A chance for committed students to be mentored by the Royal New Zealand Ballet dancers and Artistic Team. Spend time with them during each season and get an inside experience of life as a professional dancer. This one year programme is offered to students studying at Intermediate and above levels of classical ballet who are aged 13 years and older at 1 January 2021.

Meet this year’s RNZB Mentor students

Students from the 2019 programme share their thoughts about the experience:
I loved taking part in the advanced class because there were lots of strong dancers in it and I was able to learn a lot from my peers. Patrica was so enthusiastic and gave me and the rest of the class some very valuable and in-depth corrections to improve our dancing. – Ariah Mandeno

 It was such a pleasure to meet up again with my mentor. We talked about my ballet exam, dance at the moment, what’s to come from the company and my future in dance. He told me about his life in the dance industry and gave me some helpful insight. – Elliot Gordon

Entry into the programme is by application only and successful applicants will be charged a one-off fee of $100 for the year.

Selected mentored students will:

• watch an RNZB company class
• observe rehearsals conducted by RNZB Artistic staff
• spend time backstage during productions
• receive two complimentary tickets to selected performances
• spend one-on-one time with RNZB mentors throughout the year
• participate in exclusive master classes
• spend two days in Wellington at the RNZB’s home to observe company class and rehearsals, take part in activities such as classes and workshops and be immersed in all aspect of the professional dancer’s life, including visits to the the costume shop

For all enquiries, please email education@rnzb.org.nz  or contact RNZB Education, Community & Accessibility Manager Pascale Parenteau,  021 678 521