New Zealand ballet’s rising star
Recovering from a potentially career-ending accident, one Royal New Zealand Ballet dancer is about to spread his wings, writes Sarah Catherall.
Dragged under the wheel of a London bus, ballet dancer Joseph Skelton was told he might never walk again without a limp.
Enrolled in England’s prestigious Royal Ballet School, which has Margot Fontyne among its alumni, the Gisborne-born dancer spent nine months in intensive rehabilitation with a steel rod in his leg.
While others would be daunted by the prospect of learning to walk and dance again, Skelton was thrown back to the ballet barre, learning many of the basic steps he had spent years mastering.
Now a dancer with the Royal New Zealand Ballet, it’s full credit to the 26-year-old that he has been invited across the Tasman as a guest principal artist with The Australian Ballet.
Skelton is currently dancing the lead role of Albrecht in the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s production of Giselle on its national tour, and it’s the first time in history that a company dancer has been invited to join the much bigger ballet company as a guest dancer.
The temporary export of one of our dancing stars came about thanks to Royal New Zealand Ballet artistic director Francesco Ventriglia, who was asked by his artistic equivalent, David McAllister, to find a lead male role.
‘‘It’s a wonderful opportunity for Joseph and the RNZB to fly the New Zealand flag – he will make a great dance ambassador,’’ says Ventriglia.
Offstage, the principal dancer is easygoing, shrugging his shoulders and smiling when asked how he feels.
‘‘It’s exciting, but a bit nervewracking. I love the role, but it’s so physically challenging. You’ve got all the big lifts and jumps and in the second-half, Albrecht is literally danced to death by ‘the willies’. The physicality of it and the strength is tough.’’
The principal dancer comes from a family of dancers and danced on stage with his older brother, Nathaneal, who was with the company until earlier this year.
It was Nathaneal who inspired him to pursue a ballet career – a decade ago, Nathanael was dancing with the Birmingham Ballet when Joseph, who is six years younger, ventured across and was accepted to study at the Elmhurst School of Dance, and then the Royal Ballet School.
Joseph first stepped into the ballet world when he watched Nathanael and their sister, Abby, at a Pukekohe ballet school.
His memory of those days is hazy, but at the age of four, blonde, blue-eyed Joseph donned a pair of ballet shoes and placed his feet in ‘‘first position’’.
‘‘It was fun to do and I loved the classical music. I liked being active.’’ Over the years, he moved from the ballet barre to the sports field, also playing cricket and rugby.
It was Nathanael’s decision to pursue ballet as a career that fuelled his own interest, making him realise it was possible.
‘‘I went over and auditioned for the Royal Ballet School, and they asked me to go and join the school and I pretty much turned up and started dancing on the first day.
‘‘I learned that it wasn’t all high jumping and spinning. I learned all the technical aspects of using the right muscles,’’ he smiles.
But while dancing in London, he was skateboarding over a bus lane (he grimaces remembering it), when he was bowled by a bus.
His right leg was caught and shattered, his foot broken in 10 places.
Wheelchair-bound, he was given intensive rehabilitation to get back on his feet again.
‘‘It all worked out in the end,’’ he smiles. ’’But it was like going back to high school. I had to learn how my muscles worked again.’’
Returning from England, Joseph joined the Royal New Zealand Ballet in 2011, where over time he has shone in a number of solo roles in Don Quixote, Salute and as Zoltan in Coppelia.
Liam Scarlett created the role of Lysander for him in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2015) and he was the Wizard in the RNZB’s recent sell-out The Wizard of Oz.
He made his debut as Albrecht in Giselle during the RNZB’s European tour at the end of 2015.
In Australia, Joseph will partner Auckland-born Karen Nanasca, who joined The Australian Ballet School in 2006.
She’ll be dancing the title role of Giselle and Joseph will be her leading man, visiting three centres in New South Wales.
‘‘I’ve never danced professionally in Australia, or for another ballet company. It’s a real honour to be chosen and I felt very proud when I told my family,’’ he says.
His boss, Ventriglia, says he wanted to give Joseph the opportunity to grow and also to push him.
‘‘He’s strong technically and a very nice prince on stage. He’s very elegant and he’s blonde and blue-eyed with good legs.
‘‘I want to give him a challenge. I believe in Joseph and part of my responsibility as artistic director is to nurture that talent. I tell the dancers that you always can be better than yourself every day.’’
Despite the dominance of females in the ballet world, it was the three Skelton lads who danced, while their sisters stopped.
Younger brother Matthias, 17, goes to the same ballet school, Draper Academy of Dance. Nathaneal, meanwhile, has stopped dancing and manages a Gisborne cafe.
Joseph’s girlfriend, Katherine Grange, has been with the Royal New Zealand Ballet since 2010 and started as a Todd Scholar.
Offstage, he plays the guitar and piano. ’’I like surfing when the conditions are right,’’ he says.
When Joseph returns from his stint in Australia, he is likely to return to the stage as Lysander in a special short Wellington season of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in November.