Laura Saxon Jones wins Warren Douglas Scholarship

9 Mar

For Laura Saxon Jones, dance is not only a discipline for which she has had a lifelong love but a vehicle to influence positive social change.

Having launched her professional dance career dancing in the revered Royal New Zealand Ballet, Laura has since gone on to perform as part of Ballet Collective Aotearoa and Primarily Dance, and has established an educational dance initiative named ‘Plies Please’ to inspire and engage a new generation of dancers.

Warren Douglas Scholarship winner, Laura Saxon Jones.

With aspirations to maximise her impact in the dance community even after her time en pointe, Laura has commenced study towards a Post Graduate Diploma in Dance Studies at the University of Auckland. This qualification aims to provide dancers with the additional teaching, performance, choreography and researching skills required to pursue leadership, administrative or managerial roles within the dance, performance and arts sectors.

Laura says, "my purpose is to assist in creating positive social changes within the dance community. I believe I can do this with larger impact by transitioning from artist to artistic administration and management.”

Nikau Foundation was delighted to assist, awarding Laura the Warren Douglas scholarship in late 2020. “Laura was the perfect recipient for the Warren Douglas Scholarship," says Nikau Foundation Executive Director, Alice Montague. "She displays not only a passion for her craft but a willingness to support other dancers with their own career growth."

Established the memory of Warren Douglas; an exceptionally talented ballet dancer who sadly passed away far too early in 1995, the scholarship aims to aid a dancer's transition from performance to arts administration, as Warren himself had done, moving from the New Zealand Ballet to the Manager of the Opera House.

"Warren experienced the challenges of this transition first-hand and wanted to help bridge this gap for others following in his footsteps. We are delighted to facilitate and manage this scholarship to benefit young performers long into the future" Alice says.

We look forward to following Laura's career journey.

To find out more about the Warren Douglas Scholarship, click here.

Warren Douglas Scholarship