Gretchen Steimle

Gretchen Steimle joined the Royal New Zealand Ballet in 2022, previously dancing with the Grand Rapids Ballet. In 2022, she performed the role of Step-sister Madeleine in Loughlan Prior’s Cinderella, as well as roles in The Waltz of the Pohutakawa Flowers from Val Caniparoli’s The Nutcracker, Olivier Wevers’ The Sofa, Alice Topp’s Aurum, Sarah Foster- Sproull’s The Autumn Ball and Twyla Tharp’s Waterbaby Bagatelles™. Recent roles include the Nurse in Romeo & Juliet, the Rose in Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Requiem for a Rose and the Swan Lake pas de trois as part of Tutus on Tour 2024. 

Raised in Austin, Texas, her dance education includes Tapestry Dance, Boston Ballet School’s Pre-Professional Program and Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Professional Division. While at PNB, she danced in many company productions including Balanchine’s Symphony in C, Coppélia, and The Nutcracker and was given additional experience as an exchange guest apprentice with Dresden Semperoper Ballet performing La Bayadère. 

After being seen by the former Grand Rapids Ballet Artist Director Patricia Barker, she was offered an apprenticeship with the Grand Rapids Ballet and was later promoted to company artist. Gretchen experienced many works in her five seasons including those of RNZB choreographers Loughlan Prior and Val Caniparoli, Mário Radačovský, Penny Saunders, Danielle Rowe, Brian Enos, and Olivier Wevers as well as Yuri Possokhov, Trey McIntyre, Adam Houghland, Katarzyna Skarpetowska, and Nicolas Blanc. She is thrilled and grateful to share her joy for dance and the way it connects human experiences.