“Your initiatives are leading examples in New Zealand of what can happen to increase access to dance with some creative thoughtful leadership.”
Richard Benge – Executive Director, Arts Access Aotearoa

At the Royal New Zealand Ballet we are dedicated to making dance accessible.

In 2017 the RNZB adopted an accessibility policy, one of the first major arts companies in the country to do so. Programmes which encourage engagement with all sectors of the community in a wide range of settings have been implemented. Activities as diverse as enhancing the ballet experience for people with vision, sensory and hearing impairments and a ground-breaking programme of dance workshops for prison inmates are bringing ballet to the widest possible audience around the country.

RNZB’s Community and Education Manager, Pascale Parenteau is the driving force behind the Accessibility programme. As the parent of a child with special needs she has a passion for ensuring that disability of any sort should not prevent anyone at any age from enjoying ballet and dance-related activities. In 2018 the RNZB Accessibility programme’s success was acknowledged by Creative New Zealand with a Highly Commended citation in the Arts for All Award.