A breathtaking gala evening is promised as acclaimed dance group BalletBoyz – now based in Kingston – stage their first show at the Rose Theatre. NAZIA DEWJI reports

Internationally-acclaimed ballet dancers will swirl and pirouette across the Rose Theatre stage to mark a grand arrival to their new home next month.

BalletBoyz will be putting on a breathtaking gala evening filled with routines in what promises to be a night of dance specifically tailored for the Kingston audience.

This will be the first performance in the borough by the all male dancing troupe that moved into a Canbury Park Road studio about six months ago after years at their central London base.

The gala performance will feature backstage film footage of the BalletBoyz over the years as well as a return to the stage of the original founders and artistic directors Michael Nunn and William Trevitt, who have not danced together for at least four years.

They will perform an extract from the first piece they danced to as BalletBoyz in 2001.

Kerry Whelan, executive director of BalletBoyz, says: “It will be an exciting programme with lots of variety and, we hope, a celebratory tone.

“The company has achieved much over the last 12 years and we look forward to the next 12, as proud residents of Kingston.”

The show will celebrate the dance company with excerpts of works commissioned by famed choreographers such as Russell Maliphant, Christopher Wheeldon, Liv Lorent, Paul Roberts, Jarek Cemerek and Liam Scarlett.

Singer and songwriter Keaton Henson will also sing live during the ballet. Whelan says: “We have not performed at the Rose before and because of the nature and shape of the stage there are some challenges for presenting dance.

"It is not ideally suited to the dance we do – they would be the first to say that.

"However, we are always up for a challenge and the Rose is a great space – big stage but intimate auditorium – and we are looking forward to creating a show. It will be a great night."
 

A spokesman from the Rose Theatre said: “A company as renowned as BalletBoyz is a real asset for the arts in Kingston and we are really pleased they are marking their arrival with an exclusive gala evening at the Rose."

The BalletBoyz will also be launching a boot camp in August for teenagers and also intensive courses in ballet and contemporary dance for adults.

BalletBoyz; Rose Theatre, 24-26 High Street, Kingston; Saturday, June 22; 7.30pm; £25; Visit rosetheatre kingston.org or call 08444 821556.