Two New Zealand School of Dance students joined staff and students from seventeen other professional ballet schools at the Assemblée Internationale 2013 in Toronto.
The festival, hosted by Canada’s National Ballet School in April 2013, was an intensive seven days of classes, performances, forums and professional development. NZSD students Jarrah McArthur and Tynan Wood performed Jeffrey Tan’s Facade at the festival.
“The choreographer Jeffrey Tan, from Singapore, came to New Zealand for two weeks to rehearse his pas de deux with us.” said Jarrah. “Jeffrey is a wonderful teacher. He introduced us to new techniques and ideas, taking our partnering skills to a new level.”
Other performances at the AI13 festival ranged from works representative of each school’s culture, to student-created choreography with performances of blended casts from the various schools.