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Most people think of a supermodel when they hear "leggy, blonde bombshell" and "Giselle" in the same sentence.
But in the dance world, the praise is directed at prima ballerina Irina Kolesnikova. The 27-year-old star is part of Russia's renowned St Petersburg Ballet Theatre company, which is coming to New Zealand in July. The 55 dancers and 47-piece orchestra will perform the full-length production of Giselle at Auckland's Civic Theatre from August 7-11. Giselle will also be staged in Wellington and Christchurch.
The classical ballet was first performed in France at the Paris Opera in 1841 and remains a benchmark for ballerinas.
The ballet company, which was last here with a sell-out national tour in 2000, will perform Swan Lake in Hamilton, Hastings and Wanganui.
Tickets on sale on Monday through TicketDirect.
