Northland students 'excited' to share stage with Royal New Zealand Ballet

Oromahoe School students have been practicing hard for their upcoming performance, alongside the Royal New Zealand Ballet, at the Turner Centre in Kerikeri. Photo / Jenny Ling

Students of four Northland schools are more than a little excited about sharing the stage with the Royal New Zealand Ballet during a major performance later this month.

Up to 100 children from Oromahoe School, Bay of Islands International Academy, Kerikeri Primary, and Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Taumārere have been practicing their dance moves under the guidance of RNZB senior dance educator Lauren Byrne for a September 21 performance at the Turner Centre in Kerikeri.

The performance is part of the Upsurge Bay of Islands Arts festival and is expected to be one of the highlights of the programme.

During the first half of the evening, the Royal New Zealand Ballet will present The Autumn Ball, "a joyful dance through the seasons and cycles of life, full of tenderness, grace and floor-filling fun", created by RNZB choreographer in residence Sarah Foster-Sproull.

Immediately afterwards, students from the four schools, who are in Years 4 - 8, will present their own story through dance, music and movement.

Byrne said she has been working with the tamariki over the last two-and-a-half months to help them prepare for the unique performance.

She has been coaching participating students from each school over 10 sessions, before all schools gather for a dress rehearsal at the Turner Centre on Tuesday.

"Most of the students don't do dancing... so this is something a bit new," Byrne said.

"A lot of them have been to see performances at the Turner Centre, but not performed there."

Their contemporary dance tells the story of Kupe and the giant Wheke - a traditional tale of how Kupe discovered Aotearoa while pursuing a giant wheke (octopus) across the Pacific.

Coralie Byworth, CJ Stott and Alucius Schmitt, all aged 10, show off some of their moves ahead of their big performance. Photo / Jenny Ling

Bryne, who has been with the RNZB for three years, said though there are ballet movements in the performance, "it's not a ballet production".

"Each school represents a different scene in the story and interprets that through dance."

CJ Stott, 10, who practiced ballet at the age of two, said it's her first big performance, and though she was "a bit nervous", she was mostly excited.

Alucius Schmitt, also 10, has done a bit of dance with the local DDF dance studio, but that was mainly hip-hop.

"We're telling a story through dance," she said.

"It's really fun actually, doing all this dance."

Coralie Byworth, 10, has done ballet in the past and currently takes part in gymnastics.

"It's fun, I'm excited. I've performed on stage a lot by myself so I'm pretty confident."

Students have also created colourful artworks of the Kupe story, which will be projected on stage in between their dance sequences and will be accompanied by narration.