Past Summer Schools
Details about past International Summer Schools.
2022- RAD Summer School
The RAD held another successful Summer School in January 2022. 140 students experienced a range of dance styles from ballet and contemporary to national folk and musical theatre. Highlights for the grades were the Circus Arts and Aquaballet workshops and for the vocationals, it was the opportunity to experience highly skilled and talented tutors and for all students the highlight was connecting with dance students from all over NZ.
The courses took place at Te Whaea, National Dance and Drama Centre in Wellington, and students included 15 boys – more than for any previous Summer School, thanks to the Project B initiative. At the end of each course, students were able to show their whānau what they learned over the week in informal studio presentations.
Taking place simultaneously, the Teachers’ Course, provided RAD teachers with an opportunity to reflect on their teaching practice, have discussions on new areas such as inclusivity.
We had some wonderful tutors for both students and teachers including Clytie Campbell, Kathiy Watson, Neroli Hunt, Emma Maddock, Ruth Wall, Tabitha Dombroski, Sue Nicholls, Vivencio Samblaceno Jnr, Turid Revfeim, Frankie Sampson, Lucy Marinkovich, Sarsha Forbes, Allanah Hare, Jane Woolley, Dr Maureen Coulter, Naomi Thomas, Olivia van woerkom, Sarah Fitzsimmons, Sophie Ryan, Dr Sue Mayes.
2020 – RAD Centenary Summer School
The 2020 Summer School was a very special event as it marked the beginning of the RAD’s centenary year. Over 140 students took part in three courses for students and 41 teachers attended a 5-day teachers’ course. A range of dance and movement styles were included in the programme – from ballet and hip hop to jazz, from creative and contemporary to circus skills. The younger students’ courses culminated in a studio performance on the last day which they shared the work they had learned during the course, while the Performance Course students had the unique opportunity to perform in Te Whaea’s theatre.
Both New Zealand and International tutors were involved and included: Lisa-Maree Cullum, Abigail Boyle, Mitch Raynor, Tim Barnes, Scott Pokorny, Vivencio Samblaceno, Turid Revfeimand Braedyn Humphries. Gerard Charles, the RAD’s Artistic Director also tutored on both the teachers’ and students’ courses.
2016 – 8th International Summer School
Students, teachers and faculty thoroughly enjoyed a very successful International Summer School in January 2016.
Vocational level students attended a 2-week Performance Course of Classical Ballet, Repertoire, Contemporary and Hip Hop classes which culminated in two amazing performances.
Grades level students attended a 1-week course of Classical Ballet, Creative Dance and Hip Hop classes, and experienced Makeup and Mime and Circus workshops as well as a trip to the St James Theatre and Royal NZ Ballet.
Teachers enjoyed a week of varied and stimulating courses including workshops with Dale Pope, Sarah Fitzsimons and Lisa Howell as well as a session with RNZB Artistic Director Francesco Ventriglia and courses covering different aspects of the syllabus with Paula Hunt and Lynn Wallis. There was also an opportunity to see a presentation from Angela Gendall about Movitae.
Faculty
Lynn Wallis (Artistic Director), Gina Andrews, Adrian Burnett, Pagan Dorgan, Sarah Fitzsimons, Lisa Howell, Paula Hunt, Braedyn Humphries, Jamie Knop, Caitlin Peetz, Dale Pope, Turid Revfeim, Sir Jon Trimmer, Francesco Ventriglia.
Comments
Anabel Jamieson – Summer School Participant
The week I spent at the RAD International Summer School in early January was absolutely brilliant. The days were jam packed with dance and fun activities. Classical, creative and hip hop dancing in the mornings followed by circus and make up and mime is my idea of a perfect week! I also loved the trip to the St James Theatre and the Royal NZ Ballet. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet lots of other dancers from other studios and have expert tuition from some inspirational teachers. I just wish it could be on every year!
Shelby Wells – Performance Course Participant
I loved to dance with all my friends and loved that I made new friends. I hope that I will see them again on the dance floor. Friends for life.
Heidi Rice – Parent
I just wanted to extend my sincere thanks for the opportunity Austin had to attend the ISS. He thoroughly enjoyed the 2 week programme and has come home inspired by the wonderful tutors he was so lucky to work with. He also made some fantastic friends along the way who share his passion for dance. As a mum of a male ballet dancer it is fantastic to have these opportunities to maintain motivation and drive in what can sometimes be a lonely journey for boys.
Anne Samson – Teacher
What a refreshing way to start the New Year. Our first class Creative Composition with Dale Pope was very enlightening, an inspirational young tutor full of enthusiasm for us to learn and grow from trained movement behaviour and discover unexpected and unexplained movement. The progress we made over the week was quite amazing, lots of bending and twisting our bodies as fabulous creations evolved. Thank you for the experience, I know I will certainly be taking this on board with my students.
Always good to go over difficult steps with Lynn Wallis, break them down and assess correct technique. I particularly enjoyed our time with Paula Hunt assessing examination standards through the examiner’s eye. Lisa Howell’s three days just made you hungry for more information from her – an amazing tutor who is 100% committed to us dance teachers for better understanding and knowledge. It was just lovely to see so many young teachers on the course, hungry for knowledge and for us also being able to share our experiences with them.
2012 – 7th International Summer School
What a fantastic experience the International Summer School in January was for the students,teachers and faculty who participated.
Vocational level students attended a 2-week Performance Course of Classical Ballet, Repertoire, Contemporary and Hip Hop classes which culminated in two wonderful performances.
Grades level students attended a 1-week course of Classical Ballet, Musical Theatre, Creative Dance and Hip Hop classes, and enjoyed Mime and Mask workshops as well as a trip to visit the St James Theatre and Royal NZ Ballet.
Teachers enjoyed a week of varied and stimulating courses including Lisa Howell workshops, Karen Nimmo sports psychology session, a lighting workshop and Benesh classes with Peter Boyes as well as sessions covering different aspects of the syllabus with Lynn Wallis and Paula Hunt.
Faculty
Lynn Wallis (Artistic Director), Darren Parish, Tomoko Furuya Hristov, Janne Blanch, Merenia Gray, Tanemahuta Gray, Libby Calder, Ritchie Cesan, Sir Jon Trimmer, Peter Boyes, Karen Nimmo, Lisa Howell, Paula Hunt.
2012 NZ ISS Faculty Biographies
Comments
Libby Lightfoot – Summer School Participant
I adored summer school because I had a great experience of different styles of dancing and I have a lot of enjoyable memories. My favourite thing of all was makeup and mime with Sir Jon Trimmer.
Isabel Norriss – Summer School Participant
Thankyou so much for the opportunity to attend the 2012 Summer School. It was awesome and I loved it all!! I enjoyed all the different classes, my favourite being the ballet. I’d never tried Hip Hop before and it was so much fun!! The teachers were great and I liked making some new friends. Can’t wait for the next one!!
Lachlan Fraser – Summer School Participant
I really enjoyed all of the types of dance that we did and my favourite was the contemporary dance with Tanemahuta. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a wonderful dancer when I’m older.
Madeline Lissington – Performance Course Participant
The performance course was such an amazing experience that I will always remember. All of the teachers were great and I learned so much from them all. During the two weeks I gained so much knowledge and experience and improved a lot. I particularly enjoyed the classical classes and also learning new styles like Hip Hop. One of the highlights of the course were the performances at the end of the two weeks. I also enjoyed meeting people and making new friends from different dance schools and from all around the country.
Tabitha Drombroski – Performance Course Participant
An awesome thing about the summer school was learning different techniques and trying out other dance forms like Hip Hop. It was such a cool experience having teachers from different places like London and Melbourne. A highlight for me would have to be the performance at the end of the two weeks. It was a little relaxed in the beginning as it was all about getting the material stuck into your head. But as the days went on the pressure sunk in as some of the dances took longer to learn than others. But the final performance was amazing, when all the groups, Red, Green, Yellow, Blue and Orange got together and delivered an amazing show. Dancing 5 hours a day for 12 days was tiring for everyone but we all managed very well and pulled off the show at the end of the course. Of course we all had our friends to help us out and go over the routines, but most of all for support. Plus you got to make new friends from all over New Zealand. So in conclusion the International Summer School was all amazing. Can’t wait till the next one in 4 years time!!! 🙂
Nicky Galbraith – Mother of Hannah (Summer School Participant)
What a fantastic experience the RAD 2012 Grades Summer School was for my 11 year old daughter, Hannah! It was our first experience at a Summer School and we weren’t really sure what to expect. We arrived at the New Zealand School of Dance on the first day to a very warm welcome. Hannah was so excited and that feeling remained with her for the entire week. She came back to the motel each night with a huge smile on her face and couldn’t wait to get back to dance each day. She became really attachd to all the teachers and made some lovely friendships with the other students in her class. I was so impressed with the calibre of the teachers – what a fantastic opportunity for the pupils! It was an absolute pleasure to view the classes on the Friday and Saturday. Everyone was astonished at the extremely high standard of thechoreography and at how much the children had accomplished in such a short space of time. Hannah has such a love for dance and this Summer School has helped feed that passion even more. Thank you to everyone who put so much into making this such a wonderful experience.
Anne Samson – Teacher
Another fabulous International Summer Seminar. “Thanks RAD”. What a great teachers’ course we had. I am sure all teachers are in unison with this. We had such a choice of topics – Flexibility, Observation, Revision, Sports Psychology, Lighting to name a few. I have to mention Benesh. Peter Boyes was great to work with. With studying this 4 years ago and attending another session I now have much more clarity and understanding and am quite confident I can follow my syllabus. Faculty were an inspiration to all students and I am sure they will take back many wonderful memories. To sum it up, I can certainly say I have come away knowing I have upgraded my skills as a teacher.
2008 – 6th International Summer School
Vocational level students attended a 2-week Performance Course of Classical Ballet, Repertoire, Contemporary, Musical Theatre and Jazz classes which culminated in two wonderful performances. Grades level students attended a 1-week course of Classical Ballet, Musical Theatre and Jazz classes, and enjoyed Mime and Mask; Circus and Percussion workshops as well as a trip to visit the St James Theatre and Royal NZ Ballet. Teachers enjoyed 2 weeks of stimulating courses.
Faculty
Lynn Wallis (Artistic Director), Denise Skinner, Justine Berry, Liz Kinley, Matz Skoog, Shani Mitchell, Sue Goodman, Valerie Sunderland, Andreas Lepper, Sir Jon Trimmer, Peter Boyes, Sue Nicholls.
Comments
Sophie Arbuckle – Summer School participant
I liked the circus skills best and percussion and makeup and mime, and musical theatre and jazz and ballet! In fact, I loved it all. Highlights were climbing the tissue in circus and the trapeze. Doing jazz for the first time. Can’t wait for the next one.
Julia Robinson – Performance Course participant
The two weeks I spent in Wellington with the RAD were possibly the best two weeks of my life! The highlight for me was definitely the two performances. We had so much fun dancing in the best show in Wellington! I gained more than just knowledge from the Summer School. I gained experience, confidence and friends. I really enjoyed making new friends and sharing their passion for dancing. I can’t wait until the next time the Summer School comes to New Zealand!
Karyn Drummond – Parent
Thank you so much for organizing such a fantastic RAD Summer School. My daughter, Breana (age 7), learnt so much and has come away even more (who would have thought it possible?) passionate about dance. All of your tutors were amazing, both in their technique and manner. I loved watching Breana on her final Saturday, to see what she’d been up to throughout her week. I was amazed at how very quickly the children had picked up things they’d never attempted before. We will, without a doubt, be seeing you in another 4 years.
2004 – 5th International Summer School
Vocational level students attended a 2-week Performance Course of Classical Ballet, Repertoire, Contemporary, and Choreography classes which culminated in a wonderful performance. Grades level students attended a 1-week course of Classical Ballet, Creative Dance and Group Dance classes, and enjoyed Mime and Mask; Repertoire workshops as well as a trip to visit Capital E and to the St James Theatre and Royal NZ Ballet. Teachers enjoyed 2 weeks of stimulating courses.
Faculty
Lynn Wallis (Artistic Director), Patricia Linton, Valerie Aitken, Paula Steeds, Deirdre Tarrant, Peter Boyes, Sue Goodman, Carl Myers, Jill Firth, Paula Hunt, Sue Nicholls, Katie Haines
Comment
Nicola Forrest-McLernon – Parent
We were blown away by the concert – so simple, no props, superb accompanists and the participants obviously were having a ball. Our thanks to all who organized the Summer School and provided Isabel with such an inspiring opportunity. It was great that dancers of all abilities were able to attend rather than just the best.
1999 – 4th International Summer School
Major Students attended Classical, Jazz, Benesh, Anatomy, Pointe Work Character Repertoire and Contemporary classes. Grades students attended 1-week courses comprising classes in Classical, Percussion, Character, Jazz and Group Dance. Teachers’ Courses were held concurrently.
Faculty
Lynn Wallis (Artistic Director), Sherilyn Kennedy, Tina Stuart, Moira McCormack, Shona McCullagh, Joy Ransley, Carl Myers, Barbara Warren-Smith, Andreas Lepper, Matz Skoog, Peter Boyes, Michael Brett, Deirdre Tarrant, Paula Hunt, Robyn Charlton-Kelly
Comments
Elizabeth Chivers – Grades Course participant
I really enjoyed taking part in all the dancing activities and it was fun doing some of the different things such as group dances and percussion. I learnt a lot by the experience and I especially like the Character classes with Joy Ransley. We learnt some cool moves in Jazz and made some awesome sounds in percussion. It was great meeting people from lots of different places and making new friends. It was very exciting for me to meet Lynn Wallis, Artistic Director of the Royal Academy of Dance from England and other International Tutors.
Maia Russell – Majors Course participant
The 1999 International Summer School, held at the (awesome) Te Whaea Dance Centre in Wellington was undoubtedly one of the best ballet seminars that I have attended. Not only did I thoroughly enjoy and learn heaps from the excellent classes and tutors (especially Matz Skoog, Sherilyn Kennedy and Carl Myers) I was also able to meet loads of really friendly people (from all over New Zealand) and was able to see what a fun and beautiful city Wellington was.
1994 – 3rd International Summer School
Major Students attended Contemporary, Character, Classical, Jazz and Repertoire classes. Grades students attended 1-week courses comprising classes in Classical, Group Dance, Creative Movement, Music, and Character. Teachers’ Courses were held concurrently.
Faculty
Pamela May (Artistic Director), John Byrne, Hilary Cartwright, Jacqueline Ferguson, Lynnette Kelley, Valerie Sunderland, Barbara Morrison, Robyn Hick, Hope Keelan, Arlene Erb, Rhian Robbins, Eli Gray-Smith, Dawn Sanders, Teresa Keast, Ou Lu, Ann Dewey, Carole Speirs, Paula Hunt
1989 – 2nd International Summer School
120 students aged 10-19 attended Classical, Character, Repetoire, Virtuosity and Advanced Syllabus classes. A highlight of this Summer School was a visit from skaters Torvill and Dean.
Faculty
Julia Farron, (Artistic Director), Shirley Grahame, David Wall, Susan Cooper, Joahne O’Hara, Valerie Sunderland, Alfreda Thorogood, Noreen Chisholm
Comment
Julia Farron, Artistic Director of the Royal Academy of Dancing: The students get a great deal out of it – they are working with very professional people, receiving tuition from expert teachers, which is important at this level. It gives them a polish and an idea of what it is like out there in the big world.”
1984 – 1st International Summer School
The International Summer School was held for the first time in New Zealand – in Wellington – in 1984. The NZ National Administrator, Shirley Baker, organised the exciting event, and the Artistic Director of the then Royal Academy of Dancing, Miss Julia Farron, supervised the final arrangements. More than 70 dance teachers and 90 students from all parts of the country participated in the event which began with auditions and ended with a stunning performance. Eight studios from around Wellington were used during the Summer School. The London-based Royal Academy sent 10 tutors and its musical director to New Zealand to tutor classes in Contemporary, Free Class, Virtuosity, Rep/Solos and Production. Teachers attended 2 weeks of stimulating courses.
Faculty
Julia Farron,(Artistic Director), Maryon Lane, Brenda Last, Anne Heaton, Alfleda Thorogood, Sara Neil, David Wall, Valerie Sunderland, Marilyn Walliams, Joyce Butler, Graham Dickson-Place
Comments
Julia Farron, Artistic Director of the Royal Academy of Dancing: “The New Zealand response to the Royal Academy of Dancing’s International Summer School has been marvellous