Find out what’s happening in New Zealand dance news!
Footnote New Zealand Dance is celebrating 40 years of daring, world-class, trailblazing contemporary dance – 40 years of connecting communities, pushing the boundaries, and uplifting Aotearoa’s artists. In 40 years, Footnote New Zealand Dance has created 100 works, and employed 100 company dancers. Footnote will be holding a night of festivity and merrymaking for its 40th birthday on Saturday 18 October, starting at 7pm, at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery in Wellington, NZ. For tickets, head to www.footnote.org.nz/events/revelry. If you are a Footnote alumni, contact anita@footnote.org.nz to be a part of alumni events around the birthday celebration.
The Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB) has announced the world premiere of a brand-new production of Christmas classic The Nutcracker. Choreographed by Artistic Director Ty King-Wall, it is a vibrant, heartwarming reimagining set against the golden glow of a 1950s Kiwi summer. This is RNZB’s biggest and most ambitious production of the year. With over 40 glittering tutus and costumes handcrafted over nine months by the company’s specialist costume team, along with breathtaking new stage designs, this ballet promises to wow audiences of all ages.
“The impetus behind this production was an aspiration for Royal New Zealand Ballet to have a Nutcracker which was our very own, a work recognisably of the place we call home,” says King-Wall. “Being a story borne from the northern hemisphere it is far removed from our own experiences around Christmas, the festive season and summer holidays. We have our own customs and history in this part of the world at that time of year, so first and foremost I sought to draw inspiration from that.”
The production is brought to life through the vision of an extraordinary creative team: the internationally acclaimed set and costume designer Tracy Grant Lord, lighting designer Jon Buswell and the visual effects team at POW Studios. Together, they’ve created
a truly magical world that cleverly sweeps the audience into the fantastical adventure of young Clara.
This is the RNZB’s first Nutcracker in seven years. “Our distance from the rest of the world is our strength,” King-Wall adds. “It gives us a creative distinctiveness that’s reflected in every moment of this ballet.”
2025 tour dates include: Wellington (30 October – 8 November), Christchurch (12 – 16 November), Dunedin (21 – 22 November), Napier (28 – 29 November), Auckland (4 – 13 December), and Palmerston North (19 – 20 December). For tickets, click here.
The New Zealand School of Dance (NZSD) will present its Performance Season 2025, A Celebration of Tradition and Innovation, from 19 – 29 November, at Te Whaea: National Dance & Drama Centre. This year’s event celebrates the huge contribution of the School to the dance landscape in Aotearoa and beyond, with many of the works created by and/or staged by NZSD graduates. The 2025 season demonstrates the diversity of the art form – showcasing luminary new choreographic voices of contemporary dance, while paying homage to the timeless foundations of classical ballet.
There will be five performances of each dance style, classical ballet and contemporary dance, where the students will display their extraordinary talent, to audiences of family, friends and dance lovers. The split programme this year features a bold selection of works showcasing both the technical prowess and artistry of these young dancers.
NZSD’s Director, Garry Trinder, says of this year’s Performance Season, “These two distinct and exciting programmes give our exceptionally talented students ample opportunity to continue developing artistically, as they strive to launch professional careers. The works are testament to the legacy and evolution that defines the New Zealand School of Dance. Our wish is to celebrate the innovation and creativity that has inspired generations of dancers and audiences both in Aotearoa and around the world.” For more information and ticketing, visit www.nzschoolofdance.ac.nz/whats-on.
The NZSD Summer Intensive is now open for registrations. This esteemed course runs from 20 – 23 January 2026. For more information and to book, head to www.nzschoolofdance.ac.nz/events/summer-intensive. Classes are specialised in a preferred dance form, where dancers will choose to join either the contemporary dance or classical ballet classes. There are daily technique and repertoire classes, as well as daily complementary classes designed to develop technical and creative aspects of dance for classical ballet and contemporary dance. Classes are taught by NZSD faculty and both classical and contemporary guest tutors.
The New Zealand Dance Company (NZDC) will present double bill Holding Ground from 16 – 30 October, featuring Holding Ground by Moss Te Ururangi Patterson and Intensional Particle by Hiroaki Umeda. Holding Ground brings together these two dynamic works in sharp contrast – one grounded in place, the other in technology. Both explore how the body navigates pressure, imbalance and the ongoing pull of change.
A duet by Moss Te Ururangi Patterson, the titular work unfolds within a confined space, where two dancers engage in a shifting exchange of tension and release. One anchors, the other interrupts, evoking the challenge of staying steady while everything around you moves. With an original score by Shayne P Carter and taonga pūoro master musician James Webster, the work draws on deep currents of gravity and wairua. Entering a state of hypofrontality, the dancers move instinctively – calm in the storm, present, and guided by something older than thought. In Intensional Particle, Japanese artist Hiroaki Umeda constructs a sensory terrain of light, sound, and movement. The body dissolves into data – a pulse of vibration and force. What emerges is both meticulous and explosive.
NZDC’s Holding Ground will be presented at the Hawkes Bay Arts Festival (16 October), Tauranga Arts Festival (27 October), and Nelson Arts Festival (30 October). For tickets and more information, visit nzdc.org.nz/stage/works/holding-ground.
By Laura Di Orio of Dance Informa.
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