZB.
The Wellington performances will also form part of Ashton Worldwide 2024–2028, an international celebration of Ashton’s work.
Former Royal Ballet principal Laura Morera, who is staging Birthday Offering, said Ashton’s choreography combined speed, softness and musicality.
“Ashton for me is pure musicality. The contrast between the speedy footwork and the softness of the upper body challenges and rewards equally,” she said.
The programme also includes Sarah Foster-Sproull’s Ultra Folly, a highly physical work inspired by the rhythmic energy of La Folia.
Created in 2020, the work celebrates the pleasure of moving to music with others and the importance of human touch and connection.
Andrea Schermoly’s Stand to Reason completes the programme.
The work draws on New Zealand’s suffrage movement and the courage of the women who fought for the vote.
It was inspired in part by the 1888 pamphlet Ten Reasons Why the Women of New Zealand Should Vote and combines athletic, defiant and tender choreography.
The RNZB has dedicated its 2026 Winter Season to the late Matz Skoog.
Friday’s performance will include a pre-performance talk, while the Saturday evening show will include the RNZB’s Warm Up, Curtain Up experience.
The programme runs for about one hour and 30 minutes, including a 20-minute interval. Bookings are open through the RNZB.
