Royal New Zealand Ballet: Dancers on the Move for 2025

The vanguard of dance in New Zealand, the Royal New Zealand Ballet, is delighted to announce that six new dancers will join as RNZB Company Artists in 2025. 

Two new graduates of The Australian Ballet School, Emma Gavan and Jordan Sawtell, will become RNZB Company Artists. 

These two dancers will be accompanied by four graduates of the New Zealand School of Dance as Scholars for 2025: Todd Scholar Olivia Platt (Ngāti Whātua, Ngā Puhi), RNZB Foundation Scholar Hilary An-Roddie and Friedlander Foundation Scholars Angus O’Connell and Joshua Douglas, who returns to New Zealand after a year as a Jette Parker Young Artist at Queensland Ballet. Olivia, Hilary and Angus have all previously been seconded to the RNZB in 2023 and 2024, while Joshua represented the New Zealand School of Dance with a solo performance at the RNZB’s ‘Platinum’ gala in 2023. 

In other good news, all four of the RNZB’s 2024 scholars – Niamh O’Meara, Ema Takahashi, Hannah Thomson and Ruby Ryburn – will stay on as Company Artists for 2025. 

Other changes at the RNZB include six dancers leaving the company to pursue new opportunities. These include three dancers who joined the RNZB in 2019: Ella Chambers who joined from The Australian Ballet School and Georgia Baxter who began as an apprentice, as did Lara before earning a promotion to company artist for 2020. 

Levi Teachout commenced his career with RNZB in 2020, following four years with Grand Rapids Ballet in Michigan, USA. Levi is departing NZ for the UK, where he intends to build on his choreographic career. Shae Berney commenced his time with RNZB in 2021 and will return to his home country after training at European School of Ballet and working with Finnish National Ballet Youth Company. Finally, Damani Campbell Williams joined RNZB in 2022 following a career in Europe that saw him dance with Slovenian National Ballet, Moravian Theatre Ballet, and Slovak National Ballet. Damani is retiring from ballet after an 11-year career spanning four companies and is returning to the UK to be closer to his family. These artists join Macy Cook, who departed in October, and Monet Galea-Hewitt, who finished her time with RNZB in August. 

The Royal New Zealand Ballet for 2025 is as follows:

Principals: Ana Gallardo Lobaina, Joshua Guillemot-Rodgerson, Kate Kadow, Kihiro Kusukami, Mayu Tanigaito, and Laurynas Vėjalis 

Soloists: Zacharie Dun, Shaun James Kelly, Katherine Minor, Branden Reiners, Jemima Scott, Kirby Selchow 

Artists: Cadence Barrack, Timothy Ching, Luke Cooper, Catarina Estévez-Collins, Emma Gavan, Jake Gisby, Calum Gray, Dane Head, William Humphries, Tessa Karle, Callahan Laird, Niamh O’Meara, Ruby Ryburn, Jordan Sawtell, Gretchen Steimle, Ema Takahashi, Hannah Thomson, Jennifer Ulloa, Rose Xu 

Discover more at https://rnzb.org.nz/

RNZB Principals Ana Gallardo Lobaina and Joshua Guillemot Rodgerson with 2025 Soloist Jemima Scott, Photo by Stephen A’Court