She says the junior children love it as it has songs with actions which is unusual for this type of dance.
Cottontail will be part of the junior school's item in the concert. Photo / Supplied
About 39 middle students will be performing Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker.
There will also be solo items by senior students, showcasing work performed in their ballet dance over the past year. There is also a 20-minute ballet choreographed by Anne called ‘The Eruption’, based on the Tarawera eruption, purely in dance form.
The concert’s second half will include 34 students performing Les Sylphides, which Anne says is a beautiful ballet and story showcasing how people danced in the 18th century.
Anne says it is a relief to finally be holding the 50th Jubilee Concert, and she is very excited.
“It will be so nice to be back in the theatre [Sir Howard Morrison Centre] and for the students to dance for their parents. They are so excited.
“It is special to feel like things are coming back to normal and the centre has got a wonderful ambience.”
Anne encourages people to come along and see the concert, saying there is something for everyone within it.
“Cottontail will definitely entertain the children, they will love it so much.
“The concert can also help spark something within children, to dream and think one day it will be their turn to be up on the stage. It’s inspirational for them.”
She says it would be lovely to fill the theatre. Including the intermission, the show is about an hour and 45 minutes.
Anne was introduced to ballet at a young age, when her mother played piano for the Auckland Ballet Academy.
She and her sisters would sit for hours and watch the classes while her mum played.
She started assisting the class teachers from the age of 10, and Anne and her sisters had the opportunity to learn ballet at the academy for free.
Anne passed her exams with the highest of marks, and once she passed her elementary exam she was able to become a teacher.
Having no car, she would bus to the academy’s five branches, and at times it would take two buses to get there and back. But she loved it so much that she did not mind.
Anne taught ballet in Auckland for 15 years and moved to Rotorua in 1986 to bring up her children here. She has now been teaching ballet in Rotorua for 38 years.
She says she had the privilege to work within the local primary schools for 15 years running a specialised dance programme, but as her ballet school grew, she had to give the schools programme away.
Anne says one of the highlights in her career has been seeing past student Saul Newport go on to be part of the Royal New Zealand Ballet and the Houston Ballet’s main company.
The details
- What: Anne Samson School of Ballet 50th Jubilee
- When: Saturday, April 1, two show times - 1pm and 6.30pm
