Branden Reiners

Branden Reiners joined the Royal New Zealand Ballet in February 2023 after a decade in the profession, initially as member of Minnesota Ballet (2013 – 15) and latterly with Grand Rapids Ballet (2015 – 23) in Michigan, USA. His roles to date include Siegfried and Rothbart in Swan Lake, Tybalt and Lord Capulet in Romeo & Juliet, Serenade, the ‘Clay’ pas de deux in Alice Topp’s Logos (2023, reprised in Tutus on Tour 2024), the Father in Hansel & Gretel and a prominent solo in Moss Patterson’s Te Ao Mārama. 

Branden’s repertoire prior to joining the RNZB encompassed many solo and principal roles in both classical and contemporary ballets, notably works by George Balanchine (Serenade, Allegro Brillante, Who Cares?), Val Caniparoli (The Nutcracker), Paul Taylor (Company B) and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa (Dangerous Liaisons). He has also created roles in new works by Penny Saunders, Danielle Rowe and Mário Radačovský. In 2017 he appeared as a guest artist in the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s previous production of Romeo & Juliet, including performances as Tybalt. 

Branden grew up in New Jersey and undertook his early ballet training at the School of American Ballet and the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School in New York City, later training at pre-professional programmes at Boston Ballet and San Francisco Ballet.