When the Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB) toured North America earlier this year, Laura Saxon Jones (pictured) realised two incredible dance experiences: she danced alongside an idol of hers, Qi Huan, and on New York’s Joyce Theatre stage.
Jones trained at Sydney’s The Ballet Class before moving to Wellington, at age 16, to join the NZ School of Dance in 2011. She quickly made her mark there and was chosen to work with the RNZB in Ethan Stiefel and Johan Kobborg’s new production of Giselle while in second year. She was awarded the 2012 Todd Scholarship and then offered a contract to join RNZB at the sta of 2013.
Jones had not previously been to America (neither had RNZB for 21 years) so the company’s month-long US tour gave her the opportunity to experience cities like Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Minneapolis and New York for the first time.
In LA she performed with RNZB principal guest artist Gillian Murphy and Qi Huan in Giselle, which opened at the LA Music Center (where the Academy Awards were held until the late 90s).
“Qi was my first friend here at the company. I have always been in awe of him. The US A tour was his last season with the company, so it was very special that to dance with him before his last performance.” In NY the company presented Benjamin Millepied’s 28 Variations on a Theme by Paganini; Andrew Simmon’s Of Days and Javier de Frutos’ Banderillero.
“To think of all the wonderful artists who had graced the stage before me,” she says, “it was almost daunting. I felt I had . . . to add to the wonderful history within the walls!”
This article was first published in the June/July 2014 issue oF Dance Australia magazine.