Voyages: Inside the RNZB’s choreographic journey to The Hannah
For decades audiences have known the Royal New Zealand Ballet for grand productions staged in large theatres across Aotearoa. But this month the company will step into a very different kind of space right here at The Hannah.
Voyages will offer something intimate, exploratory, and deeply human; a programme of new choreographic works created by dancers within the company themselves.
For dancers and choreographers Kat Minor and Shaun James Kelly, the season is about risk, growth, collaboration, and discovering what ballet can become when artists are given space to experiment. Polished performance is, for these showings, not the primary goal; though what an exceptional chance to see professional dancers perform in this environment!
We ventured into RNZB headquarters to interview Kat and Shaun, two of the company’s more senior dancers, and learn more about how classical ballet has made its way into a nontraditional ballet performance space, offering ‘pay what you feel’ performances. Yes, really!
From the studio to The Hannah
“Voyages is a journey,” Shaun explains. “It has progressed every year. It started as intimate studio showings, then we added a little lighting, and now we’re taking it into a theatre space. It really is evolving every time.”
While Voyages may feel fresh to audiences, its roots stretch back through several iterations of in-house choreographic development at RNZB, including the former Harry Haythorne Choreographic Award, and later studio showcases known as RAW.
“This is the first time we’re taking it into a theatre,” Shaun says. “Before, it was mainly studio-based and very behind-the-scenes.”
That move into The Hannah feels significant — not just because of the venue itself, but because of what it represents within Wellington’s arts ecosystem.
“There is a vibrant arts scene in Wellington that ballet deserves to be a bigger part of,” Shaun says. “We don’t really get the opportunity to perform in venues apart from the St James or the Opera House, so it’s important that ballet is seen in these different venues, so we can generate new audiences and bring people into something they might not have thought they would like.”
Kat agrees, noting that some of her most memorable performances have happened in smaller theatres.
“Some of my favourite performances have been in really small, intimate theatres where you feel the audience’s energy very close,” she says. “When you’re up close, you see the work.. the footwork, the shoes, the lifting, the sweat, the breathing. It gives people that feeling of being totally immersed and invested in the performance.”
Finding a choreographic voice
Both Kat and Shaun have spent more than a decade with RNZB, but choreography offers a completely different kind of challenge.
Originally from Portland, Oregon, Kat joined the company at 22 after previous roles with Northern Ballet and Joffrey Ballet. Now one of the company’s soloists, she says choreography has become a way of understanding dance more deeply.
“I came to choreography to challenge myself,” she says. “I thought I would learn about myself and about dance more deeply through trying it.”
Shaun, originally from Scotland, has been dancing professionally since age 16. His choreographic journey began during his training years and later evolved through RNZB’s internal choreographic programmes.
“You’re creating a language with your body that’s uniquely yours,” he says. “You can tell a lot about an artist by what inspires them to make choreography.”
But creating movement for others, Kat explains, requires entirely new skills.
“It’s practising all these other skills we don’t necessarily use as dancers,” she says. “You become a leader, a project manager, a coach, a rehearsal director. It’s very different from simply dancing.”
Those aspects, say Kat and Shaun, offer dancers the opportunity to step into new territories and understand more about what it means to express themselves as artists.
Why risk matters
A major theme throughout our conversation is opportunity — particularly in an arts landscape where opportunities to experiment can feel increasingly rare.
“I think it’s the only way you can learn from your craft,” Shaun says. “You need to be able to take risks, and there are such limited opportunities out there.”
Voyages intentionally creates a lower-pressure environment where emerging choreographers can test ideas among their peers without the expectations attached to large-scale commercial productions.
“It’s crucial to have this intermediate stage,” Kat explains. “A smaller venue, a nurturing environment, and a chance to develop your voice before stepping onto larger stages.”
That support extends beyond the dancers themselves. This year’s season also includes a new work by acclaimed choreographer Jeremy Beck, marking his first time working with a ballet company.
“The past couple of years, a key theme has been collaboration,” Shaun says. “We’ve collaborated with the New Zealand Dance Company, with Scottish Ballet, and now inviting Jeremy in is another way of creating opportunities and building relationships.”
Ballet beyond the box
For both artists, Voyages also represents a broader shift in how ballet is perceived.
“Ballet can literally be anything,” Shaun says. “We’re developing out of this little box now. We need to be current and accessible, and audiences have been so open to that.”
That accessibility feels especially important in a venue like The Hannah, where audiences are encouraged to ‘arrive curious’ for what performances they might encounter.
“I think it’s important to give audiences an educational journey,” Shaun says. “Dance can be more than one thing. Ballet can be more than one thing.”
Kat believes audiences will connect not just with finished performances, but with the spark of something still evolving.
“With these kinds of projects, they’re never really finished,” she says. “Ideas keep changing and growing. What audiences are seeing could become something much bigger later on.”
And perhaps that’s the true spirit of Voyages. Not simply presenting finished works, but inviting audiences into the creative process itself.
“It’s the beginning of something,” Shaun says. “These ideas can have a life far beyond what people see on the night.”
Voyages by the Royal New Zealand Ballet takes place at The Hannah Playhouse on 28–29 May. This season is already booked out, so if you’re keen to know more about upcoming similar showcases, we encourage you to check out rnzb.org.nz