Get ready for a year of spellbinding drama, timeless wonder, and boundary-pushing artistry as the Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB) unveils its electrifying 2026 season! Kicking off with the world premiere of Alice Topp’s bold new Macbeth, this season explodes onto stages nationwide. From the family adventure of Dazzlehands to a triumphant Winter Season honouring trailblazing choreographers like Sir Frederick Ashton, and culminating in the revival of The Sleeping Beauty, RNZB’s 2026 programme is a dazzling celebration of innovation, heritage, and the raw power of dance.
RNZB’s 2026 season opens with the world premiere in February of Alice Topp’s Macbeth. A co-production with West Australian Ballet, and premiering as part of the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival and the Auckland Arts Festival, this bold and powerful new work places Macbeth at the centre of a volatile political and media world. Together with his formidable wife, Macbeth ascends
to dizzying heights of influence before their world unravels in a feverish spiral of ambition, guilt and bloodshed. Through the drama of dance, their descent is laid bare – an explosive portrayal of power gained and lost.
“Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s great tragedies, exploring themes as current today as they were when first written, says Topp. “An epic story fuelled by political ambition, passion, desire for power and the burden of guilt, its potency endures. Our Macbeth is set in a hierarchy-hungry, high-society city, where political storms, media frenzy, and personal ambition collide.”
Award-winning designer Jon Buswell, a long-time RNZB collaborator, will create both set and lighting, while Sydney-based Aleisa Jelbart, renowned for her costume designs across ballet, opera and theatre, will bring a bold, contemporary aesthetic to the stage. A major new ballet for Aotearoa, Macbeth, presented in association with Avis, promises to be a searing exploration of power and downfall, told through the expressive, electrifying artistry of the RNZB.
Connecting with communities and new generations is paramount to the RNZB and April sees the children’s ballet Dazzlehands return for a national tour. Based on the picture book by Wellington-based author/illustrator team Sacha Cotter and Josh Morgan, Dazzlehands is a rollicking, fun-filled tale that follows the escapades of the heroic Pig and his farmyard friends.
The Winter Season in July sees the RNZB celebrate the outstanding and inspirational contribution of artists from the past, present and future with three stunning works. At its heart is the New Zealand premiere of Birthday Offering created by Sir Frederick Ashton for 14 legendary dancers, led by Dame Margot Fonteyn, to mark The Royal Ballet’s 25th birthday in 1956. These performances are part of Ashton Worldwide 2024-28, a global celebration of the choreographer’s works and artistic legacy.
Two dynamic and powerful ballets make up the season; choreographer Sarah Foster-Sproull’s Ultra Folly, created in 2020 it is a vibrant reflection on the nature of isolation and human contact, along with Andrea Schermoly’s Stand to Reason, which was created for the women of the RNZB in 2018 as part of the 125th anniversary of women’s suffrage in New Zealand.
Here dancers channel the courage and conviction of the women who won the vote. ‘Ten Reasons Why The Women Of New Zealand Should Vote’, published in 1888, serves both as inspiration and a sobering reminder that democracy is hard-won and never to be taken for granted.
2026 closes with the grandest of finales – the much-loved fairytale The Sleeping Beauty which returns for the pre-Christmas season in October. Look out for a touch of wizardry from Wellington’s Wētā Workshop which will add to the magic of Greg Horsman’s classical choreography along with magnificent costumes and stunning set designs by production designer and ex-RNZB artistic director Gary Harris and the captivating music of Tchaikovsky performed by a live orchestra. Horsman’s production premiered in 2011 when over 42,000 people around New Zealand attended. 2026’s welcome revival of The Sleeping Beauty promises to build on this and be a truly spectacular and memorable outing for all.
The RNZB is an engine room for creative talent, creating space for artists to give expression to stories old and new. Whether it’s timeless classics, genre-defying international collaborations or performing for tamariki, everything they do across 2026 aims to spark wonder and excitement.
Tickets are on sale now. The full RNZB 2026 programme can be found at www.rnzb.org.nz
