Shaun James Kelly will dance in all three works in the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s (RNZB) latest program Venus Rising. He talks to Oliver Hall about the impact of ballet’s first same-sex kiss and RNZB’s female-led pioneering that is keeping the fine art relevant for generations to come.
In RNZB’s last production, Cinderella, Shaun starred as Prince Charming (a role he alternated with Joshua Guillemot-Rodgerson). Unlike your traditional fairytale, the avant-garde production saw Prince Charming fall in love with Prince Dashing, and share ballet’s first same-sex kiss.
“It’s just so relevant,” exclaims Shaun passionately. “It shouldn’t be taboo. It shouldn’t be a big deal. It’s was so great that a multigenerational of people got to see the production. Older people, young people, queer people, straight people, families!” He lists, emphasising the importance of each.
“We should be able to tell these stories within dance. Why can’t there be two princes that fall in love? There should be no boundaries! The fact that RNZB is so pro-inclusion and willing to tell those stories is great.”
For Shaun personally, he tells us that when dancing that role, he felt more himself on stage than ever before.

“I always love to become the character, so playing someone who was more authentically me felt very special. He was just a normal guy who fell in love with someone, and, for the first time ever, I could genuinely be this character for the audience,” he tells us, his voice filled with the emotion of the moment, highlighting the wide-reaching impact of representation on all of us.
From fairytale endings to pioneering equity, RNZB’s Venus Rising will finally tour the country this month, after being rescheduled due to Covid restrictions four times.
Shaun explains that Venus Rising is a program of three very different works, each choreographed by women. He describes Alice Topp’s ‘Aurum’ (which opens the show) as ‘beautifully visual.’
Inspired by the Japanese art of kintsugi, the practice of mending cracks in precious ceramics with gold, thus making something broken even more beautiful and unique than it was before. For Alice (who is Resident Choreographer at the Australian Ballet), this is a deeply personal piece about healing. As a dancer showcasing the work, Shaun describes it as a, “beautiful and poignant premise about identity and our relationships with ourselves.”
The second piece is ‘The Autumn Ball’, created by one of New Zealand’s brightest choreographic stars Sarah Foster-Sproull and commissioned in 2021 by the Wānaka Festival of Colour. Described as ‘dances through the circle of life’, Shaun explains the piece was inspired by Sarah’s personal journey, “making friends, having relationships, and that moment where you say goodbye.”

The final work is never been staged in New Zealand before, and Shaun says it is his ‘favourite.’
‘Waterbaby Bagatelles‘ involves 27 dancers, (“most of the company”) leaping and spinning across the stage in an ever-changing ocean of light, choreographed by one of world’s greatest, Twyla Tharp.
“There’s a real strength and camaraderie with the men in that piece. There’s a whole section where each of the men have a solo, flirting and watching each other. It ends with this epic last movement, where the whole collective really eat up the stage… It’s great that we’re harnessing all these different beautiful aspects of dance, not only classical ballet, but contemporary movement as well,” he says passionately.
While Shaun admits that ‘each work is open to interpretation’, a queer current does seem to be flowing through the program.
“You see same-sex relationships in ‘The Autumn Ball’ where the men dance together and partner with each other… For me, the whole program has a real sense of camaraderie and has tapped into the strong connections we have with each other within the company.” Shaun tells me, and I can’t help but note he met his partner Luke Cooper while dancing with the RNZB.

For Shaun, his passion for Venus Rising, and dancing for the RNZB in general, comes from collaborating with people who have something to say.
“These choreographers have their own individual identity, and they have something that they want to express through dance. Gender aside, these people have brilliant ideas and bring them to life on stage. They’re all so passionate about the art form!”
A creative environment where people are encouraged to be their authentic selves and put their point of view into their work has to be cultivated and for that Shaun credits RNZB Artistic Director Patricia Barker.
“She’s created a space for female movement in dance. This program was really a testament to her, giving these women the platform to showcase their work to the New Zealand audiences,” he tells us, highlighting a forward thinking approach that will keep this fine-art relevant for years to come.