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Ballet has taken a big leap in popularity thanks to the success of Hollywood blockbuster Black Swan and local TV3 series The Secret Lives of Dancers.

It now looks to cement its fashionable following with the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s Stravinsky Selection, a winter season of dance featuring costumes by internationally recognised designer, Karen Walker.

The three-ballet Stravinsky Selection salutes the enduring influence of Igor Stravinsky. The 20th century composer revolutionised modern ballet with his groundbreaking collaborations with Pablo Picasso, Coco Chanel, Ballets Russes impresario Sergei Diaghilev and choreographer George Balanchine.

“Underscored by Stravinsky’s musical brilliance, these three vividly contrasting works span a century of extraordinary creativity. Passion, fashion and dazzling artistry; spend a night in our company and experience first-hand ballet’s genius for live spectacle,” says Matz Skoog, the company’s interim artistic director.

Walker lends her trademark style to the costumes in Satisfied with Great Success, a new ballet by expat dance star Cameron McMillan. Steeped in dance heritage, the line-up also features Petrouchka, a dramatic masterpiece created in 1911 for the Ballets Russes, lovingly restaged by Christchurch choreographer Russell Kerr; and Javier De Frutos’ Milagros, a powerfully modern retelling of The Rite of Spring, which earned the RNZB international awards attention following its 2003 premiere.

• Wellington: 20-22 May, St James Theatre. Featuring the Vector Wellington Orchestra.
• Auckland: 25-28 May, ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre, THE EDGE. Featuring the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.
• Napier: 31 May and 1 June, Napier Municipal Theatre.
• Invercargill: 8 and 9 June, Civic Theatre.
• Christchurch performances scheduled for 4 and 5 June have been cancelled due to the earthquake.