Katherine Avery Ballet

Saturday ballet class in the heart of Auckland city...

For both young and mature dancers...

Full ballet class that has simple exercises to allow for real progression in turnout, line, stability, turns and jumps...

Wondering if this could be a class for you, click through...

www.katherineaveryballet.com/testimonials

Sunday was spent sharing my day with the dancers of AWDA Rhythm n Steps.

This day annually gives all the dancers the opportunity to perform their exam solos on the stage.

These four dancers, who do include my daughter Emily, are about to dance their ballet variations, it is clear to see the excitement and joy here ...

These gorgeous dancers are part of the Intermediate Foundation and Intermediate classes that I teach at AWDA with Kym Vickery.

Please feel welcome to join us for a session focused on this playful classical variation.

Variation 1, Pas de trois, Act 1, Swan Lake.

Saturday 22nd August - 2:00 pm - 2:30pm
Studio 2 - Wellesley Studios
$12 casual / PBT/Pointe card valid
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The session can be taken in flat shoes, or pointe shoes.
I am able to offer steps appropriate for a range of levels, intermediate - professional level.

​Follows weekly Open Ballet Class, 12:30 - 2pm, Studio 2 - $22.

Katherineaveryballet.com to learn more.

A testimonial from an adult dancer who attended Ballet Basics on a Saturday morning for 2 years,

"Finding Katherine has been one of the greatest blessings in my ballet journey. She is an incredibly caring, patient, and professional teacher with outstanding knowledge and years of teaching experience. For the past two years, I have been training in her Ballet Basics and PBT classes, and she has helped me build a strong and solid foundation that I know will stay with me for years to come. Those classes have been especially valuable. They strengthen the right muscles, improve body awareness, and help develop correct technique, making every movement feel more controlled and precise.

Today, I have gradually started taking intermediate and advanced classes alongside dancers who have trained for many years, including professional ballet dancers. Being able to keep up with them is something I never imagined when I first started. Looking back, I can clearly see how much I have improved, and I know it is all thanks to the solid foundation Katherine helped me build.
I am deeply grateful for her dedication, encouragement, and belief in her students. Thank you, Katherine, for inspiring me every step of the way. I couldn't have asked for a better teacher." Ruby

Running weekly in Studio 3.

Casual rate $22.00
10 class passes, valid for 12 months $200.00

katherineaveryballet.com if you would like to learn more.

Ballet | Katherine Avery Ballet | Auckland Katherine Avery Ballet offers open ballet classes at Wellesley Studios in the heart of Auckland.

When I joined Vienna Festival Ballet, my first performances were in Swan Lake, I was a cygnet to start with.

There is a lot to remember to be a Swan, not only the steps and the style, but also directions and who you are following and standing behind. As is quite common in ballet companies, performing something for the first time comes about as someone is needed at short notice, rehearsal time is limited, it is assumed you know the steps, so, you get to walk it through with the group to know where to go, and bang you are on the stage.

When dancing as a Swan in Act 2 and Act 4 everyone is wearing the same costume and hair style, so it is honestly terrifying to start off with, what if you follow the wrong dancer!

I can still remember being up all night going over and over, what to do, where to go, who to follow – both dancing it and visualizing in my head.

Not long after, I was also added to Act 1 and Act 3.
Act 1 - I alternated dancing as a townsperson and the soloist role of Pas de trois.
Act 3 - I always danced The Neapolitan Tarantella , the photo is of the costume for this. I loved dancing this every time. I often use the music in class for allegro!

The repertoire for Wednesday Pointe class at the moment is the first variation from the Pas de trois and I am planning to run a Saturday session soon.

All of the classes at Wellesley Studios today were such a delight to lead.

Today I saw some very beautiful and pure arabesques, I saw courage from new and young dancers coming into the class for the first time. I saw improvements in strength in pointe work and turns.

I saw many beautiful moments.

It is a privilege to share the classroom with you all.

Dancing for me has never been about costumes, more about the physical challenge, and working out how to make the steps come together to delight or inform.

The first real tutu’s that I wore were these two, these are the Australian Ballet Company’s costumes, I think they may still be in use.

At the National Theatre Ballet School, our end of your production in 1991 was Act 2 Scene 2, (the dream scene) and Act 3 of Don Quixote, arranged by Ann Jenner.

I danced as a Dryad in Act 2, and as a Friend of Kitri in Act 3.

This was a full production on the wonderful National Theatre Stage; we even had Bryan Ashbridge quest as Don Quixote.

We were schooled just as a ballet company would be with expectations of perfect lines, clear technique and the full embodiment of the style for each section.

I well remember the baubles on the headdress banging together as I danced.

Classes running in the school holidays, open to dancers of all ages at the appropriate level,

Saturday 4th July
10:45 am PBT
11:15 am Ballet Basics
12:30 pm Open Class Inter/adv
2:00 pm Pointe

Wednesday 8th July
12:15 pm Open Class Elem/Inter
1:15 pm Pointe

Saturday 11th July
Matariki Weekend, no classes are running.

Wednesday 15th July
12:15 pm Open Class Ele/Inter
1:15 pm Pointe

Saturday 18th July
10:45 am PBT
11:15 am Ballet Basics
12:30 pm Open Class Inter/adv
2:00 pm Pointe

Casual class fees,
$21 Ballet Basics, Open Class
$11 Saturday pointe.
Wed pointe is $60 divided by the number of dancers.

Class levels explained at

Ballet | Katherine Avery Ballet | Auckland Katherine Avery Ballet offers open ballet classes at Wellesley Studios in the heart of Auckland.

On my first day in London, 1992, I headed straight to Covent Garden, home of The Royal Ballet. I had followed The Royal Ballet and The Birmingham Royal Ballet through the pages of books and magazines all through my adolescence, and here I was in front of the Royal Opera House.

I cherish this pile of programs; they are very distinctively the programs of The Royal Ballet and The Birmingham Royal Ballet. They document the performances I was able to see when living in London.

Everything was wonderful to see, the maturity of the port de bra, the strength of the feet and performances that truly transport the audience.

I think of these three performances most often,

Tales of Beatrix Potter –this was an absolute joy, the costumes, the playfulness of the choreography and the skill of dancers. I remember skipping to the music playing in my head to the tube that night.

Thais Pas de deux – dancers who come to my classes often, know a couple of times a year I use this music, and reminisce about the pure beauty of this piece.

La Bayadere – this is the only time I have been moved to tears by a performance, the heartbreaking conclusion to the story, well this was real on the stage portrayed by Susan Jaffe and Irek Mukhamedov.

Ballet | Katherine Avery Ballet | Auckland Katherine Avery Ballet offers open ballet classes at Wellesley Studios in the heart of Auckland.