After a successful tour of New Zealand last year, the Grand Kyiv Ballet of Ukraine is back in Ōamaru next month.

The ballet company is bringing a repeat performance of the well-received double bill of Forest Song and Don Quixote to the Ōamaru Opera House on Friday, June 7, after receiving standing ovations at every performance last year.

The Grand Kyiv Ballet was founded in 2014 by Artistic Director Oleksandr Stoianov, previously a principal dancer with the National Opera of Ukraine for a decade.

The company has toured extensively throughout the world and, from the first days of the war with Russia, performed charity tours in France, Sweden, Norway, South America, Poland and the USA, a statement said.

Ukrainian ballet is an integral part of the country’s culture, with Forest Song being a cultural showpiece. 

The professionalism of the artists allows them to perform high technical levels whilst portraying the positive and soulful emotions of the dance, the statement said.

Forest Song is a famous Ukrainian folk story combining magic alongside conflict between the human world and nature. It tells a tale of love between a fantastical forest creature and a man. 

Act II of the performance, Don Quixote, is a much-loved flamboyant and festive Spanish romantic comedy.

A scene from Don Quixote.