Royal New Zealand Ballet

The Royal New Zealand Ballet is based in Wellington, New Zealand. It was originally known as The New Zealand Ballet Company.

New Zealand Ballet was established in 1953 as an independent charitable trust by Royal Danish Ballet Principal Poul Gnatt, Beryl Nettleton, Bettina Edwards, another female dancer, and pianist Dorothea Franchi.

In the late 1950s notable New Zealand dancers, Rowena Jackson and Philip Chatfield, her English dancer husband, returned from overseas to join the company. A third returning dancer, Russell Kerr, who had been since 1950 dancing in Europe with the Jose Greco Company, Sadlers Wells Ballet and Ballet Rambert, and from 1952–57 with London Festival Ballet as their principal character dancer. In 1959 Kerr joined forces with NZ Ballet director Poul Gnatt, bringing with him a number of dancers from his own company, Auckland Ballet Theatre for the 1959–60 season. As United Ballet, the augmented company presented a ground-breaking season which is prefigured the things to come – included amongst the classical works was a major contemporary work, "Prismatic Variations, a collaborative piece between Gnatt and Kerr, with guest artists the celebrated New Zealand dancers Rowena Jackson and Sara Neil.

In 1962 Jon Trimmer returned to the company after studying at the Royal Ballet School in London and performing with the Sadlers Wells Company. He remains a leading artist with the company in 2007 performing many character roles over the last 20 years. Russell Kerr succeeded Gnatt as company director from 1962–69.

In the 1960s and 70s the company survived by touring extensively throughout the country and has been directly funded by the New Zealand government since 1998.

In 1984 Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II as Queen of New Zealand granted the title Royal to the company making it the fourth ballet company to receive this honour, along with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Royal Winnipeg Ballet.

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