Premier ballet will return to Dunedin next year, after concerns about the state of local venues led it to leap over the city in 2009.
The Royal New Zealand Ballet will also take its biennial 'Tutus on Tour' to Oamaru, Gore, Queenstown, Wanaka and Alexandra in March.
The RNZB also refused to perform Carmen and The Nutcracker in Dunedin this year, because of fears for the safety of its dancers in the Regent Theatre.
The theatre was technically incapable of safely staging large-scale ballet, RNZB production manager Andrew Lees said yesterday.
The production of 'Tutus on Tour' in March will again be performed in the Dunedin Town Hall.
"We're having to bring a sprung floor down from Auckland to do it. Dunedin's the only place in New Zealand we're having to do that for ...
"But after we did 'Tutus on Tour' at the Dunedin Town Hall last time [2009], the dancers refused to dance there again unless we used a sprung floor.
"There's just too big a risk of impact injuries, because the stage is a parquet floor directly over concrete."
However, Mr Lees said the troupe was looking forward to returning to the Regent Theatre after its $6.75 million redevelopment.
"What they're doing there is fantastic. The Regent is a really lovely old theatre and it's going to be absolutely magic performing there when it's all finished."
The Regent is scheduled to be completed in time for Southern Opera's Tosca on August 2 next year.
'Tutus on Tour' will feature a children's ballet for the first time, Pinocchio, choreographed by former dancer Toby Behan.
The other showpiece will be the premiere of ballet master Greg Horsman's Verdi Variations.
"We wanted to do something different for 2011," RNZB general manager Amanda Skoog said.
"We've always done a series of smaller pieces on this tour, but we decided it would be nice to give heartland New Zealand a chance to see what a full show looks like, from the sets to costumes and props."
The Royal New Zealand Ballet presents 'Tutus on Tour' in the Oamaru Opera House (March 17), Dunedin Town Hall (March 19 and 20), St James Theatre, Gore (March 24), Queenstown Events Centre (March 26), Lake Wanaka Centre (March 27) and Alexandra Memorial Theatre (March 29).
