The Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB) is set to unveil its most ambitious season to date, "Home, Land & Sea," featuring a landmark first-time collaboration with The New Zealand Dance Company (NZDC). This groundbreaking partnership brings together two of Aotearoa's leading dance organisations for a powerful exploration of national identity, connection to place, and the future.
Running from 24 July to 9 August 2025, the season is anchored by the world premiere of the title work, Home, Land & Sea. This significant piece is choreographed by acclaimed NZDC Artistic Director Moss Te Ururangi Patterson (Ngāti Tūwharetoa) and will see six dancers from each company share the stage, fostering a unique artistic dialogue that promises to push traditional boundaries.
Patterson describes the work as a poetic response to New Zealand's intricate history, its evolving sense of self, and the universal search for belonging. "We're not creating a nostalgic version of the past or a tidy vision of the future," says Patterson. "Home, Land & Sea is being built as a space for reflection and resistance – a place where the audience can sit with complexity, with connection and with hope." He adds that the work will be "deeply human," moving between the personal and the political, the ancestral and the imagined, prompting audiences to consider what it truly means to feel at home in this land. The score for this pivotal work is an original composition by iconic New Zealand musician Shayne P Carter, known for his work with Straitjacket Fits and Dimmer.
Ty King-Wall, RNZB's Artistic Director, sees this collaboration as a significant new chapter for ballet in Aotearoa. "Joining the collective forces of our two distinctive companies is all about kotahitanga, about unity and togetherness, which we are so committed to," he says. King-Wall expressed his enthusiasm for deepening the creative relationship with Patterson and elevating it through this joint project with NZDC, highlighting the valuable opportunities for learning, sharing, and contemplation it will provide both in the studio and on stage.
The "Home, Land & Sea" programme also features two additional compelling works. The first is Chrysalis, a world premiere by RNZB Choreographer-in-Residence Shaun James Kelly. Set to the transcendent music of Philip Glass, Chrysalis delves into themes of metamorphosis and personal transformation. Kelly, whose own journey from Scotland to his artistic home in New Zealand informs the work, hopes audiences will connect with its exploration of friendship, connections, relationships, and self-discovery. "It plays on something that could happen in a moment, in a passing on the street," Kelly notes. While modern in aesthetic, the choreography is rooted in the fluidity and beauty of classical ballet, honouring tradition. The striking visual aspect of Chrysalis is further enhanced by costumes created by leading fashion designer Rory William Docherty, whose original artwork and unique design approach bring movement and life to the costumes.
Completing the triple bill is The Way Alone by acclaimed Australian choreographer Stephen Baynes. First premiered in New Zealand as part of Tutus on Tour, this deeply personal work is a response to the music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Described as contemplative, thoughtful, and inherently musical, Baynes' piece aims to highlight some of the composer's lesser-known works. "The ballet is fundamentally an expression of Tchaikovsky’s music and especially the Romanticism which is at the heart of his aesthetic," says Baynes.
King-Wall believes the "Home, Land & Sea" season perfectly embodies the RNZB's core values: artistic risk-taking, cultural connection, and creating dance that resonates with the contemporary New Zealand experience. "We're creating a space where the work that we do pushes our boundaries, opens our minds, and defies expectations on what ballet is and what it can be," he states.
Home, Land & Sea will tour New Zealand in July and August 2025. Find out more here.