The Night before Christmas... follow a little girl's journey through the excitement and magic of Christmas Eve, an adventure in Toyland and her journey to the North Pole to visit Santa and his Elves.

This show promises all the excitement and magic of Christmas and is suitable for all ages. Told through the medium of ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, cheerleading, hip hop and Irish dance, singing and drama performed by the students of the ASTAR Academy of the Arts.

Nelson's close links with its sister cities in China will be celebrated during this year's China Week, from 6 - 11 November.

Coinciding with New Zealand's Chinese Language Week, the event will once again bring together an exciting array of activities, exhibitions, performances and business talks to celebrate and promote cross-cultural relationships and connectivity.

Our Night of Music & Theatre celebrates the talents of the Minzhu Road and Guiya Road Primary Schools both visiting Nelson from China and guest artists.

Rebecca Bignall Boutique Dance Company will perform Excerpts from The Sleeping Beauty - a Tchaikovsky Ballet first performed in 1890. Sleeping Beauty is a classic fairy tale which involves a beautiful princess (Aurora), a sleeping enchantment, and a handsome prince. A world of romance, wonder and imperial grandeur. Gleaming with colour and fairies and story-book charm, this showcase the talents of the entire Boutique Company and brings this fairy tale to life on stage.

The Company will also showcase their award winning Contemporary/Jazz pieces.

Ballet Director Louise Hawke presents The Ballet Arts Company & Sir Jon Trimmer in "Alice" - A Ballet Wonderland Dream for All with Sir Jon Trimmer as Lewis Carroll, Laeticia Austin as Alice, Andre the Illusionist and Adriana Harper (Royal NZ Ballet).

An imaginative new ballet, a favorite childhood dream. A curious ballet experience for all your family to enjoy!

Sold Out Performances in 2015 and 2016. Three shows only!

If you enjoyed "Tchaikovsky" and "Aurora's Wedding" you'll love"Alice".

Art Image by Shu.
See more art http://shu-littlebit.com/

Following 2017 sell-out performances of Swan Lake, Moscow Ballet la Classique returns to New Zealand to present the jewel of classical ballet, Tchaikovsky's spectacular masterpiece The Nutcracker

La Classique was founded in 1990 by its current director Elik Melikov. La Classique with its artistic ballet mastery, lavish costumes and magnificent stage sets will take us on a journey back in time to the frost-covered, gas lit world of Clara, her beloved Nutcracker doll and the magician Drosselmeyer.

This romantic tale with its blend of magic and realism brings to life the popular Tchaikovsky score featuring the famous "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" and "The Waltz of the Flowers."

The greatest success of Russian theatre is undoubtedly Classical ballet.

With this delightful production of the much loved Nutcracker, la Classique captures the imagination, the passion, the humour and magic of the

"is the dream for real . . . or is it just a fairytale"

From the critics

As sweet as a nut, it doesn't get much better than this - Jersey Evening Post

Gloriously traditional production that captures all of the fairytale enchantment and beauty one could wish for - Manawatu Standard

you do not have to be a ballerina to love this lavish performance and lush music which magically brings to life one of our most loved tales - Bop Times

The Moscow Ballet la Classique's 'The Nutcracker' with its stunning sets, costumes and dancers was truly magical to watch - Waikato Times

A double-bill of exceptional new dance work from Footnote New Zealand Dance, CONTRAST is the combination of two distinct choreographic voices, Sarah Foster-Sproull (Auckland, New Zealand) and Emma Murray (Bern, Switzerland).

Sarah Foster-Sproull's Super Ornate Construct invites you into a cut out world. A man stands alone with his thoughts while carefully placed scenes morph around him. With musical composition by Andrew Foster, this energetic new work vibrates with rich imagery and original sound.

Melding, merging, blurring. In Participation Murray considers how we are built up and subsequently undone by those around us. Swiss sound designer, Till Hillbrecht, provides a musical backdrop to this exploration of first encounters and layered identities.

Award winning studio Empire Dance Company is excited to bring a collaboration of cutting edge choreography, technique, talent and performance to Nelson in their dance show #LETSGO.

#LETSGO will transcend the audience with dancing, singing and acting in a wide variety of dance genres. Showcasing local talent and leading performers we will bring Classical Classics to 2k17 Modern pieces.

There is something in this show for everyone, #LETSGO THE EMPIRE DANCE COMPANY SHOW

Momentum Productions and Malia Johnston from Movement of the Human, in association with Tempo Dance Festival.

CUDO (Latin): to beat, strike or forge
An exciting mixture of urban beats, mechanical movement, AV and sound technology.

CUDO takes urban contemporary dance and enhances it with sound and visuals to draw the audience into the minds of beat makers and beat breakers. The cast creates and reacts to live music production made with tap-dancing feet and percussive bodies.

Manipulated real-time graphic visuals allow the cast to expand on choreographic concepts. Acrobatic, robotic and liquid hip-hop hybrid movement push the boundaries and explore the vast possibilities of bodies in space and time.

This electrifying new work features some of NZ's top urban and contemporary dancers, including members of the internationally acclaimed hip-hop crew, IDentity Dance Company, the Cesan Brothers and Matthew Moore.

"A fabulous unrelenting onslaught of high energy music and dance... These guys are a must see." THEATREVIEW

Awards
IDentity Dance Company - World Champions, 2015 & 2016 World Hip Hop Championships

Created by Momentum Productions who brought Out of the Box to the 2015 Festival; and Malia Johnston (Meremere, Rushes and World of WearableArt).

Vast Dance Festival celebrates the combined talents of high school students in the "Top of the South" region.

The annual performance showcases students from Waimea College, Nayland College, Garin College, Motueka High School, Marlborough College for Girls, Marlborough College for Boys, Nelson College and Nelson College for Girls.

The objectives of Vast Dance Festival are to:
- Provide opportunities for high school students to perform in a professional environment
- Celebrate the wide range of styles taught in our region
- Provide a platform for student choreographers to share their work
- Give students practical experience with lighting, front of house, design and stage management responsibilities

For more information visit http://www.vast.org.nz or Email [email protected]

The curtain rises on our brand-new original show Dance Explosion on August 3 with performances until Sat August 5!

Our talented cast of pupils will entertain audiences with dancing in a wide variety of genres including modern, street dance, lyrical, jazz and musical theatre. From West End showstoppers to modern day melodies - there's something to suit everyone in this year's annual concert performances.

We know you are going to love Dance Explosion!