The Royal New Zealand Ballet’s artistic director, Ethan Stiefel, will be leaving the company at the beginning of September, after three years of service. He cites personal reasons and isolation as the reasons for his decision. “Since 2011, I have enjoyed growing alongside the RNZB, and I am fortunate to have been given the opportunity to live and work in New Zealand. Despite how rewarding the experience has been, it has proved difficult on a personal level to be so far from family and friends,” he says. “Furthermore, the distance has also made it challenging to explore other professional projects that have been presented to me, without taking too much time away from the company. For these reasons I will be leaving the RNZB on September 1st. I cannot thank everyone in the organisation enough for their support and I look forward to seeing the company continue to evolve and achieve great things.”
The RNZB is sorry to be losing Stiefel but believes that his work has helped to make the company an attractive proposition to potential applicants for the position. “We believe that the increased international profile that Ethan Stiefel has brought to the RNZB can only be a positive thing as we look to appoint his successor,” says Candis Craven, RNZB chair.
An international search for a new artistic director has already commenced and the company hopes to confirm an appointment by 1 September 2014.
Ethan Stiefel. Photo: Bill Cooper.
