The New Zealand Dance Company

The New Zealand Dance Company (NZDC) is committed to championing dance and envisions maintaining a sustainable, permanent, high-calibre company that showcases New Zealand’s finest contemporary dance practitioners. Established in 2011 by Shona McCullagh (NZ Arts Laureate and current Auckland Arts Festival Artistic Director) and Frances Turner, NZDC launched its debut programme, Language of Living, in 2012. The company broke from the traditional project-based model and embraced a sustainable approach, presenting various choreographic works rather than focusing on single projects or choreographers.

NZDC is known for creating and performing innovative, inspiring dance that resonates deeply with audiences in Aotearoa and across the globe. Their work reflects New Zealand’s land and cultural heritage, offering audiences transformative experiences that highlight the company’s adventurous and boundary-pushing ethos. This spirit invigorates dancers, artists, and collaborators, fostering bold and expansive contemporary performances.

Over the past five years, The New Zealand Dance Company has reached nearly 70,000 live audience members through performances in New Zealand and on international stages. Their repertoire includes 26 works from choreographers from New Zealand, Australia, Holland, and South Korea, and they maintain a presence on stage annually in Auckland and throughout New Zealand. NZDC has taken its performances abroad with six international tours, gracing esteemed venues such as the Holland Dance Festival, Chaillot Theatre in Paris, and theatres across Germany, Britain, Belgium, and Luxembourg.