Soon the 2019 Alana Haines Australasian Awards will take place in Wellington, New Zealand. Set for Easter Weekend on April 18 - 22, the ballet competition boasts a prize pool of more than $450,000, including cash awards, international training scholarships and travel grants.
The New Zealand Dance Company (NZDC) will soon forge its stellar national and international reputation for powerful contemporary dance with its first national tour of Kiss The Sky, which premiered in June 2017. Artistic Director Shona McCullagh will showcase an Asian-Pacific constellation of original dance, music and design, reflecting on the themes of nature and time.
Berlin-based, New Zealand-raised artist Noah Slee released his debut album Otherland last year (listen). On November 20, the soul singer and producer released a visual EP/short film entitled "...and so, we move to Otherlands” with various dance vignettes.
Dance Aotearoa New Zealand (DANZ) in partnership with Wellington International Dance Day organisers, YouthDance Education Trust (YET), has revealed a screening of short dance films at Te Papa, commemorating International Dance Day and the end of New Zealand Dance Week (which began April 21). The short programme of films will be screened on Sunday, April 29 in Soundings Theatre.
The New Zealand Festival has announced its complete 2018 programming, with headliners including Michael Keegan-Dolan’s award-winning take on the ballet classic Swan Lake, Crystal Pite’s cutting-edge Betroffenheit, and Michael Parmenter’s brand-new dance opera OrphEus, presented with The New Zealand Dance Company.
The Atamira Dance Collective Charitable Trust recently announced the appointment of Jack Gray as Artistic Director of Atamira Dance Company. Current Artistic Director Moss Patterson will step into the role of Executive Director, and they will form a leadership partnership for Atamira until Patterson retires from this role with the company in mid-2018.
The Royal New Zealand Ballet recently hosted the 2017 Harry Haythorne Choreographic Awards on October 19-21. Finalists had included RNZB dancers Jo Funaki, Laura Saxon Jones, Shaun James Kelly, Sarah Knox and Loughlan Prior. It was announced that the official winner is Sarah Knox for her work Between There and Now.
The Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB) is continuing its legacy of supporting emerging choreographers. This week a special artist will receive the 2017 Harry Haythorne Choreographic Award. Finalists include RNZB dancers Jo Funaki, Laura Saxon Jones, Shaun James Kelly, Sarah Knox and Loughlan Prior.
The Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB) will soon premiere a brand-new Romeo and Juliet by Italian choreographer Francesco Ventriglia. His Romeo and Juliet will tour nationally, bringing fair Verona to audiences in Wellington, Christchurch, Auckland, Rotorua, Dunedin, Invercargill, Palmerston North and Napier.
Auckland dancer, performance artist and choreographer Zahra Killeen-Chance is about to perform a new work in Taipei alongside leading intermedia artists from Taiwan and Japan. The event is being organised by New Zealand-Taiwan art magazine White Fungus and is supported by the New Zealand Commerce and Industry Office in Taipei.
The Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB) has appointed Patricia Barker, a former prima ballerina and current Artistic Director of Grand Rapids Ballet in Michigan, USA, as the company’s new Artistic Director. She'll begin later this month, joining the company as rehearsals for the RNZB’s brand-new production of Romeo and Juliet begin.
The New Zealand Dance Company (NZDC) will premiere Kiss the Sky this month, with the triple bill opening June 29 at the Bruce Mason Centre for four performances only. NZDC Artistic Director Shona McCullagh has brought together three international choreographers from Aotearoa, Korea and Australia.
