Rugby players take on ballet stars
03 Mar 2010
After witnessing a top Super 14 rugby team taking on the Royal New Zealand Ballet on the turf, Kiwis are wondering what's coming next in the rugby world.
All Blacks in tutus for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, maybe?
In the world of finely-tuned performers anything is possible, as members of the Royal New Zealand Ballet proved yesterday when they shared centre stage with the high profile Crusaders rugby team at a Christchurch training session.
Line-out lift
The Canterbury Super 14 team’s normal rugby training run took on a much lighter note when the ballet dancers joined in for some line-out lifts, speed and gym session.
The unusual sight took observers at Christchurch’s Rugby Park by surprise, and according to local newspaper The Press it could easily have been a scene from Beauty and the Beast.
In fact the workout came about because the dancers were in Christchurch for From Here to There the RNZB’s touring ballet which has just opened at the Isaac Theatre Royal.
Keen Crusaders
The Crusaders squad showed unprecedented enthusiasm when it came to line-out practice, and there was no shortage of volunteers to lift the lithe ballerinas.
Ballet stars Clytie Campbell and Katie Hurst-Saxton found themselves airlifted with ease, and even managed to nab some clean lineout ball.
Crusaders prop Wyatt Crockett said lifting the dancers was "a nice change" compared to "some of the big lumps I normally have to hoist".
The dancers were "certainly fine athletes," he said.
Tips for Dan Carter
All Blacks pivot Daniel Carter was given some stretching tips from Christchurch ballerina Lucy Balfour, and there seemed to be mutual admiration by both cast and team over levels of fitness.
Crusaders trainer Ashley Jones put the dancers through their paces and then challenged a bevy of backs and forwards, including All Blacks captain Richie McCaw, to some sprinting duels.
RNZB artistic director Gary Harris said his cast members trained up to eight hours a day before each new production and "rehearsed for around two hours every day as well as performing each night".
Eight dancers watched the Crusaders train and then joined them in speed and gym sessions.
The tables were turned when members of the Crusaders' squad got to watch the dancers in action at the opening night of the ballet which has received rave reviews since it began its touring season in Dunedin.
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