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Production Notes

GISELLE

GENERAL FILM CORPORATION IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE NEW ZEALAND FILM COMMISSION; THE ROYAL NEW ZEALAND BALLET AND DIGIPOST PRESENTS A MATTHEW METCALFE PRODUCTION; A TOA FRASER FILM

“GISELLE”

ORIGINAL ROYAL NEW ZEALAND BALLET PRODUCTION OF GISELLE PRODUCED BY JOHAN KOBBORG AND ETHAN STIEFEL SET DESIGNER HOWARD C JONES

COSTUME DESIGNER NATALIA STEWART LIGHTING DESIGNER KENDALL SMITH

CONDUCTOR MICHAEL LLOYD PERFORMED BY THE AUCKLAND PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA GISELLE BY JULES-HENRI VERNOY DE SAINT-GEORGES AND THÈOPHILE GAUTIER

MUSIC BY ADOLPHE ADAM

EDITOR DAN KIRCHER LINE PRODUCER CATHERINE MADIGAN DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY LEON NARBEY CHOREOGRAPHY BY JOHAN KOBBORG AND

ETHAN STIEFEL (AFTER MARIUS PETIPA) PRODUCED BY MATTHEW METCALFE DIRECTED BY TOA FRASER

For further information contact Unit Publicist: Diana Goulding, Make a Splash PR. Ph: + 64 9 480 4818 Mob: + 64 (0) 21 331 103 E: diana@makeasplash.co.nz

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CONTENTS

List of Cast and Key Crew 3

Synopsis 4

About the Film (in brief) 5

Leaping from Stage to Screen 6

Matthew Metcalfe – Producer 9

Toa Fraser – Director 11

Leon Narbey – Director of Photography 13

Giselle – The Royal New Zealand Ballet’s Stage Production 14

Ethan Steifel – Artistic Director and Choreographer for Giselle (RNZB) 15

Johan Kobborg – Choreographer for Giselle (RNZB) 16

Gillian Murphy – ‘Giselle’ (RNZB Principal Guest Dancer) 17

Qi Huan – ‘Albrecht’ (RNZB Principal Dancer) 17

About the Royal New Zealand Ballet 18

About New Zealand Film Commission 18

Film Credit Information 19

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GISELLE - Cast and Key Crew

CORE CAST

ROLE DANCER GISELLE Gillian Murphy

ALBRECHT Qi Huan MYRTHA Abigail Boyle

HILARION Jacob Chown WILFRID Maclean Hopper

WEDDING LADY /MOYNA Lucy Green WEDDING MAN Medhi Angot

BERTHE Lucy Balfour BATHILDE Clytie Campbell THE DUKE Sir Jon Trimmer

RIDING MASTER Brendan Bradshaw ZULMA Mayu Tanigaito

KEY CREW TITLE NAME

DIRECTOR Toa Fraser PRODUCER Matthew Metcalfe

CHOREOGRAPHY BY Johan Kobborg & Ethan Stiefel (after Marius Petipa)

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Leon Narbey LINE PRODUCER Catherine Madigan

EDITOR Dan Kircher ORIGINAL ROYAL NEW ZEALAND BALLET PRODUCTION OF GISELLE PRODUCED BY

Johan Kobborg and Ethan Stiefel

ORIGINAL ROYAL NEW ZEALAND BALLET PRODUCTION OF GISELLE SET DESIGNER

Howard C Jones

ORIGINAL ROYAL NEW ZEALAND BALLET PRODUCTION OF GISELLE COSTUME

DESIGNER

Natalia Steward

ORIGINAL ROYAL NEW ZEALAND BALLET PRODUCTION OF GISELLE LIGHTING

DESIGNER

Kendall Smith

ORIGINAL ROYAL NEW ZEALAND BALLET PRODUCTION OF GISELLE CONDUCTOR

Michael Lloyd

GISELLE BY Jules-Henri Vernoy De Saint-Georges and Théophile Gautier

GISELLE MUSIC BY Adolphe Adam ORIGINAL ROYAL NEW ZEALAND BALLET PRODUCTION OF GISELLE PERFORMED BY THE

AUCKLAND PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA 1st ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Simon Ambridge

MAKE UP DESIGNER Amber D POST PRODUCTION Digipost

DIGIPOST POST PRODUCER Roger Grant DIGITAL COLOURIST Pete Williams

MUSIC EDITOR AND SOUND DESIGNER Bruno Barrett-Garnier

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GISELLE - Synopsis

GISELLE is acclaimed director Toa Fraser's interpretation of the Royal New Zealand Ballet's

production of Giselle. The classic story of love, erotism and death has been reinterpreted by

Fraser to include both the on stage performance of the ballet, and an off-stage romance -

interwoven with the ballet - that tells of two itinerant dancers, separated by time, distance

and their abiding love for each other.

In the first act, Giselle, a delicate village beauty, loves to dance. Albrecht, a prince disguised

as a commoner, is entranced and woos her away from her devoted suitor. They fall in love,

but before he has the chance to disentangle himself from an inconvenient betrothal his

perfidy is revealed.

The second act sees the consequences of the princes actions revealed. His actions have led

him to world ruled by the Wilis, a corps de ballet of wraiths – spirits of women jilted at the

altar, who take revenge on feckless men by forcing them to dance until they die.

Toa Fraser has worked with Ethan Stiefel and Johan Kobborg’s staging and choreography to

pare back the traditional elaborations and restore psychological directness to the

relationships. These are perfectly expressed by a peerless set of dancers, principally Gillian

Murphy as Giselle and Qi Huan as Albrecht.

The off stage performances take place within a real-world frame: we see Murphy in New

York and her partner Huan in Shanghai – wistful, melancholic dancers separated not by

death but by distance. When we break from the stage to see them rehearsing the pivotal

second act pas de deux, the effect is electric, as if they are reunited at last, in secret,

unobserved.

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About the Film – in brief

GISELLE is a Matthew Metcalfe Production of a Toa Fraser Film. The world premiere was

held in the opening weekend of the New Zealand International Film Festival in July 2013.

Production began in late 2012 in the lead up to the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s (RNZB) 7-

city tour of New Zealand, and later during the RNZB’s appearance in Shanghai as part of the

ballet company’s 3-week tour of China. Cinematographer Leon Narbey served as Director

of Photography.

Choreography for the RNZB’s production of Giselle was created by RNZB Artistic Director

Ethan Stiefel and the former Royal Ballet’s principal dancer Johan Kobborg.

Live performances, featuring a score performed by the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra,

were filmed using five cameras, over two nights in the ASB Theatre auditorium of the Aotea

Centre in Auckland, New Zealand. A further four days of filming followed at the St James

Theatre in Wellington, New Zealand.

The film sequences of the two lovers within the real-world settings were filmed in New

York City and the Catskills region of New York in the USA and in Shanghai, China. An

original track, When The Trumpets Sound, was written and recorded for the film by New

Zealand acclaimed musician Don McGlashan.

The film is collaboration between General Film Corporation, the Royal New Zealand Ballet

and the New Zealand Film Commission.

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GISELLE – leaping from stage to screen

Matthew Metcalfe has produced several successful, award-winning and diverse feature films

and documentaries during his 20-year career, including the romantic comedy LOVE BIRDS

(starring Rhys Darby and Sally Hawkins), the period drama DEAN SPANLEY (starring Peter

O’Toole, Sam Neill, Bryan Brown and Jeremy Northam), a TV series AIR FORCE, and the

soon to be released feature BEYOND THE EDGE which follows Edmund Hillary and

Tenzing Norgay’s historic ascent of Mt Everest.

“I look for something I find genuinely and sincerely interesting at both a professional and

artistic level,” Matthew said “as a Producer I’m an appreciator of all art forms and ballet was

one that I admired from afar.” The producer admits that he knew very little about ballet

before making GISELLE; “I understood ballet to be a great and revered art form and I was

attracted to making a film in the medium.”

Matthew Metcalfe and Toa Fraser had successfully collaborated previously as producer and

director on the critically acclaimed feature film DEAN SPANLEY. When Matthew

approached Toa with his idea for a ballet movie, it was very positively received.

“Working with Toa on DEAN SPANLEY was a great privilege and a really rewarding

experience. I respect Toa’s work as an artist and I knew I wanted someone who would

bring an artist’s sensibility to this project. So when I approached Toa and asked him if he

was interested, to my delight he said yes!”

Toa said, “After DEAN SPANLEY, Matthew and I went out and did our own projects for a

couple of years. As it happens I was looking to do something with some athleticism and so

when Matthew’s call came through it was one of those fantastic coincidences.”

“Matthew came to me with real generosity and grace,” Toa said, “he basically said here’s

some money to make a ballet film and it can be whatever you want. The parameters were

both broad and narrow at the same time.”

The film could have been a ‘fly on the wall’ style of documentary but Toa was aware that a

lot of material like that already existed in the film world. Even the Royal New Zealand Ballet

(RNZB) had recently been featured in a popular New Zealand television series “The Secret

Lives of Dancers” (TV3).

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Matthew and Toa had considered the RNZB’s production of Cinderella for a time but due to

the timetable they chose GISELLE instead. At this stage the filmmakers weren’t fully aware

of just how fantastic the RNZB’s production values for GISELLE were going to be.*

Toa was most interested in doing something poetic and cinematic, “I wanted to find a

contemporary relevance and a personal relevance,” he said “and my way into that was

witnessing Gillian (Giselle) and Qi (Albrecht) in rehearsal and noticing how beautiful their

performances were ‘close up’.”

For the playwright turned screenwriter and director, being present at the ballet company’s

rehearsals was a great privilege, “with my background in theatre I’m very comfortable in a

rehearsal environment, however I felt particularly privileged to sneak into a love scene

rehearsal between Giselle and Albrecht. I was really surprised; I had imagined that there

would be a point at which ballet stopped ‘working’ when you got closer but instead I found

the artists vulnerability and their emotions were incredibly powerful.”

Toa was inspired and found the key idea for his film, beyond the stage, by taking the classical

story of Giselle and Albrecht as two lovers destined to never be together and taking them

into a different time and space, separating them through distance.

Toa and Leon Narbey, one of New Zealand’s most talented and experienced Directors of

Photography, trekked the world filming on location in Shanghai and in the USA. Previously

Leon had lensed Toa Fraser’s first two feature films, the award winning movies No. 2

(known as Naming Number Two in some territories) and DEAN SPANLEY.

“Working with Leon again was an opportunity to take our collaboration to the next level. It

was great fun.” Toa said.

Toa is a big fan of Martin Scorsese’s film THE LAST WALTZ and the way they covered that

show by using several cameras and some amazing cinematographers. “Leon and I channeled

our inner ‘rock ‘n’ roll’, but unlike rock and roll which is loud, this was the ballet and we had

to be silent.” Live performances, featuring the RNZB and a score performed by the

Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra, were filmed using five cameras, over two nights in the

ASB Theatre auditorium of the Aotea Centre in Auckland, New Zealand. A further four

days of filming followed at the St James Theatre in Wellington, New Zealand, Shanghai,

China, New York City and the Catskills in New York State.

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In this film there is no dialogue “from beginning to end this film is very much inspired by

what the Royal New Zealand Ballet are doing on stage – the music, the movement and the

emotion on stage does all the story-telling for you,“ Toa said.

“Adding a few cinematic and poetic devices, our aim was to create something that honours

the Royal New Zealand Ballet. For me, Leon’s images of the show itself are incredibly

beautiful.”

* Johan Kobborg and Ethan Stiefel’s production of Giselle in 2012, for the Royal New Zealand Ballet, has

become famous as one of the company’s most acclaimed shows ever. In a guesting role with the RNZB,

performing the part of Giselle, was American Ballet Theatre’s Principal Dancer Gillian Murphy, one of the

worlds’ most acclaimed primaballerinas. Gillian, together with Qi Huan as Albrecht and the stunning sets,

costume and lighting design, were all gifts for the filmmakers. The production received rave reviews in the

New Zealand and Australian media as well as much acclaim during the company’s 3-week tour through

China.

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MATTHEW METCALFE – Producer

Matthew Metcalfe is one of New Zealand’s most prolific and internationally successful

producers, whose films have been nominated for thirty New Zealand Film Awards with

thirteen wins, while also being long-listed for two BAFTA awards and being nominated for a

London Critics Circle Award. Matthew also received a Tui Award at the 2002 NZ Music

Awards.

In September 2013, Matthew will have two features at the prestigious Toronto International

Film Festival with BEYOND THE EDGE and GISELLE – a first for a producer from New

Zealand.

He was the first producer to carry out a tri-partite, or three way co-production, between New

Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom with the US funded feature film, NEMESIS GAME.

Produced in association with Lions Gate, NEMESIS GAME has sold to over 30 territories

including the US, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Australia and most of Asia.

Matthew has also produced two theatrically released short films and was an Executive Producer

on New Zealand’s only short in competition at Cannes 2005.

In 2006 Matthew produced his second feature film, THE FERRYMAN, a NZD6.5 million co-

production between New Zealand and the United Kingdom and starring John Rhys Davies and

Kerry Fox. THE FERRYMAN has sold to over 30 territories including the United States and the

United Kingdom.

In 2008 Matthew produced DEAN SPANLEY, a NZD15 million co-production between New

Zealand and the United Kingdom that starred Peter O’Toole, Bryan Brown and Sam Neill.

Released domestically by Paramount, the film was nominated for thirteen New Zealand Film

Awards and won seven. It was long-listed for two BAFTA awards, nominated for London Critics

Circle award and was released in the United States by Miramax.

In 2010 Matthew produced LOVE BIRDS, a NZD10 million romantic comedy starring Rhys

Darby (FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS) and Golden Globe-winner Sally Hawkins (HAPPY GO

LUCKY). The film opened at number two at the New Zealand box office and had over 55,000

paid admissions locally. It has sold to numerous overseas territories including Italy, Germany,

Australia, the United Kingdom and North America. In New Zealand it was nominated for five

AFTA awards. International sales are being handled by Icon.

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Matthew was also co-producer of the German ZDF mini-series, BIRD OF PARADISE and

associate producer on the ZDF tele-feature THE DREAMBOAT. In 2008 Matthew successfully

worked with Polyphon Films in Germany to create, finance and produce the EMILIE RICHARDS

series for German network ZDF. Regularly drawing an audience in excess of seven million

viewers, EMILIE RICHARDS has become a smash hit in Europe and has contributed enormously

to the Kiwi brand via its positive portrayal of New Zealand as a travel destination.

Other production credits include over 37 local and international music videos for acts such as

POWDERFINGER, SHIHAD, SLAYER, ESKIMO JOE, CHE FU, HAYLEY WESTENRA and

STERIOGRAM.

TV credits include producing and writing the top rating prime time series for TV One, AIR

FORCE, the TV 3 series STERIOGRAM – WHITE TRASH TO ROCK GODS and the US MTV

Special SLAYER - LIVE IN AUSTRALIA.

Matthew also produced and appeared in the top rating TVNZ documentary VIETNAM – MY

FATHERS WAR and the groundbreaking TV3 documentary for Inside New Zealand, SOLDIERS

OF FORTUNE.

Matthew holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of Auckland and an

Advanced Diploma in English History from the University of Oxford.

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TOA FRASER – Director

The son of a British mother and Fijian father, Toa Fraser was born in London in 1975, and

moved to Auckland with his family in 1989. Movie-mad since childhood, at the age of 12 Toa

wrote to the producers of the James Bond movies, asking for permission to make a Bond film of

his own. The lawyers were not keen.. Later he spent four years as a cinema usher and began

acting and writing plays while studying at Auckland University.

Toa’s career proved a stellar one from early on. In 1998 he picked up awards for Best New Play

(for Bare) and Best New Playwright at the Chapman Tripp theatre awards. The two-hander saw

Ian Hughes and Madeleine Sami playing an array of 15 characters. Metro called it "an instant

classic". In 1999 he won the Sunday Star Times Bruce Mason Award; the award recognises the

success of emerging New Zealand playwrights.

It was Toa’s second play, No.2 (1999) that catapulted him (and Sami) to fame, winning the Festival

First Award at the 2000 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, alongside performances in Europe, Canada,

Jamaica and Fiji. Set over the course of one day, as an elderly Fijian matriarch demands a family

feast so she can choose her successor, the play saw Sami playing every role,

In 2000, Toa worked for a year with director Vincent Ward on the screenplay for RIVER

QUEEN. His involvement largely ended at a (lauded) early draft of the film. Of the experience,

Toa said, "It was really intense, a real challenge to work with someone of Vincent's level of

expertise and commitment. He works very, very hard."

In the same period, Toa co-wrote a one-hour TV drama STAUNCH, working with director

Keith Hunter. The play follows a young Māori woman (Once Were Warriors' Mamaengaroa Kerr-

Bell) defending herself against an unfair police prosecution, with the help of a friendly social

worker.

In 2001, Toa was awarded the University of South Pacific's Writer in Residence Fellowship.

Whilst in Fiji he began work on the film adaptation of No. 2, a process that would take four

years and an estimated 20 drafts.

Toa had never directed a play or film before but was determined to direct No. 2, partly "out of a

sense of responsibility to the Pacific community" — particularly the working class suburb of

Mount Roskill, where most of the film was shot. Toa told Lumiere writer Catherine Bisley that

"the film is a really specific tale about community in a way that a piece of theatre couldn't be". He

directed the video for the films hit song Bathe in the River at the Mt Roskill house of an Aunt and

Uncle.

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When No. 2 debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006, it won the Audience Award (World

Cinema Dramatic) and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. Retitled Naming Number Two in

some territories, the film won selection in the Panorama section of the Berlin Film Festival and

won the Audience award at the Brisbane International Film Festival. Ruby Dee, the American

actress who played family matriarch Nanna Maria, was awarded Best Actress at a festival in the

United States. At the 2006 New Zealand Screen Awards No. 2 was nominated in 12 categories,

including best film and best director, and won four awards, three of them for performance.

In 2008, Toa directed his multi award-winning second feature, DEAN SPANLEY. A whimsical tale

of fathers, sons, dogs, and other lives set in Edwardian England, it received a number of rave

reviews, GQ magazine naming it their film of the year. The screenplay was written by Scotsman

Alan Sharp, working from the novella My Talks with Dean Spanley by Brit Edward Plunkett (also

known as Lord Dunsany). The film starred Sam Neill, Brit Jeremy Northam and Lawrence of

Arabia legend Peter O'Toole. It premiered at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival and was released in

New Zealand the following year.

DEAN SPANLEY was nominated for 12 awards at the 2009 Qantas Film and Television Awards.

It went on to win seven, including best director, best film costing more than $1 million, best

screenplay, and best supporting actor (Peter O'Toole).

Toa’s latest big-screen project marks another dramatic change of scene — from roasting pigs, to

talking dogs ... to deadly dancers. Feature film GISELLE is drawn from the 2012/13 Royal New

Zealand Ballet production of the classic ballet. Toa told The Dominion Post that his retelling of the

story "will move in and out of the theatre, through time and space". GISELLE has been selected

to have its word premiere at the New Zealand International Film festival and its international

premiere at the Toronto Film Festival.

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LEON NARBEY – Director of Photography

Leon Narbey is one of New Zealand's most acclaimed directors of photography, with credit

including WHALE RIDER and DEAN SPANLEY.

In 2006 Leon was Director of Photography for Toa Fraser’s critically acclaimed award-

winning feature film No. 2 (also known as NAMING NUMBER TWO in some territories).

Leon lectured in sculpture and mixed media at Canterbury University and helped establish

the Christchurch branch of filmmaking co-op Alternative Cinema.

Leon shot Geoff Steven’s documentary TE MATAKITE O AOTEAROA, which documents

the 1975 Māori land hikoi led by Whina Cooper. In 1977 he left the state broadcaster to

work with Steven on a series of films for New Zealand Railways. In this period he was also

working on a number of documentaries with Merata Mita and Gerd Pohlmann, including the

seminal BASTION POINT – DAY 507, which helped establish Leon’s reputation for being

able to film in demanding situations.

Leon went on to direct the feature films ILLUSTRIOUS ENERGY (1987) and THE

FOOTSTEP MAN (1992), both of which he co-wrote with Martin Edmond.

Much acclaimed, ILLUSTRIOUS ENERGY provides a poetic evocation of the Chinese settler

experience in the Central Otago landscape during the Gold Rush. The film won eight

national and two international awards. In 1993, Leon won the Best Cinematography Award

at the NZ Film Awards for his stylish work on melodrama DESPARATE REMEDIES. He

later won other NZ Film Awards for Harry Sinclair’s THE PRICE OF MILK and Toa Fraser’s

second feature film DEAN SPANLEY, starring Peter O’Toole. He was also Director of

Photography on the 2002 international Award-Winning movie WHALE RIDER, directed by

Niki Caro.

Leon’s other Director Of Photography credits include the feature PERFECT CREATURE,

the Topp Twins documentary directed by Leanne Pooley TOPP TWINS: UNTOUCHABLE

GIRLS and the highly acclaimed Samoan language feature THE ORATOR.

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GISELLE – The Royal New Zealand Ballet’s Stage Production

In 2012, a new staging of the quintessential ballet, Giselle, was co-produced by Ethan Stiefel

and Johan Kobborg, the internationally acclaimed principal dancer of the Royal Ballet. Gillian

Murphy, RNZB Principal Guest Artist and star of American Ballet Theatre, danced Giselle,

one of the most dramatic roles in the classical ballet repertoire.

Disguise and revelation, love and jealousy combine in this tragic tale. A love story unfolds

against the ghostly backdrop of a Rhineland forest, haunted by the fearful presence of the

Wilis – vengeful spirits of abandoned brides. The beautiful peasant girl, Giselle, falls for

Albrecht who conceals his identity to win her. The discovery of her lover's deception

shatters Giselle's innocence and causes her to die of a broken heart. Albrecht is thrown into

the hands of the merciless Wilis, but Giselle cannot bear to watch him die and returns as a

ghost to save him.

Giselle is the most dramatic and beautiful of ballets and RNZB's brand new production was a

highly acclaimed must-see show that was staged in New Zealand in late 2012, and then on a

tour of China in 2013.

Production Johan Kobborg and Ethan Stiefel

Choreography Johan Kobborg and Ethan Stiefel (after Marius Petipa)

Set Design Howard Jones

Costume Design Natalia Stewart

Lighting Design Kendall Smith

Conductor Michael Lloyd

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ETHAN STIEFEL – GISELLE Producer and Choreographer

Ethan Stiefel is the RNZB’s Artistic Director. Born in Pennsylvania, USA, he joined the

RNZB as Artistic Director in September 2011. Prior to joining RNZB, he served as Dean of

the School of Dance at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

A Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre, Ethan began his dance studies in Madison,

Wisconsin. His early teachers included Paul Sutherland, Ted Kivitt and Marcia Dale Weary.

He was awarded a full scholarship at the School of American Ballet, where he studied under

Stanley Williams and then studied with Mikhail Baryshnikov at his School of Classical Ballet.

Ethan began his professional career at age 16 with the New York City Ballet where he

quickly rose to the rank of Principal Dancer. He was also a Principal Dancer with the Zürich

Ballet and joined American Ballet Theatre in 1997. His repertoire of full-length works

includes Florimund (The Sleeping Beauty) Siegfried (Swan Lake), Romeo (Romeo and Juliet),

Albrecht (Giselle), Lescaut (Manon), Lenski (Onegin), Jeanne (Raymonda), Colas (La Fille Mal

Gardee), Solor (La Bayadere), Oberon (A Midsummer Night's Dream), Cassio (Othello), Basilio

(Don Quixote), Franz (Coppelia), Conrad and the Slave (Le Corsaire). He has appeared in a

wide variety of shorter works, including ballets by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins,

Michel Fokine, William Forsythe, Lar Lubovitch, Nils Christe, Paul Taylor, Mark Morris, Jiri

Kylian, August Bournonville, Bob Fosse, Antony Tudor. He made his debut with London's

Royal Ballet in Twyla Tharp's Junk Man pas de deux and returned frequently as a guest

dancing the roles of Franz, Solor, Colas, Albrecht, Lenski; and the Prince in a new

production of Sleeping Beauty and In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated by William Forsythe. The

Mariinsky Ballet (Kirov) first invited him to dance Apollo in St. Petersburg and he later

returned performing the role of Solor. Other guest appearances include the Australian

Ballet, Zürich Ballet, Munich Ballet, Hamburg Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada, Teatro

Colon, and tours in the United States, Japan, Russia and throughout Europe.

He starred in the feature film CENTRE STAGE, and returned to play the role of Cooper

Nielsen in CENTRE STAGE 2 – TURN IT UP. Ethan’s television and video credits include

THE DREAM, LE CORSAIRE, DIE FLEDERMAUS and the documentary BORN TO BE

WILD.

Ethan has been a guest teacher for many institutions including the American Ballet Theatre

II, American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, The National Ballet of

Canada and The Royal Ballet School. He recently staged and choreographed a new version

of The Nutcracker for UNCSA.

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He has received several awards throughout his career. In 1999, His Royal Highness Crown

Prince Albert of Monaco presented Ethan with the Statue Award of the Princess Grace

Foundation, the foundation’s highest honour; and he received the prestigious Dance

Magazine Award in December 2008. Additionally, Ethan was a juror for the Prix de Lausanne

in 2001 and served on the selection committee for the 2010 International Ballet

Competition held in Jackson, Mississippi.

JOHAN KOBBORG – GISELLE Producer and Choreographer

Johan was born in Odense, Denmark, to an artistic family. During his childhood he

performed in numerous plays, musicals, TV series and travelled extensively throughout

Europe as a classically trained singer. In 1988 at the age of 16, he entered the Royal Danish

Ballet, where he was tutored in the Bournonville method of classical dance. After graduating

in 1991, he soon joined the Royal Danish Ballet full-time. In 1994, he was promoted to

Principal Dancer after his debut as James in La Sylphide and went on to dance many leading

parts in the Danish repertoire including The Nutcracker and Cinderella, Romeo, Albercht,

Rudolf and Prince Florimund, and more.

Johan joined the Royal Ballet in England in 1999 after having performed with the company as

a guest artist. While a member of the Royal Ballet he also performed as a guest artist with

various companies worldwide including the Mariinsky Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, La Scala Ballet,

National Ballet of Canada, Hamburg Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Vienna State Opera Ballet and

Teatro San Carlo, Naples.

A major highlight of Johan’s career has been his partnership with the Romanian ballerina

Alina Cojocaru. Johan and Alina have been named one of the greatest partnerships of all

time. The pair first danced together in 2001 in Romeo and Juliet. They have danced together

at Convent Garden and around the world, due to their international acclaim and popularity.

In June 2013 Johan and Alina danced their farewell performance for the Royal Ballet in

Mayerling followed by scheduled performances in July with the company in Tokyo.

Johan has been the recipient of numerous awards and prizes, including the Nureyev

International Competition (Grand Prix 1994), USA International Competition, Jackson, USA

(Grand Prix 1994), Erik Bruhn Competition (1993), and in 2006 he received a nomination

for the prestigious Laurence Olivier Award for his production of La Sylphide.

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GILLIAN MURPHY – ‘Giselle’ (RNZB Principal Guest Dancer)

Gillian is a principal ballerina with American Ballet Theatre, and in 2012 she also became

Principal Guest Artist with the Royal New Zealand Ballet. Gillian was raised in Florence,

South Carolina, US and received her high school education and advanced dance training at

the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

Gillian's repertoire includes leading roles in all of ABT's current full-length classics and in

shorter works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Jirí Kylián, Antony Tudor, William

Forsythe, Martha Graham, Lar Lubovitch, Paul Taylor, Frederick Ashton and Agnes de Mille.

She starred as Odette/Odile in ABT's PBS television production of Swan Lake, and she has

appeared in world premieres of new creations by Benjamin Millepied, Stanton Welch, Jorma

Elo, Peter Quanz, Natalie Weir, John Neumeier, Alexei Ratmansky, Christopher Wheeldon

and Twyla Tharp.

Gillian has danced with the Kirov Ballet, the Royal Swedish Ballet, the Staatsballett Berlin,

the Kiev Ballet, and in numerous other international engagements and galas. In 2009, Gillian

was the recipient of a Princess Grace Statue Award, the organisation's highest honour.

QI HUAN – ‘Albrecht’

Qi (pron: Chee) Huan began his ballet study in Shengyang, in China's Liaoning Province.

While a student at the Beijing Dance Academy in 2000 he reached the finals of the New

York International Ballet Competition. From 2003-04 he taught at the Beijing Dance

Academy alongside former Royal New Zealand Ballet Principal Dancer, Ou Lu.

Since joining Royal New Zealand Ballet in 2005, Qi has performed a number of lead roles

including the title roles in Dracula and Romeo & Juliet, Basilio in The Meridian Season of Don

Quixote, Captain Hook in Peter Pan, Grand pas de deux in The Nutcracker and Prince Désiré

in The Meridian Season of The Sleeping Beauty. In 2011's TOWER Tutus on Tour the Capital

Times said Qi gave an "outstanding performance" in Verdi Variations and "stole the show with

his solo".

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ABOUT THE ROYAL NEW ZEALAND BALLET

The Royal New Zealand Ballet is a company of 34 dynamic dancers, performing an eclectic

repertoire of outstanding dance, for national and international audiences, whilst continuing

to build a style that is ultimately unique to this Company and Aotearoa, New Zealand.

The Royal New Zealand Ballet was formed in 1953 by Danish Royal Ballet Principal Dancer,

Poul Gnatt. The company's early days of touring embodied the New Zealand pioneering

spirit. Performing night-in-night-out, company members unloaded and repacked the set,

rigged the lights and ironed the costumes, with local community members providing

accommodation.

The spirit of those days survives, and the support of the New Zealand public remains. Royal

New Zealand Ballet is seen as an intrinsic part of the country's national heritage, and has the

largest following of all New Zealand performing arts companies.

The Royal New Zealand Ballet today has developed a reputation for strong characterisation

in the staging of full-length dramatic works, which became a hallmark in the 1980s. To this

base have been added the masterworks and major ballets of the 20th century, such as

Balanchine's works and the Stravinsky ballets.

In January 1998, the Royal New Zealand Ballet moved to its first ever permanent, purpose-

built premises, at Wellington's Westpac St James Theatre (now the St James Theatre).

ABOUT THE NEW ZEALAND FILM COMMISSION

The New Zealand Film Commission was established in 1978 by an Act of the New Zealand

Parliament. It has the statutory responsibility to encourage, participate and assist in the

making, promotion, distribution and exhibition of films made in New Zealand by New

Zealanders on New Zealand subjects. The NZFC’s investments in feature film productions

include BOY, DEAN SPANLEY, THE WORLD’S FASTEST INDIAN, THE TOPP TWINS:

UNTOUCHABLE GIRLS and most recently GISELLE and BEYOND THE EDGE.

www.nzfilm.co.nz

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FILM CREDIT INFORMATION

Director Toa Fraser Producer Matthew Metcalfe Choreography by Johan Kobborg and Ethan Stiefel

(after Marius Petipa) Director of Photography Leon Narbey Line Producer Catherine Madigan Editor Dan Kircher

Original Royal New Zealand Ballet Production of Giselle Produced by Johan Kobborg and Ethan Stiefel Set Designer Howard C Jones Costume Designer Natalia Stewart Lighting Designer Kendall Smith Conductor Michael Lloyd Performed by Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra Giselle by Jules-Henri Vernoy De Saint-Georges

And Théophile Gautier Music by Adolphe Adam 1st Assistant Director Simon Ambridge

CAST

Giselle Gillian Murphy Albrecht Qi Huan Myrtha Abigail Boyle Hilarion Jacob Chown Wilfrid Maclean Hopper Wedding Lady / Moyna Lucy Green Wedding Man Medhi Angot Berthe Lucy Balfour Bathilde Clytie Campbell The Duke Sir Jon Trimmer Riding Master Brendan Bradshaw Zulma Mayu Tanigaito

Artists of the Royal New Zealand Ballet

Adriana Harper Kohei Iwamoto Alayna Ng Loughlan Prior Antonia Hewitt Madeline Graham Brittany Haws Madison Geoghegan Bronte Kelly Maree White Dimitri Kleioris Matthew Slattery Emma White Paul Matthews Gina-Marie Leathem Rory Fairweather-Neylan Ginny Gan Sam Shapiro Harry Skinner Sara Havener Helio Lima Tonia Looker Joseph Skelton Yang Liu Katherine Grange

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Production Manager Donna Pearman Production Accountant Di Magee Production Assistant Belinda Cumming Camera Operators Donny Duncan Kevin Riley Adrian Greshoff Simon Raby Steadicam Operator Cameron McLean 1st AC Ben Rowsell Pete Cunningham Simon Roelants Julia Green 2nd AC Tom Markham-Short Kim Thomas Key Digital Technician Nigel Burton Digital Technician David Green Cable Runner Ben Firman Dolly Grip Kayne Asher Grip Assistant Maurice Kapua Gaffer Alan Wilson Lighting Assistant Jarod O’Neale Make Up Designer Amber D Make Up Artist - Old Albrecht Jane O’Kane Make Up Artist Kiekie Stanners Legal Services Matt Emery for Emery Legal China Film Co-Production Corporation Liaison Kaitao Liu Shanghai Location Scout Lin Zhiming Stylist to Qi Huan Gemma Hinchey Shanghai Driver Chen Maojing Stylist to Gillian Murphy Natalie Young Catskills 1st Assistant Director Hamish Gough Catskills Production Runner Daniel Howick-Smith Stills Photographer Matt Klitscher Health and Safety Robert (Gibbo) Gibson Production Runner Chris Drake Production Trainees Hayley Gastmeier Fraser Rudman Lighting Trainee Amy Vandewiel Digipost Post Producer Roger Grant Digital Colourist Pete Williams

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Online FX James Schoning DCP Mastering Matthew Cunningham Sound Editor/ Re-recording Mixer Bruno Barrett-Garnier Production Sound Supervisor Wayne Laird Production Sound Mixer Paul McGlashan Sound Technician - Auckland Malcolm Cromie Sound Recordist - Wellington Michael Kerslake Foley Mixer/Editor Amy Barber Foley Artist Carolyn McLaughlin ROYAL NEW ZEALAND BALLET Artistic Director Ethan Stiefel Managing Director Amanda Skoog Ballet Mistress Turid Revfeim Ballet Master Glen Harris Technical Director Andrew Lees Technical Manager Lee Rook Stage Manager Kathryn Osborne Deputy Stage Manager Miriam Emerson Head Mechanist Malcolm Stephen Second Mechanist Thomas Haunui Head Flyman Chris Wardle Chief Electrician Jason Morphett Second Electrician Cameron Nicholls Sound Engineer Whare Moke Wardrobe Manager Andrew Pfeiffer Wardrobe Mistress Gaye Wards Touring Wardrobe Master Hank Cubitt Wardrobe Assistant Esther Lofley Hire Manager Gavin Underhill Workshop Assistant Steve Chambers Scenic Artist Nicole Cosgrove Director of Marketing and Development Susannah Lees-Jeffries Marketing Manager Thomas Drent Operations Manager Meredith Dooley Administrative Manager Kat Sprowell Media/Communications Manager Sally-ann Moffat Marketing and Ticketing Coordinator Amanda Newt Corporate Development Manager Diane Field Philanthropy Manager Liesl Nunns Development Coordinator Glenn Horsfall Thanks to DVANZ, Wireless Warehouse, Ingrid Starnes, Xtreme Forwarding, Jonathan Pilkington, Mary Jane Bethell, Mia Blake, Happy Bones Café, 8com, Pullman Auckland, and to the Royal New Zealand Ballet company who helped make this film possible. Live performances filmed at The Aotea Centre, THE EDGE, Auckland New Zealand 2012 Filmed on location in Auckland, Wellington, Shanghai and New York State Shanghai shoot assisted by China Film Co-Production Corporation

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‘When The Trumpets Sound’

(Don McGlashan) Control

Performed by Don McGlashan, Finn Scholes, David Garner Courtesy of Don McGlashan

Recorded at the Michael King Writers’ Centre and at Roundhead Studios Mixed by Jordan Stone

Special Thanks to (with logos) Metro Films Ltd, M.A.C., Positively Wellington Venues, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra Post production facilities provided by Digipost, Auckland, New Zealand (Company Logos:) GFC, NZFC, RNZB, Digipost

© 2013 GFC (Giselle) Ltd All Rights Reserved