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Jenny Stevenson started her ballet training in England at the age of 8 years, when she attended the Legat School of Ballet, a boarding school where Russian ballet in the style of Nicholas Legat was taught and interspersed with school work. On arriving in New Zealand at the age of 11 Jenny began training at the Nettleton Edwards School of Dance where she remained until joining the New Zealand Ballet Company in 1967 for a short contract. Jenny then was accepted into the New Zealand School of Dance and was amongst the first group of graduates. After another season with the NZ Ballet she returned to Auckland where she danced as a Happen Inn dancer for television.
Wishing to pursue an interest in modern dance, Jenny moved to Australia in 1969 where she trained and completed a tour with the Australian Dance Theatre. On her return to New Zealand to marry, she moved to Wellington with her husband Jim Stevenson and in 1974 founded the Dance Centre which offered many different types of dance training for both adults and children. The Dance Centre ran for 15 years with several other partner/teachers while Jenny travelled and lived overseas with Jim. In 1987 Jenny founded the Wellington Performing Arts Centre which became an NZQA Private Training Establishment offering full-time training in dance, acting and musical theatre as well as dance, yoga and drama community classes for both adults and children. The Centre ran for 21 year before being sold to Whitireia New Zealand in 2008. Jenny has also worked as a reviewer and dance writer and was for many years the dance critic for the Dominion and Dominion Post. She also wrote a monthly column on dance for the Dominion.
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Carla van Zon
Carla van Zon has been involved in the arts in New Zealand and internationally for over 40 years. Having been involved in the festival since it started in 1986, Carla was both the Executive Director (1996–2000) and Artistic Director (2000–2006) of the New Zealand International Arts Festival. In 2013 she was Artistic Director of the Auckland Arts Festival and again in 2015–2017). Between her two directorships at festivals Carla was the International Manager for the Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa. Carla grew up in a dance family. Her mother, Boukje van Zon, ran a creative dance school from the 50s in Auckland for over 40 years. Carla went on to study dance, gaining an MA in Dance and Arts Administration from George Washington University in the USA as well as a broad range of professional experiences in the arts. She has worked with a variety of theatre & dance companies, venues, the New Zealand Film Commission, producing New Zealand work and Co-Directing the New Caledonia New Zealand season for the Government of France, managing Te Kanikani O Te Rangatahi (which became Taiao) and Douglas Wright, and managed New Zealand’s presence at Venice Biennale 2009. Carla has initiated and produced commissioned works by many NZ choreographers, including Michel Parmenter, Raewyn Schwabl, Sue Jordan, Warwick Broadhead, Peter Te Tau, Jamie Bull and Ali East. As well as leading and mentoring many other artists, and challenged, enriched, educated and excited audiences. Carla is currently on the board of the New Zealand Dance Company. Carla has received the following: • Awarded ONZM in the 2000 Queens Birthday Honours for services to the arts • Voted Arts Wellingtonian of the year 2005 • 2016 awarded a life time achievement award at the Auckland Theatre Awards • Next Woman of the Year Arts and Culture 2017 • Over the period she was Executive Director and Artistic Director for the NZ International Festival of the Arts, the Festival won four national tourism awards and was the winner of the Gold Business Award for best Business in the Wellington region. |
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