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Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20639, 30 January 1937, Page 14

The New Zealand season of the famous Colonel de Basil's Monte Carlo Ballet is announced to commence at Auckland on February 22 in fulfilment of the long-cherished ideal of Messrs J. C. Williamson and J. and N. Tait. ■ The company is at present in Sydney creating something of a sensation with its presentations of exquisite dance scenes to music by Chopin, Tschaikowsky, Schumann, Rossini, Stravinsky, Borodine, Weber, Greig, Glazounov, Scarlatti, Mozart, etc. The principals are men and women who have graced the stages of the world’s most notable houses; the ballet is, as a whole, a collection ol famous Terpslchorean exponents whose names have flashed in many countries. The lovely sylph-like forms of the female dancers and the stalwart males who partner them in the dance studies, present a sight that is never forgotten for the beauty and glamour of their ensembles and the wonderful pirouettes which they accomplish so gracefully. A total of 22 ballets are included in the company’s repertoire. The majority of the artists are Russian; there are a few British and American dancers in the ranks. The average age of the women is little more than 18. The ballets are staged on a magnificent scale, with costuming. scenery and lighting on a plane not seen since the days of Pavlova and Genee. They will be presented in New Zealand eactly as staged in the capitals of Europe.