Simone Kallil has returned to Dio and will now pick up her former role from Zoe, as Teacher in Charge of Dance.
Zoe is a graduate of the New Zealand School of Dance and worked on a number of shows and productions including the New Zealand TV show So You Think You Can Dance, before a 10-year stint with the Black Grace Dance Company. During this time, she performed at the New York City Center Theatre and taught masterclasses around the world, including at some of the top colleges in the US.
After having two children, Zoe moved to the role of Company Teacher with Black Grace, leading the company of professional dancers through rehearsals, performances, and national and international tours. She also spent two years co-designing and teaching Black Grace’s education programme, including teaching the current NCEA curriculum throughout schools across New Zealand, and in 2015, she was named on the Honours Board at the New Zealand School of Dance.
In a second string to her bow, Zoe also plays the piano as well as a violin at teacher level and says her participation in orchestra and choir performances were some of the most rewarding experiences of her own secondary school education.
Zoe says: “I love that ‘the Arts’ teaches valuable life skills to all who are involved. Regardless of whether our students go on to work in the arts industry, participation in these fields fosters confidence, empathy, discipline, collaboration, and communication skills. Students who study the arts learn skills of relevance to the human experience. In today’s world, these skills are not only highly regarded but, I believe essential, for a positive future focus.”
As the new Head of Faculty, Zoe will manage visual arts, drama, dance, and music, as well as planning for the future of the arts subjects in the context of the new Performing Arts building, which opened last year.
She said: “The Arts Faculty has a revered industry standard and this is reflected in the high calibre of performance our students reach across all arts disciplines, and the top-ranking examination results they achieve across all year levels. We are in an incredibly strong position and I’m looking forward to building on what has been created.”
The School looks forward to welcoming Zoe and Simone to their new roles as the Arts Faculty continues to set the world alight.
