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New Zealand School of Dance and The New Zealand Dance Company announce exciting partnership

NZSD 2nd Yr Contemporary Dance Students Aylin Atalay and Anna Hosking. Photo by Stephen A'Court.

The New Zealand School of Dance (NZSD) and the The New Zealand Dance Company (NZDC) are thrilled to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, aimed at nurturing and promoting the best contemporary dance talent in Aotearoa New Zealand.

NZDC and NZSD are dedicated to attracting, developing and retaining exceptional talent. Together, they want to create pathways for talented individuals to receive top-tier dance education and training.

Moss Te Ururangi Patterson (Chief Executive & Artistic Director NZDC), Paula Steeds-Huston (Head of Contemporary Dance NZSD), Garry Trinder (Director NZSD).

NZSD Director Garry Trinder expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership. “Ever since the School was founded in 1967, we have enjoyed a highly valued relationship with the Royal New Zealand Ballet. We have long sought a similar association with a contemporary dance company, one that will provide benefits for our contemporary dance students. The announcement that the New Zealand School of Dance is to be the ‘official school’ of The New Zealand Dance Company reflects a year of dialogue and negotiation. The Memorandum of Understanding between the two organisations provides several key benefits, including creating a legitimate pathway for young New Zealand contemporary dancers to gain employment. There is much to be achieved from NZDC and NZSD working symbiotically to share knowledge, skills, experience and resources. We are enormously excited by this development and are looking forward to pushing boundaries, to creating and to extending the capabilities of our art form.”

^‍Both NZSD and NZDC will work hand-in-hand to elevate contemporary dance, providing enriching experiences for artists and audiences alike.

NZDC Executive and Artistic Director Moss Te Ururangi Patterson echoed the enthusiasm, adding, “This exciting partnership marks a significant advancement in supporting and showcasing the exceptional talent emerging from the New Zealand School of Dance. The New Zealand Dance Company looks forward to creating meaningful opportunities that will not only elevate the careers of young dancers, but also drive the growth and global impact of contemporary dance in Aotearoa and beyond.”

By working together, the two organisations aim to inspire the next generation of dancers, ensuring a thriving national dance culture for years to come.