Blair Wood - Classical Tutor
Blair’s early dance training was supported by inspiring teachers in the Wellington region including Elayne Cherry, Carl Myers, Paul Jenden, Caroline Steele, Shayne Rumbal, and Bronwyn Bennett. During his teenage years, Blair attended a male coaching class at the NZ School of Dance and was a Wellington Dance Scholar and a Junior Associate of the NZ School of Dance.
At 15, Blair accepted his first dance contract to tour NZ with Hairy Maclary Productions where he strengthened his dance stagecraft skills. One year later he travelled to New York for the International Summer Intensive and performances with Ajkun Ballet Theatre. On his return, Blair was awarded distinction in his RAD advance 2 exam, then he accepted a full scholarship to Ecole Ballet Studios in Sydney, Australia, under the direction of Ashley Killar.
After completing his dance training, Blair spent six years with Queensland Ballet performing regionally and internationally. Some of his performance highlights include Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet, the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland, Mordred in King Arthur and the Tales of Camelot, Thisbe in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Nils Christe’s Fearful Symmetries, Ben Stevenson’s Nutcracker under the direction of Li Cunxin, Allegories in collaboration with Dance North, and the principal role in François Klaus’ Don Quixote. Also in Australia, Blair performed with Paris Opera Ballet in Swan Lake, La Bayadère, and Boléro.
From 2014 - 2017 Blair performed in Tokyo Disneyland’s flagship show, One Man’s Dream 2. He was invited back in 2019 to be a part of the final year closing cast. In 2020 Blair hung up his professional performance shoes to pursue an academic career in healthcare. He is now looking forward to sharing his professional dance experience and performance skills with the next generation of dancers.