Venezuelan Javier de Frutos, choreographer of the RNZB's award-winning Milagros (2003) and Banderillero (2006), creates a new piece inspired by the Pacific, The Anatomy of a Passing Cloud. De Frutos' 2007 West End production of Cabaret received an Olivier Award and his recent collaboration with Pet Shop Boys, The Most Incredible Thing, enjoyed two sell-out seasons at London's Sadler's Wells. He continues to challenge the boundaries between ballet, contemporary dance and musicals.

Royal New Zealand Ballet Artistic Director Ethan Stiefel creates his first original work, for the RNZB, Bier Halle; a spirited comedy set in a Bavarian beer hall. Expect laughter, Lederhosen and virtuoso technique as the whole company take up their steins and whirl away to the waltzes and polkas of Johann Strauss II.

Former RNZB dancer Andrew Simmons creates the eagerly-awaited new work Of Days, a follow-up to his haunting A Song in the Dark. A hit with audiences around New Zealand and in Europe, Simmons has been described by the UK's The Arts Desk as a "young mind drawn naturally to grace and understated expressiveness".

# In a nutshell: Boundry breaking ballet, whirling wonders, graceful expressiveness.

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