A Remarkable Career

The last time Sir Jon Trimmer was set to perform in Don Quixote, he was poised to share the stage with ballet legend Rudolf Nureyev but the curtain never went up on the production because the overseas company they were working for ran out of money.

But now Sir Jon has a second chance to take up a part in this classic ballet – and not just any part.

 This year marks Sir Jon’s 50th anniversary with the Royal New Zealand Ballet and when Artistic Director Gary Harris telephoned Sir Jon to ask him if he was interested in tackling the lead role in the Company’s brand new commission of Don Quixote, he admits he was lost for words.

Younger members of the company talk of what a wonderful mentor Jonty is.

While he can no longer do the high leaps he was so famous for, it’s his interpretation of the character roles that win the audiences over. Last year he took to the stage as the Royal Shoemaker in Cinderella. In July and August Kiwi audiences will again get to see him when he performs in Romeo & Juliet as the priest.

Married to former Royal New Zealand Ballet dancer and ballet mistress Jacqui Trimmer, Sir Jon marked the 50th anniversary with a few special friends – former Royal New Zealand Ballet dancers Nahleen Markham, Dawn Russell and Stewart Hall.

“We all started here on the same day – January 28, 1958. We came to the ballet studios and watched the Company do class. We then went out and had a celebratory dinner, it was great fun.”

The Kapiti coast resident practises yoga and when not rehearsing in the Royal New Zealand Ballet studios can most probably be found in his garden studio at home painting or creating pottery.He is also interested in mime and often does workshops with local schools.

Raised in an artistic family, Sir Jon, who received his knighthood in 1999, took lessons at his sister Pamela’s Lower Hutt dance school from the age of 12. His talents were obvious from early on and by 14 he was attending the Royal New Zealand Ballet summer schools under the guidance of Poul Gnatt, the founder of the Company. In 1958 Gnatt invited Sir Jon to join his fledgling company which he’d established just five years earlier. The rest, as they say, is history. Sir Jon hopes he will be still performing in his 80s. “I love it,” he says. “Why would I want to stop doing something I love?”

Dancing through the decades

1958: Joins the Royal New Zealand Ballet and tours with La Sylphide and Badinage.
1959: Studies at the Royal Ballet School in London and the following year tours with Sadler’s Wells and appears in the first of five Royal command performances.
1965 – 66: Tours with The Australian Ballet working with Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev, performing in Giselle.
1967: Returns to the Royal New Zealand Ballet to dance lead roles including Petrouchka.
1968 – 70: Dances for the Royal Danish Ballet.
1971: Manages the Royal New Zealand Ballet.
1972 – 79: Dances many lead roles in productions including Cinderella, Carmina Burana, Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia and La Sylphide. Awarded an MBE in 1974.
1981: Tours with the American Ballet Theatre on a Fulbright Scholarship.
1981 – 89: Performs many lead roles in productions including Petrouchka, Giselle and The Nutcracker. Receives the Turnovsky Award for contribution to performing arts in New Zealand and nominated for best actor award for his role in the Fireraiser television series.
1990 – 2007: Performances at home and on tour to Europe and the United States. Plays mainly character roles with the ballet alongside dramatic roles in television and stage plays. Tours New Zealand in 2004 with the play Meeting Karpovsky. Receives knighthood for services to ballet in 1999.
2008: Rehearses for appearances in Romeo & Juliet and Don Quixote.

The Meridian Season of Don Quixote

Original choreography: Marius Petipa
Staging and Design: Gary Harris
Additional choreography: Adrian Burnett
Music: Ludwig Minkus
Lighting Design: Jon Buswell

Wellington 31 October –8 November
(featuring the Vector Wellington Orchestra)

Invercargill 11 – 12 November

Dunedin 15 – 16 November
(featuring the Southern Sinfonia)

Christchurch 19 – 22 November
(featuring the Christchurch Symphony)

Palmerston North 25 – 26 November

Napier 29 – 30 November

Auckland 3 – 7 December
(featuring the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra)

Hamilton 10 – 11 December