Christchurch’s Southern Ballet closes after 50 years as former artistic director and board chair open new academy in its place
Tuesday, 21 July 2026
One of Christchurch’s longest-running dance schools has closed after 50 years - and two of its former leaders have opened a new academy from the same premises.
Southern Ballet announced last Thursday it would close at the end of the term two holidays, ending its five decades of ballet training in Christchurch.
“After 50 incredible years, the Southern Ballet Theatre Board has made the difficult decision to close the school,” the dance school said on their social media pages.
However, former artistic director Katie Hurst-Saxton and former board chair Tasman Davids have since announced the founding of the Nova Dance Academy from the same Carlyle St studios in Sydenham.
Hurst-Saxton, who was appointed artistic director of Southern Ballet 18 months ago, announced the change on her Instagram account three weeks ago.
“The name Nova represents a new start, a new beginning,” Hurst-Saxton wrote in the Instagram post. “Together with Tasman Davids, we’ll continue offering high-quality classical ballet training from the Carlyle Street studios, building on everything we’ve loved while creating something new for the future.”
Davids, a financial adviser who served as board chair of Southern Ballet from October 2024 until May this year, said financial pressures had made the Southern Ballet closure unavoidable.
“When they were trying to make those positive changes, they just hit the economy at a downturn,” he said. “It’s just sort of another one that's sort of fallen by that same wayside.”
He and Hurst-Saxton then launched Nova. “The only reason why we’ve continued going is purely because we actually really do care about the kids,” he said.
“We’re doing our best to maintain it and you know get it kickstarted and going again.”
Classes were cancelled on Monday evening while Nova finalised arrangements with the landlord to assume the lease, said Davids, with the academy hoping to be up and running again on Tuesday.
Southern Ballet was founded in 1975 by Lorraine Peters QSM after a visiting English ballet examiner awarded her students high marks, inspiring her to establish the school. It staged its first show, Giselle, that same year.
In December last year the school had around 300 students aged from three to their 70s, with dancers travelling from as far as Rolleston and Lyttelton to attend classes on Carlyle St.
Hurst-Saxton started dancing ballet at age 5, took up full-time classical training at age 12 and was given a contract by the Royal New Zealand Ballet Company when she was just 16.
She left the company, aged 25 after her relationship with fellow lead dancer Michael Braun ended, telling Stuff she wanted to pursue her dream of working in a pet shop.