GUESTS OF BALLET

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29803, 21 April 1962, Page 14

GUESTS OF BALLET

Husband And Wife (N2. Press Association) WELLINGTON. April 20. A husband and wife who will be guest stars with the New Zealand Ballet Company on its national tour this year will arrive in New Zealand in June.

They are Fredbjorn Bjornsson and Kirsten Ralov of the Royal Danish Ballet, the brother-in-law and sister of the New Zealand Ballet Company’s artistic director, Poul Gnatt. The New Zealand season of the ballet will open at Napier on July 7. Two programmes will be taken on tour by a company of 30 dancers plus the new concert orchestra of the Broadcasting Corporation. Major productions of the company will be “Napoli” and “Pavanne.” Kirsten Ralov will produce the former and Leigh Brewer will produce “Pavanne.” Miss Ralov will arrive on June 6 to get “Napoli” under way. Her husband will arrive . a fortnight later after a visit to Italy. Both have been soloists with the Royal Danish Ballet. The chairman of the New Zealand Ballet Trust (Sir John Allum) said today that plans for the 1962 ballet tour ensured that it would be a distinguished season. “The concert orchestra has been engaged for the full eight weeks of the tour and we will offer the best efforts of our guest artists, producers, and dancers to all the main centres of both islands,” he said.