For more than a century, since Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes pioneered the presentation of sequences of short ballets as a substitute for the traditional, full-length productions that had dominated the repertoire until the early twentieth century, the triple bill or variations of that format have become an established way for ballet companies around the world to programme works. The opportunities this provides for assembling varied programmes that present contrasts of styles and idioms, of new and old works that complement or illuminate one another through juxtaposition, or which develop different takes on connected themes, are almost endless, such that the programming of triple bills has become virtually an art in its own right. Although the title of the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s current season, Home, Land and Sea, belongs to the third work on the programme, its grouping of three suggestive nouns that have strong resonances for New Zealanders promises something more than that. What might the connections between these works be?

First up is The Way Alone, choreographed by Stephen Baynes to the music of Tchaikovsky. Costume design is by the choreographer with the RNZB Costume Department, and lighting by Jon Buswell. Originally conceived as part of a programme of Tchaikovsky ballets, Baynes searched for music that hadn’t been previously associated with dance, hence his choice of an eclectic selection of extracts from larger works, the piano suite, The Seasons, a setting for cello and orchestra and the slow movement
of the first Piano Concerto. These are framed by excerpts from the composer’s setting of the Mass of St John Chrysostom for a cappella choir. The opening choral sequence resonates within the Theatre Royal’s lively acoustic with thrilling effect, and the dancers’ simple white costumes and atmospheric lighting evoke a quasi-religious mood that is sustained throughout the work. The dancers respond to this elegiac mood with serene and lyrical performances in a series of trios and duets, the full ensemble returning with each of the choral sections. The work culminates with the entire cast facing upstage, their eyes raised towards beams of light radiating from on high in a moment of celestial calm.

Baynes describes The Way Alone as an abstract ballet, although his title suggests a metaphor for the individual’s passage through life. Yet, despite the connecting passages from the mass, the disparate selection of music tends to undermine the coherence of the work, especially when some sections are extracted from works that are so well known. There may be exceptions to the general rule, but there is a
reason why most abstract ballets, from Balanchine’s Serenade to Ratmansky’s Concerto DSCH, are set to single musical works, since they provide an underlying structure and musical coherence to support the dance. In the absence of such a consistent musical underpinning, The Way Alone lacks the expressive coherence it might otherwise have achieved.

The programme’s second work, Shaun James Kelly’s Chrysalis, set to Phillip Glass’s solo piano work, Metamorphosis I – V, takes advantage of the ready-made structure the music provides, although it, too, has a wistful, nostalgic dimension that links it in tone to the preceding ballet. As the title hints, Kelly focuses on the layers of identity that people wrap themselves in, or indeed, employ to disguise their true selves from others and even themselves. Rory William Docherty’s costume designs play an integral part in the exploration of this concept, with the dancers first appearing wrapped in loose-fitting street clothes, suggesting a past, but not precisely defined, era. As the ballet unfolds, the dancers are unwrapped, gradually discarding their outer layers to reveal multi-coloured unitards beneath. The discarded outer layers are placed on coat hangers that have been lowered from the flies, and they are hoisted above the stage as ghostly presences that continue to cast their shadows over the dancers below. Kelly uses a cast of five couples to explore relationships of differing kinds, assembling them in a sequence of changing configurations as these evolve and fall apart. The consistent connection between the lead couple of Ana Gallardo Lobaina and Joshua Guillemot-Rodgerson provides a linking thread throughout the work, and as Glass’s music returns to its beginnings in the closing section, they are united in a heartfelt pas de deux that is a touching tribute to the enduring relationship of Kelly’s parents.

Home, Land and Sea is a collaboration with the New Zealand Dance Company, in which six dancers from the RNZB perform alongside six colleagues from the world of contemporary dance. Although trained in different disciplines, the integration of these twelve performers is virtually seamless, and together they enter fully into the physical challenges of Moss Patterson’s choreography. Patterson provides a detailed
synopsis of the work’s three sections in the programme, but, in performance, it is virtually impossible to relate this to what occurs on stage with any precision. In the initial Home section, the bonds of family are exemplified through a passage of intense, synchronised movement underpinned by the traditional gestural language of the haka, a recurring motif in Patterson’s dance works. The interconnections of
home and family are also suggested by images of woven harakeke in the projected backdrop, a representation of the interconnections between nature and culture. The shift to the ‘land’ is signalled by background images of grasses and a more expansive range of movement, while the undulations of the waves and the future possibilities that the ocean opens up are suggested in a final gesture of massed hope and aspiration. Shayne Carter’s score, a mixture of acoustic and electronic sounds, begins with a roar of electronic cacophony but quickly settles into a more accessible mode while the earthy tones of the costumes reflect the natural world that is central to the work’s underlying theme.

Home, Land and Sea also demonstrates that, like the borders between these three entities, the boundaries between ballet and contemporary dance are fluid and constantly evolving; cross-fertilisation between the two disciplines is of benefit to each. After performing together for three weeks, the dancers’ mutual respect is clear to see. As an integrated programme of works, Home, Land and Sea offers three seemingly diverse works by choreographers of differing backgrounds, but all have an underlying element of reflectiveness and yearning that is exemplified by the closing moments of each, perhaps most evident in the contrast between the collective gaze of the cast turning towards the light at the end of The Way Alone, and the outward gaze of Patterson’s dancers concluding his work. We are given no clues about what either group is looking for; do they even know themselves? Leaving the theatre for the wet and cold of a Christchurch winter night, we are also left to wonder.

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The reference to colonisation in Trinity Roots’ iconic song Home, Land and Sea “…and oh Queen Bee should know she can’t see her flowers through her own trees” is especially potent in terms of the struggles that persist here in Aotearoa, into the present day. But the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s current season, Home, Land and Sea, which presents three diverse choreographies, is perhaps a step forward in the movement towards equality and unity, at least in the context of dance.

It is a joy to see six of the beautiful dancers of the Company join together with the six dancers of the New Zealand Dance Company to present the titular work. Immersed in Te Ao Māori, Home, Land and Sea is choreographed by Moss Te Ururangi Patterson, who, through this work, seeks to clarify “who we are becoming as a nation”. What used to be an impossible divide between ballet and contemporary dance is no longer the case in Aotearoa, so it is fascinating to see the crossover between the forms with the two neo-classical ballets informed by contemporary dance moves and balletic elements incorporated into the mix in Te Ururangi Patterson’s work. The Royal New Zealand Ballet has a proud tradition of commissioning works from contemporary choreographers – among them such luminaries as Mary Jane O’Reilly, Shona McCullagh, Merenia Gray, Gaylene SciaScia, Douglas Wright, Michael Parmenter, Paul Jenden, Neil Ieremia and Mark Baldwin.

Te Ururangi Patterson, for his part, is a master of grounded and energetic group choreography. It is here best displayed in the ‘Home’ section of his work, where the phrases build in intensity with expelled breaths and shouts, to a fiery conclusion. In the ‘Sea’ section, the mesmeric circular movements led by an assured ‘Isope ‘Akau’Ola, conjure up the relentless energy of the ocean and the cyclical movement of the tides and waves. The final image of the dancers, beautifully lit by Jon Buswell, moving forward with their hands trembling as they performed wiri, is a strong final stance of identity. The superb soundtrack created by composer Shayne P. Carter constantly colours the movement, while emphasising key moments of articulation.

The beautiful work Chrysalis, choreographed by Shaun James Kelly, provides the highlight of the evening for me in the striking pas-de-deux work, particularly the performance of Kate Kadow and Calum Gray at the end of the piece. It has several moments of pure magic. The work is choreographically inventive and upbeat, with gorgeous lifted back-arches, arched-back jetés, skittish floor slides and even fouettes as the signature vocabulary. The strength shown by the men of the company is particularly impressive. Drawing on an eclectic range of influences and the Philip Glass music from the album Metamorphosis and Other Works, Kelly alludes to the butterfly emerging from the chrysalis as a symbol for his own “journey of self-discovery”. Layer upon layer of the exquisite costumes designed by Rory William Docherty are shed as the true selves of the dancers emerge, clad only in body-hugging unitards. It provides effective imagery, which is lit with a sensitive design by Daniel Wilson.

The opening work, The Way Alone, choreographed by Stephen Baynes to music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is also a meditation on life’s journey but with a spiritual motif – largely influenced by the sections of sacred Tchaikovsky music that Baynes has chosen. Ana Gallardo Lobaina and Joshua Guillemot Rogerson shine throughout the work, with their beautiful placings and almost wistful interaction. Jon Buswell once again creates a moment of clarity and awe as the dancers finish the work with a gaze up towards the slatted shafts of light beaming down from on high.
It is so good to see the Royal New Zealand Ballet Company giving free rein to address what it means to be a New Zealander in our beautiful country and to celebrate our home, our land and our sea as an island nation. It bodes well for the future of the Company led by Ty King-Wall.

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A triptych of works unite: an Australian choreographer inspired by the legacy of Tchaikovsky, a Scottish choreographer and his journey as a company dancer, and Māori choreographer Moss Patterson with the New Zealand Dance Company. The latter two are world premieres.

Artistically, the suite sits at sparring ends. Stephen Barnes The Way Alone is the classic traditionalist piece with women in white dresses tinged with ombré and bare-chested men in satiny trousers. Danced on pointe, they faithfully represent the constant rise and fall of the score, utilising power and precision.

Chrysalis is a more contemporary reflection yet classical nonetheless, by choreographer Shaun James-Kelly, who paints a more visually bright work, with duets costumed in voluminous overcoats, reframing colour blocking undergarments, dresses, then all encompassing marbled leotards. Garments are taken off and suspended on rising coat hangers, making the upper space a floating closet of sorts. Phillip Glass’s music is a sonic backdrop for more audacious movement, strong, clinical with flashes of power and sass. 

The final titular work “Home, Land and Sea” continues a collaborative partnership with Moss Te Ururangi Patterson that has grown over the past years, aligning his choreographic expertise with his vision as Chief Executive/Artistic Director of The New Zealand Dance Company. The work fully departs from the ballet company’s aesthetic model to situate itself in a grounded, individualised, kinetically roaring atmosphere fuelled by sonically rumbling music by Shayne P. Carter. The dancers are young, attesting to an investment in recent tertiary graduates in these direct pathways to the stage. The piece sustains a series of repeating motifs that embellish key aspects of haka, fierce and intense, at times with rakau (stick implements) and generally en masse, where the dancers wearing more uniform black, morph and shapeshift around three episodic visual projections from woven harakeke (golden flax) to dark ominous storm clouds. 

An evening of energetic contrasts! 

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(Excerpts. For the full review, please click on the link below.)

This triple bill hits the mark in more ways than three. Production values and galvanised performances reveal the company in high morale, with the artistic management in steady yet adventurous command. The dancers and the audience are stimulated by the contrasts of aesthetics, musicality and substance of the three works.

Choreographer Stephen Baynes has a career-long association with the Australian Ballet, although his works are also in repertoires of companies worldwide. The Way Alone was commissioned in 2008 by Hong Kong Ballet for an all-Tchaikovsky program, and uses excerpts from lesser-known compositions of choral, organ and piano forces that create a meditative atmosphere.

Shaun James Kelly is a dancer and resident choreographer at RNZB. In this premiere, Chrysalis, he collaborates with designer Rory William Docherty to explore the metaphor of layered clothing, what that might say of a person wearing it, or be revealed as layers are removed. The work opens with a tribute to Shaun’s parents and the longevity of their relationship.

Home, Land and Sea, another premiere, brings the choreography of Moss Patterson to a new level of urgency. Shayne Carter, highly regarded for his performing and composing in a wide-ranging musical scene, has created a richly evocative music score with natural landscapes and Maori cultural references drawn in. His strong composition drives this highly successful collaboration, and his program notes on the experience of working with dancers are among the best you will read.

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A triple bill that held tantalising promise of exploration and a chance for the wonderful dancers of the company to push boundaries and find new vocabularies of movement in new works. A goal not entirely achieved, but still, a strong and special evening at the ballet.

The opening work, The Way Alone, by Australian choreographer Stephen Baynes, is meticulously crafted and responds to Tchaikovsky’s religious score with respect and reverence. Beautiful lighting by Jon Buswell gives us a sense of a cathedral space, and a liturgical purpose shines throughout in ensemble, trio, duets and solo sections. We are sharing deeply personal time, and the tranquillity of being part of this spiritual oasis is tangible.

Chrysalis by Shaun James Kelly opens with five couples, each wearing a rather quirky layering of clothing that we can assume will be removed to fulfil the title. It is a sort of wry fashion parade, and the layers are whisked away to suspend on coat hangers above the dancers. A rhythmical score by Philip Glass works well and also matches the layered feeling and textural intricacies of the choreography. The final unitards worn are brightly multi- coloured.  I expected blandness to be ultimately reached, but as the curtain fell, these dancers still had vitality and a strong presence.  Humanity prevails?

Both The Way Alone and Chrysalis are technically strong, with excellent majestic lifts and clarity of balletic line. The choreographies had the stylistic authority of a ballet company in very good shape indeed.  I did find myself wanting the couples in Chrysalis to engage more with each other and for the duet relationships to be more fun and more ‘human’ or perhaps more ‘today’. This could provide a programming contrast with the austerity of The Way Alone.

Home, Land and Sea has a very earthy quality and is predominantly an ensemble work of short phrases. The large cast draws on relentless repetition to comment on the routines of existence, and large screens with projections of weaving symbolise the interconnectedness between both people and the earth. This is ‘home’ and we journey through a ‘land’ of shifting grasses before the ‘sea’ slowly invades the screens. There are group tensions in the movement that remind us of a broken history, but ultimately, an island nation. Gestural movement and Māori movement motifs are used throughout to create strong unity with a distinctive sense of position here in Aotearoa. Shayne P Carter supports this with a pulsating and rich musical score.

Moss Te Ururangi Patterson directed and choreographed this work in partnership with the RNZB and New Zealand Dance Company, and they dance together in a powerful collaboration with a real passion for Home, Land and Sea. At a time when division is shaking the world, this is a strong statement of unity and cohesion.

Thank you.

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