The best thing about the Royal New Zealand Ballet's biennial travelling show is getting up close and personal with performances in smaller venues.
While some of the magic - fancy sets and other sophisticated accoutrements - are by necessity stripped away, there is a new appreciation to be had of the raw essentials: beautiful bodies displaying to perfection the minute muscular detail of their art.
In the first half of the 2013 vintage tour, five separate duets explore aspects of love in five very different choreographic voices. Taken separately, the excerpts from larger and longer works seem a little discombobulated. But as a composite programme they form an interesting smorgasbord of relationship studies.
First up is Flower Festival at Genzano, by Danish choreographer August Bournonville, made in 1858. Kohei Iwamoto catches perfectly the Bournonville style, with crisp, clean footwork, an elegant carriage and effortless leaps and jumps, prettily partnered by Mayu Tanigaito.
Then comes the Charlie pas de deux from Ihi Frenzy, Mark Baldwin's embodiment of Split Enz' rather dark tune. Beautiful couple Maree White and Loughlan Prior capture the tension of the original song with finesse and subtlety.
