BALLET DANCERS IN N.Z.
World’s Highest Proportion
"The Press'’ Special Service WELLINGTON, January 15. New Zealand has the highest number of ballet pupils in proportion to its population of any country in the world, according to Mr Poul Gnatt, maitre de ballet of the New Zealand Ballet Company. There are 40,000 ballet pupils in the Dominion, but their futures in New Zealand as dancers are very limited, he says. “Talent is going for nought; gifted dancers fade out before they achieve anything, give up and get married,” Mr Gnatt said in a recent interview. Bursaries for overseas studies for the top few are scarce and New Zealand is not big enough to support its own large ballet company -to use the many nearbursary winners. Mr Gnatt believes that a population of 10,000,000 would be the minimum size for New Zealand to support a large ballet company. Nevertheless, for all the apparent hopelessness, the annual adult education school held in Wellington by Mr Gnatt is now in its sixth year and is full of the best dancers in the country. They are prepared to travel from all parts of New Zealand, to pay lOgns for the course and to spend 100 solid hours of study and hard work.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19590116.2.187
Bibliographic details
Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28795, 16 January 1959, Page 14
Word Count
207BALLET DANCERS IN N.Z. Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28795, 16 January 1959, Page 14
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