Sarah Knox is an independent dance artist and lecturer in the Dance Studies Programme at the University of Auckland.

Sarah originally trained in classical ballet and contemporary dance at the New Zealand School of Dance, where she won awards for Best All Round Student and Promise in Choreography. Following graduation in 2001 she worked as a professional dancer for over 14 years and performed nationally and internationally for companies such as Footnote Dance, Black Grace and the New Zealand Dance Company.

She has worked with New Zealand’s most prestigious established and emerging choreographers including Douglas Wright, Sarah Foster-Sproull, Claire O’Neil, Malia Johnston, Michael Parmenter, and Carol Brown, among many others. As a performer she has been praised for her technical mastery and elegance.

In 2010 she was nominated for the ‘Best Established Dancer’ at Auckland’s Tempo Dance Festival. Alongside her academic work, Sarah also works as a dance maker: developing her own choreographic work independently, and as commissioned work for dance companies. Her choreographic portfolio includes works for Footnote NZ Dance (2016, 2010, 2008) and New Zealand Fringe Festivals (2012, 2008), Tempo Dance Festival (2015) and Dance Nucleus in Singapore (2016) the University of Auckland international tours (2017, 2015).

In 2017 Sarah was awarded the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s Harry Haythorne Choreographic Award for her work ‘Between There and Now’.

As a teacher Sarah specializes in choreographic and dance technique education and she has taught dance extensively in New Zealand and internationally in diverse contexts. She has broad experience in rehearsal direction and staging dance.

Sarah regularly adjudicates ballet, jazz and contemporary dance competitions around New Zealand, including the NZ regional competition of the Asian Grand Prix Ballet Competition and works as a ballet and contemporary dance guest master teacher in workshops and seminars. ​Sarah is also involved in the dance industry in diverse other capacities. She co-founded and co-directs Trigger Dance, an organization that provides contemporary dance and choreographic education to tertiary and pre-tertiary students, she is a Trustee on the Auckland Dance Festival Trust (Tempo), is the co-founder and co-chair of the global Early Career Researchers’ Community for dance, sits on various funding panels.

In 2019 she became the co-chair of the World Dance Alliance Asia Pacific Education and Training Network, and has been working as a mentor and consultant for a number of dance organizations both in NZ and internationally.