Swish. Hop. Bounce. Twirl.
Our choreographers enter the studio with an inkling of a phrase, a notion of a group formation or perhaps just a hazy shape. At this point the dance is very much still like wet clay. The base layer is there but there is still room for exploration and play. The dancers arrive full of curiosity and excitement. New ideas emerge and the formations come into sharper focus as the choreographers work together with the dancers to sculpt the performance. The process feels very collaborative and dancers of all abilities can find a place for themselves within the pieces.
I knew Wellington Community Ballet Theatre was going to be different when I arrived at the audition. The whole process was inverted. Rather than looking for dancers who could fit into their vision and perform specific movements, the choreographers presented a taster of their styles and invited dancers to choose the pieces they liked best. It was the least stressful audition I’ve ever been to and exactly the right approach for a community dance company.
It’s very difficult to find performance opportunities as an adult dancer. Sure there are weekly classes and sometimes a recital, but very rarely do you get the chance to tell a story and put on a show. When Shereen Capper, a choreographer among other things, couldn’t find what she was looking for, she decided to create it. She reached out to Sacha Copland (dancer, choreographer and artistic director for Java Dance) to pitch her ideas and get some practical advice on running a dance company. One thing that stood out was just how few opportunities are available for choreographers in Aotearoa. It was then that she decided Wellington Community Ballet Theatre’s choreographers would be paid and retain the rights to their choreography. In this way the company fills two gaps in the Wellington dance scene – paid work for choreographers and performance experience for community dancers. The company is off to a strong start earning a nomination for best emerging company at this year’s Fringe Festival for their performance of Four Questions.
As community dancers we have a wide range of movement backgrounds. Some have a lot of training and for others this year’s Fringe performance was the first dance show they had performed in. We’re different ages, some of us have accumulated injuries that need to be managed and some of us are only available Thursday nights. Given these parameters, I wondered what it was like for professional choreographers to work with community dancers.
Trinity Maydon is a contemporary dance choreographer. She spent her studies creating pieces for and with her fellow students and knew that working with a community group would be a bit different. Trinity came prepared with a few pre-set phrases to teach and build upon, but what she hadn’t expected was just how excited and eager to learn the dancers would be. She loved seeing the curiosity that came out of learning new things.
James Burchell, the photographer for Four Questions, was struck by the absolute joy that resonated across the stage. Everyone was so happy to be there. This year, James will be joining Welly Ballet as a choreographer. In contrast to Trinity, James’ classical ballet training had very little focus on creating new works so he is looking forward to growing and learning with the dancers over the next few months.
Four Questions marked a return to the dance world for multi-disciplinary artist Joana Joy. Also known for her work in comedy and theatre, Joana originally studied dance and musical theatre before going on to work as a commercial dancer. She has maintained strong ties to her home studio in Whanganui returning periodically to teach classes, run workshops and choreograph performances. For Joana, working with community groups is a journey of sculpting movement. Her advice to newer choreographers is to separate yourself from the work. The dancers will never fully embody your style, she says. Instead you should see the piece as theirs, gifting them the movement to make their own. The results will surprise you, as the dancers shape the piece in ways you could have never imagined working by yourself.
Kate Avery has been making shows with community groups since university; she was an early member of the Otago Dance Association. The professional dance scene in Aotearoa is very small which means you get a lot more crossover between the professional dance world and community groups. Kate feels very fortunate as it means she has had more opportunities to choreograph and teach than she might have had in other countries. Her approach to building a piece starts with looking at the performance space and thinking about how she would like to place the dancers within the space – for Four Questions this was the Hannah Playhouse in Wellington. She then works with the dancers to develop the choreography further.
Welly Ballet returns to the Hannah Playhouse this August with a brand new show based on Norse mythology. Shereen has drawn some inspiration from community theatre for the next production. This time there will be a whole week of shows; Four Questions only had two. There will also be a stronger story telling aspect with community dancers poised to show off their acting chops. Actors, both professionals and those in community theatre, don’t age out of their craft – they take on different roles honing their skills over decades. Ballet careers are usually shorter. The technical and physical demands of dance don’t always allow performers enough time to reach the same maturity in stage presence. Welly Ballet hopes to take inspiration from community theatre and build more longevity for dancers wanting to perform, with choreographers and dancers working together to see what’s possible and create something wonderful.
The new show runs 17 - 23 August 2026 at the Hannah Playhouse in Wellington.
