DANZ (Dance Aotearoa New Zealand) welcomes four new Board Directors to its Board. Sheryl Lowe (Wellington), Doreen Bestmann (Christchurch), Teokotai Paitai (Auckland) and Merenia Gray (Wellington & Auckland) will join current Board members Jonathan Baker and Kristal Snow, all based in Auckland and Perry Walker in Wellington. The Board will be led by Jonathan Baker who takes over from Dr Beverley Edlin who, together with Gaylene Sciascia, stepped down at DANZ's AGM on 16 April after serving four years on the Board.

Jonathan joined the Board of DANZ in 2014. He is a Lecturer at the Business School at AUT University where he teaches management, and is a PhD candidate at the University of Auckland, applying contemporary marketing concepts to business strategy in the performing arts. He also acts as an independent consultant, especially facilitating strategic planning. 'It is an honour and a pleasure to be appointed Chair of DANZ. It is important to consider our role as service provider to the dance sector against a backdrop of uncertain arts funding, continuing fiscal uncertainties locally and globally and the unrelenting digitisation of modern life. Within the performing arts we need to recognise the power derived from the integration of intangible resources, especially knowledge and information, through highly interconnected ecosystems of specialised providers. The role for DANZ, then, is to enable and facilitate this process, to act as a conduit for others. Active and open dialogue and communication is critical to this and the Board and the management team at DANZ look forward to hearing from the sector and assisting in any way we can', says Jonathan.

Anton Carter, Chief Executive says; 'Two areas that are critical to a healthy organisation are leadership and governance. I would like to acknowledge the work of Beverley Edlin and Gaylene Sciascia, both of whom contributed at a time when the Board oversaw significant change in the organisation's operating structure and strategic direction. I thank them both for their dedication and commitment to DANZ and welcome our four new Board members to the DANZ whanau, who all bring a huge range of experiences and skills to the table.'