A ballet first: Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB) is the first major ballet company to present a 12-month dance season featuring works by female choreographers. Former Pacific Northwest ballerina and current RNZB artist director Patricia Barker embarked on planning this season to challenge the narrative that an all-women-choreographer year was rare. Barker wants to normalize this, showcasing that it is “just as easy to hire a woman as a man.”

Barker champions having more women as directors of dance companies and in executive positions. She believes that the “balance of equality rests solely on the shoulders of artistic directors, and each one of us needs to be held accountable for our choices and how we collectively shape this industry.”

This upcoming season, RZNB will feature works such as a new production of The Sleeping Beauty, choreographed by Danielle Rowe after Marius Petipa, as well as premiering pieces by Kiara Flavin, Andrea Schermoly, and Sarah Foster-Sproull.