No sleep for ballet master
Greg Horsman in action choreographing The Sleeping Beauty.
Greg Horsman is Ballet Master for the Royal New Zealand Ballet and choreographed the company’s production of The Sleeping Beauty opening in Wellington on Friday. He says the talk is continuing but he thinks it would be hard to find the facilities available at the St James, in Auckland.
“But there’s always the argument that because Auckland has a bigger theatre we wouldn’t have to make as many shows to take the same box office.”
Horsman believes what may eventually happen is that the company will move between Wellington and Auckland, working part of the year in each city.
“The Australian ballet company is based in Melbourne but it spends half the time in Sydney as well.”
Horsman says New Zealand needs a greater focus on its talented dancers or it will continue to lose them overseas. He says while the New Zealand School of Dance produces some strong dancers many graduates bypass New Zealand ballet and head overseas.
“We need to change that so that young dancers feel they can achieve here without having to leave the country,” Horsman says. “At the moment some teachers think it’s more prestigious if they get their student into the Royal Ballet in London.”
He says while the dance school offered a sound base for dancers there needed to be a school here with a greater focus on ballet and classical dance.
“New Zealand ballet wants the best dancers we can get, but we would welcome more local dancers.” He says currently only “six or seven” dancers in the 32 strong dance company are Kiwis, though some have trained at the New Zealand dance school.
Horsman says New Zealand also needs to ensure it has a strong ballet company to make it an attractive proposition for young dancers.
“The Royal New Zealand Ballet matches any small ballet company in the world and its standards are getting higher and higher every year.”
Horsman has been with the New Zealand company since 2006. He’s from Geelong in Australia where he began ballet at the age of 10 after many years of envious spying on his sister’s ballet classes. He trained at the Victorian College of Arts before joining the Australian Ballet in 1982. He’s danced with the English National Ballet and been guest principal with ballet companies throughout the world. He was artistic director at London’s Central School of Ballet, then Ballet Master with Northern Ballet Theatre, then returned to the English National Ballet as Ballet Master and Repetiteur.
The Sleeping Beauty is the first full-length production he’s choreographed for the RNZB. It’s the company’s most lavish to date with sets designed by former RNZB artistic director Gary Harris, and WETA Workshop producing props, masks, cat costumes and the dramatic fiery creature appearing in the second act.
Horsman says he’s kept to the classical style but assures it’s a shortened version of Tchaikovsky’s original four and-a-half hour long score.
“It’s fairly traditional in look but I’ve tweaked the story a little,” he says.
The production will introduce American Ballet Theatre soloist Stella Abrera to New Zealand audiences. Abrera will play the lead role of Aurora for the New Zealand season.
After its Wellington season, featuring the Vector Wellington Orchestra, the company will tour the production to seven other New Zealand centres from Auckland to Invercargill.
The Sleeping Beauty, Royal New Zealand Ballet Company, St James Theatre, October 28-30 and November 2-5.
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