Giselle

Directed by :
Toa Fraser

The classic story of love, eroticism and death has been reinterpreted by Fraser to include both the on-stage performance of the ballet, and an off-stage romance – interwoven with the ballet – that tells of two itinerant dancers, separated by time, distance and their abiding love for each other.

Ethan Stiefel, RNZB Artistic Director and Johan Kobborg, internationally acclaimed Principal Dancer of London’s Royal Ballet co-choreographed the ballet. Prima Ballerina, Gillian Murphy, RNZB Principal Guest Artist and star of the American Ballet Theatre, dances the role of Giselle with acclaimed Chinese/New Zealand dancer Qi Huan playing Albrecht, giving a performance which has been gathering him critical acclaim around the world.

The filming of Giselle commenced in October/November 2012 in the lead up to the ballet’s seven-centre New Zealand tour and three-week tour of China. The film had its international premiere in the Contemporary World Cinema programme of the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.

Acclaimed New Zealand film director Toa Fraser (No.2, The Dead Lands) brings the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s performance of Giselle to the screen.