Entry to the New Zealand School of Dance full-time programme is by audition only.
Auditions for the 2024 intake will be held digitally as well as in New Zealand and Australia. Please register to attend either of these auditions by clicking the link below.
Auditions calendar:
Digital Audition – 11 September (Open only to applicants who are unable to travel due to current restrictions).
Wellington – Saturday 23 September. Venue: Te Whaea: National Dance and Drama Centre
Brisbane – Monday 25 September. Venue: QLD Ballet, 406 Montague Road, West End
Sydney – Wednesday 27 September. Venue: Sydney Dance Company (SDC), Wharf 4/5 Walsh Bay Arts Precinct, 15 Hickson Road, Dawes Point, NSW
Melbourne- Thursday 28 September. Venue: VCASS, 57 Miles Street, Southbank
Entry to the New Zealand School of Dance full-time programme is by audition only.
Auditions for the 2024 intake will be held digitally as well as in New Zealand and Australia. Please register to attend either of these auditions by clicking the link below.
Auditions calendar:
Digital Audition – 11 September (Open only to applicants who are unable to travel due to current restrictions).
Wellington – Saturday 23 September. Venue: Te Whaea: National Dance and Drama Centre
Brisbane – Monday 25 September. Venue: QLD Ballet, 406 Montague Road, West End
Sydney – Wednesday 27 September. Venue: Sydney Dance Company (SDC), Wharf 4/5 Walsh Bay Arts Precinct, 15 Hickson Road, Dawes Point, NSW
Melbourne- Thursday 28 September. Venue: VCASS, 57 Miles Street, Southbank
Entry to the New Zealand School of Dance full-time programme is by audition only.
Auditions for the 2024 intake will be held digitally as well as in New Zealand and Australia. Please register to attend either of these auditions by clicking the link below.
Auditions calendar:
Digital Audition – 11 September (Open only to applicants who are unable to travel due to current restrictions).
Wellington – Saturday 23 September. Venue: Te Whaea: National Dance and Drama Centre
Brisbane – Monday 25 September. Venue: QLD Ballet, 406 Montague Road, West End
Sydney – Wednesday 27 September. Venue: Sydney Dance Company (SDC), Wharf 4/5 Walsh Bay Arts Precinct, 15 Hickson Road, Dawes Point, NSW
Melbourne- Thursday 28 September. Venue: VCASS, 57 Miles Street, Southbank
Entry to the New Zealand School of Dance full-time programme is by audition only.
Auditions for the 2024 intake will be held digitally as well as in New Zealand and Australia. Please register to attend either of these auditions by clicking the link below.
Auditions calendar:
Digital Audition – 11 September (Open only to applicants who are unable to travel due to current restrictions).
Wellington – Saturday 23 September. Venue: Te Whaea: National Dance and Drama Centre
Brisbane – Monday 25 September. Venue: QLD Ballet, 406 Montague Road, West End
Sydney – Wednesday 27 September. Venue: Sydney Dance Company (SDC), Wharf 4/5 Walsh Bay Arts Precinct, 15 Hickson Road, Dawes Point, NSW
Melbourne- Thursday 28 September. Venue: VCASS, 57 Miles Street, Southbank
Training for classical ballet students from the age of 10. Selection is by audition and students participate in the programme alongside their regular dance training. The programme focuses on the principles of movement, incorporating the definitions of technique as required in ballet, while embracing musicality and artistry.
To join the programme, register by 4 September 2023 and attend the auditions on 16 September at Te Whaea, Wellington. (Auditions times to be confirmed) An audition fee of $50 applies.
Entry to the New Zealand School of Dance full-time programme is by audition only.
Auditions for the 2024 intake will be held digitally as well as in New Zealand and Australia. Please register to attend either of these auditions by clicking the link below.
Auditions calendar:
Digital Audition – 11 September (Open only to applicants who are unable to travel due to current restrictions).
Wellington – Saturday 23 September. Venue: Te Whaea: National Dance and Drama Centre
Brisbane – Monday 25 September. Venue: QLD Ballet, 406 Montague Road, West End
Sydney – Wednesday 27 September. Venue: Sydney Dance Company (SDC), Wharf 4/5 Walsh Bay Arts Precinct, 15 Hickson Road, Dawes Point, NSW
Melbourne- Thursday 28 September. Venue: VCASS, 57 Miles Street, Southbank
‘Find the fun and enjoyment in what you do; It’s important to work out why you dance, what makes you tick’
Sharni Spencer and Pedro Cassiano for the New Zealand School of Dance – 2007. Photo credit: Stephen A’Court.
NZSD graduate, Sharni Spencer, was born in Lismore NSW and grew up in Tamworth and Newcastle. She began dance classes at three years old and studied at Sally Kefts School of Dance and Marie Walton Mahon Dance Academy before joining the New Zealand School of Dance. Sharni joined The Australian Ballet at the beginning of 2008 and was promoted to Coryphée in 2012. She was the recipient of the Khitercs Hirai Foundation Scholarship in 2012, and used it to spend three months rehearsing and performing Giselle with Dutch National Ballet. She was promoted to Soloist in 2017, to Senior Artist in 2020, and then to Principal Artist in 2022.
What’s your highlight from your time at the New Zealand School of Dance?
I have to say picking a highlight is hard! I have such fond memories of the 2 years I spent at NZSD. I really appreciated the positive and supportive environment. Once you join a professional company, you realise the luxury of time you had at school to work on things! It’s such a huge time of growth, and so important to be able to experiment, fail and discover. It was also a really special time to bond with my year group. You are on a real journey of ups and downs together; for most of us, we were away from home and learning how to cook and care for ourselves, alongside all the dancing.
A particularly memorable highlight for me was performing Romeo and Juliet Balcony Pas de Deux from Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet, with former NZSD graduate, dancer and now choreographer Craig Davidson.
Why did you audition for NZSD?
I auditioned to join NZSD because my dance teacher, Marie Walton Mahon, said this was a great school. I had recently returned from overseas after completing a term at Elmhurst School for Dance in Birmingham. It wasn’t the right fit for me at the time, and I left feeling a bit unsure of what direction to take and whether I should continue with dancing at all.
I took a class back at my dance school in Australia and realised how much I loved dancing and made the decision to continue with dancing. Marie suggested New Zealand School of Dance might be a better fit, so I packed my bags and headed over to audition last minute with the 1st Yrs who were beginning in 2006. It fortunately, turned out that after auditioning, I could start immediately!
What inspires you to dance and move?
Music always inspires me and moves me to dance. I also love the physicality of dancing and the nitty-gritty of the work day in and day out. I love to perform, how it makes me feel and how freeing it can be to get lost in the movement or a story, but it’s the rehearsal process really makes the performance satisfying for me. I also love that there is no end to learning; there are so many aspects to dance that you are constantly inspired.
What have been your highlights since graduating from NZSD?
A recent highlight was my promotion to Principal Artist with The Australian Ballet. The promotion to Principal Artist is an onstage tradition at the Australian Ballet. I was dancing Columbine alongside guest artist Daniil Simkin (Principal Artist with the American Ballet Theatre and Berlin Staatsballett) the night of my promotion in Alexei Ratmansky’s production of Harlequinade. It was such a wonderful experience to share the stage with Daniil, and when Artistic Director David Hallberg came out and announced my promotion at the final curtain call, I couldn’t believe it.
What advice would you give to aspiring dancers?
To work hard at what you do but also stay open and curious; there is always an opportunity to learn something in any situation. Find the fun and enjoyment in what you do; It’s important to work out why you dance, what makes you tick, and what really inspires and motivates you intrinsically because there will inevitably be ups and downs throughout your career, and to have those things behind you gives you resilience and grit through the highs and lows.
The New Zealand School of Dance Associates Programme identifies classical ballet and contemporary dance students from all over New Zealand who have a talent for a career in dance performance. Students aged 13 – 16 are chosen by audition, ensuring those with aptitude can take class with similarly talented dancers.
City
Venue
Date
Wellington
Te Whaea
17 September 2022
Auckland
Wellesley Studios
18 September 2022
Christchurch
NASDA
2 October 2022
Applications are now open and close on Friday 26 August 2022 at 11.59pm NZST.
All of us at NZSD have been hopeful that the full-time auditions could go ahead as planned in Auckland. Regrettably we are no longer able to make the trip to Auckland for live auditions as the Level 3 lockdown in Auckland, Northland and parts of the Waikato continues.
Therefore we will be accepting digital auditions from applicants in these regions and look forward to receiving these as early as possible (31 October at the latest). This applies to those interested in our full-time programme and anyone wanting to join our Associates. Comprehensive Digital Audition Guidelines have been prepared. Please click on the button to view and download them.
We recognise that lockdown is a stressful time for everyone. But even in these uncertain times, although we are physically apart, we are in this together. Kia kaha Aotearoa!
A series of informal talks for young dancers interested in the pathway to full-time study at the New Zealand School of Dance.
NZSD faculty provide insights from the School’s perspective and answer questions on:
The programmes at NZSD
What to expect from full-time dance training
How to apply
What it takes to audition successfully
As a national institution and the Official School of the Royal New Zealand Ballet, the New Zealand School of Dance remains committed to providing exceptional dance training and developing well-rounded dancers who can succeed at the highest level.
Click Here to Register
Wednesday 14 July, 18.15 pm – 19.15 pm
Te Whaea National Dance & Drama Centre, Newtown
