Folklore

We are Auckland New Ballet - Tamaki Makaurau's newest ballet collective of emerging and established freelance dance artists. ANB are raising funds to support our inaugural season of work, Folklore, to be staged in September and toured throughout the North Island this summer. 

Auckland New Ballet is a collective of seven freelance dancers based in Tamaki Makaurau. 

We are:

Madison Fotti-Knowles - ANB founder, creative director, choreographer and artist

Zoe White - ANB producer, choreographer and artist

Amelia Chandulal-Mackay -  ANB socials manager and artist

Gracie Lewis - ANB choreographer and artist

Isabella Guyan - ANB choreographer and artist

Louis Ramsay - ANB artist

We are passionate about the enduring power of ballet to transmit emotion, to uplift and to inspire. We believe ballet should be accessible and welcoming financially, intellectually, and that audiences should leave deeply moved. 

We are fortunate to have received seed funding of $20,000 to secure a venue and costuming, hire rehearsal space, and compensate our seven members for rehearsal. Our fundraising push is aimed towards three main avenues:

- A shoe stipend for ANB Artists

- Compensation for 4 live musicians from the Kulios ensemble 

- Costs of touring Folklore to 4-5 venues Summer 2026/27. 

A standard pointe shoe costs between $180-$250 and lasts approximately 10-12 hours of wear per pair. Professional ballet dancers can go through anywhere between 1-2 pairs a week, or up to a pair per performance. Within full-time companies, pointe shoes are provided  for the dancers, whilst our freelance collective self-funds their shoes. We would like to offer our artists 1-2 pairs of pointe shoes or flat shoes for the performance season. 

We are hoping to collaborate with the Kulios ensemble for our shows, with a quartet accompanying select pieces across our programme. Raising $1600 would allow us to offer these artists a performance fee in the form of a koha. 

We project a travel and accommodation budget of $1250 for each stop of our tour. Donations allow us to safely transport and house our artists in the townships we plan to perform. 

Folklore is a mixed-repertory evening of classical and neoclassical ballet, centred on the enduring human fascination with fairytale, folklore and fable. Our goal is to introduce the awe, grace and power of ballet to new and diverse audiences, offering a new perspective and up-close view of ballet. We want to connect, converse with, and move people!

Act 1: Tales from the Past is a selection of excerpts from the classical ballet repertoire, celebrating the great canon of story ballets and the figures who populate them. Excerpts include Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Don Quixote and more. 

Act 2: Songs of Tomorrow showcases four exciting new neoclassical works in conversation with themes of folklore, choreographed by members of ANB. 

Folkore premieres September 18-19 at Holy Trinity Church, Parnell. 

We are so excited to be debuting our first season as Auckland New Ballet this September. Our ultimate goal is for Auckland New Ballet to become a sustainable long-term project and to continue showcasing accessibly-priced ballet performances for the New Zealand public. Funding allows us to put much more of our performance profit towards future seasons of work into 2027 and beyond, and makes the future of ANB more secure. 

You should share around, donate to, or come and see Folklore if you are ballet-curious, a fan of storytelling arts, live music or immersive experiences, passionate about the future of live arts projects in New Zealand, or just want a great idea for a really special date night. 

We at Auckland New Ballet are profoundly grateful for the support and encouragement we have already received and we warmly look forward to seeing you in September and beyond.