NYPA Adjudicators

Dual Adjudicators were first appointed in 2016 for both the Tap Dance and Ballet sections.  This continued in 2017 with dual Adjudicators for the Modern Dance section. The Dual Adjudicator system has worked so well that the decision was made to continue offering dual Adjudicators for the ever growing dance genres of Modern, Ballet and Tap Dance sections.

2026 will see TWO adjudicators for Ballet and Tap Dance and solo adjudicators for Pianoforte and Vocal.
 
The Troupe section was re-introduced in 2016 as part of the 40th Anniversary Celebrations. This section was so popular that it was decided to continue offering this award for the foreseeable future.
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​In 2026, theBallet and Tap Dance Adjudicators will form the base of the Troupe judging panel and will be joined by  additional Adjudicators to cover all the necessary dance genres.
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                   ANNOUNCING our ADJUDICATORS for 2026 
                  As 2026 is the 50th Anniversary of the NYPA, we have invited many past NYPA Winners to form the Judging Team!!

Wil Sabin
Tap Dance Co-Adjudicator
NYPA Tap Dance Winner in 2000

Wil Sabin is an internationally renowned choreographer, creative director and entertainment visionary, recognised for shaping some of Australia’s biggest artists, productions and live events. Growing up in New Zealand, Wil trained at the renowned MEBA and began his professional career at just five years old, landing a major television commercial, billboard and print campaign that launched a childhood spent on television sets, in musical theatre productions and working throughout the entertainment industry.
 
At only 16, Wil won New Zealand Young Performer of the Year (NYPA), was featured on the NZAMD Tap syllabus videos alongside Keith Clifton, and at 17 was awarded a full scholarship to Australia’s prestigious Brent Street Studios - a pivotal moment that launched his career internationally.
 
As a creative director and choreographer, Wil’s client roster includes global icon Cher, Jessica Mauboy, Paulini, Ricki-Lee, Sneaky Sound System, Timmy Trumpet, Courtney Act, Alfie Arcuri, Prinnie Stevens, Zoë Badwi, Deni Hines and Reece Mastin. International collaborations have also seen him work with Deborah Cox, Melody Thornton (Pussycat Dolls), Luciana and perform alongside Sir Elton John in Hong Kong.
 
Career highlights include producing, directing and choreographing Cher’s iconic Sydney Mardi Gras 40th Anniversary activation for over 500,000 live spectators, creating the world-first stadium performance of Sneaky Sound System’s UFO at the SCG, and serving as Creative Director for Optus at Sydney Mardi Gras from 2024–2026. His work has featured across Australian Fashion Week, international casino spectaculars throughout Asia, and major productions including Sydney After Dark at Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas.
 
Wil has also directed and choreographed major corporate productions, including Porsche Australia’s 70th Anniversary celebration in partnership with Team Event, featuring powerhouse vocalists Maya Weiss and Luke Antony.
 
On screen, Wil has appeared as a judge and mentor on New Zealand’s Next Top Model, Asia’s Next Top Model and Channel 7’s All Together Now. His choreography and performers have also featured on Australia’s Got Talent, with students from both Dynamite Studios and Wil Sabin Dance Academy appearing on the hit series.
 
Most recently, Wil wrote, directed and choreographed the national touring production Bring Back My Wives, featuring stars from RuPaul’s Drag Race and The Real Housewives franchise.
 
As Founder and Director of Wil Sabin Dance Academy, one of Australia’s leading boutique studios, Wil has guided his students to world titles, international recognition, performances at Disneyland, appearances in Times Square and careers alongside artists including Kylie Minogue, Katy Perry, Rita Ora and Ava Max. He was also awarded International Coach of the Year at the World Championships of Performing Arts in the USA.
 
Today, Wil continues to choreograph, direct and teach internationally through Wil Sabin Entertainment, creating world-class productions while inspiring the next generation of performers.
 
Where there’s a Wil… there’s a way.

Alyssa Russell (Moore)
Tap Dance Co-Adjudicator
​NYPA Tap Dance Winner in 2012

Alyssa Russell (formerly Moore) is an Auckland-based choreographer, professional dancer, adjudicator, and creative director with over 25 years’ experience in dance and entertainment.

Trained extensively from a young age in tap, jazz, and ballet under the guidance of respected dance teacher Bev Birch, Alyssa went on to further her training across ballroom and Latin, developing a strong technical foundation across multiple styles. She has since worked throughout her career in commercial performance, competitive dance, entertainment production, and Pilates instruction.

She is the founder and director of Finesse Entertainment, a corporate dance and entertainment company specialising in live events, weddings, festivals, bespoke productions, and corporate entertainment throughout New Zealand. Alongside her entertainment work, Alyssa has spent time teaching and adjudicating within the competitive dance community, driven by a strong passion for developing confident and well-rounded performers.

Known for her energetic choreography, performance quality, and encouraging approach to mentoring dancers, Alyssa values strong technique, authenticity, stage presence, and artistry.

​She is honoured to be part of this year’s PACANZ National Young Performer Awards 50th celebrations, returning several years after winning the NYPA Tap Dancing title in 2012 - a competition that played such a significant role in her own dance journey.


 
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Katherine Skelton (Grange)
Ballet Co-Adjudicator
NYPA Ballet Winner in 2006

​PBefore retiring from the Royal New Zealand Ballet in June 2022, Katherine was one of the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s longest serving dancers, joining the company in 2010 as the Todd Scholar after performing as a student in the La Sylphide tour in 2009. She was promoted to Soloist in December 2020.

Katherine performed the Principal role of Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, as well as Giselle, in Ethan Stiefel and Johan Kobborg's Giselle. She performed the title role of The Firebird as well as Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, both by Loughlan Prior. She also performed the role of Clara in The Nutcracker by Gary Harris.

Katherine's solo roles include Princess Florine (Bluebird) and the Fairy of Clarity in The Sleeping Beauty, Zulma and the Wedding couple pas de duex in Giselle, Hermia and Cobweb in Liam Scarlett's A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Blue Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty by Greg Horsman, the Short Step Sister in Christopher Hampson’s Cinderella, the Act II ‘cygnets’ in Swan Lake by Russell Kerr as well as the White Swan pas de duex for Tutus on Tour, Flower Festival in Genzano, Taglioni in Pas de Quatre, Fairy Doll pas de trois, and the Queen of the Driads in Don Quixote by Adrian Burnett after Marius Petitpa.

​In the RNZB’s 2014 production of Coppélia by Martin Vedel, she created the role of Ima, including the ‘Prayer’ solo in Act III. She also created the role of the Cat in Peter and the Wolf. Katherine has performed soloist roles in Serenade and Divertimento No.15 by George Balanchine, Andrea Schemoly’s Stand to Reason, Paquita, The Nutcracker by Val Caniparoli, Francesco Ventriglia’s Romeo and Juliet, and Johan Kobborg’s Salute. Katherine worked with John Gardner and Amanda McKerrow for Benjamin Millepied’s 28 Variations and again for Antony Tudor’s Little Improvisations.

With RNZB, Katherine performed in Australia, China, Hong Kong, U.S.A, England, France, England, Wales, Scotland and Italy. Before joining RNZB, she danced Swan Lake with Singapore Dance Theatre.

Katherine trained at the Dance Education Centre in Tauranga and the New Zealand School of Dance, becoming a Distinguished Graduate of NZSD in 2018.
 
She was awarded first place at the 2006 PACANZ NYPA.

Photo Credit: Stephen A'Court for the Royal New Zealand Ballet 



 
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Luke Cooper
Ballet Co-Adjudicator

Luke Cooper was born and trained in Palmerston North and started dancing at a young age under Amy Macdonald and then Michelle Robinson.

He trained in ballet, contemporary, jazz and tap, and found a lifetime love of performing. He joined the New Zealand School of Dance Associate programme at the age of twelve, moving to Wellington to join the full-time training programme in 2014. As a student at NZSD, Luke performed in the RNZB’s productions of Don Quixote (2015), The Wizard of Oz (2016) and, after graduating, in Roland Petit’s Carmen and L’Arlésienne (2017). Luke joined the Royal New Zealand Ballet full-time in 2018 as the Todd Scholar, where he danced for 8 years until he recently retired, continuing with the RNZB in their Development team.

Highlights of Luke's career include performing a duet with Sir Jon Trimmer in Loughlan Prior’s The Long and the Short of It, Sir Wayne McGregor's Infra, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's Requiem for a Rose, Sarah Foster-Sproull's To Hold and roles such as Demetrius in Liam Scarlett's A Midsummer Night's Dream and Rothbart in Russell Kerr's Swan Lake. 
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During his time with the RNZB, Luke was involved with mentoring young dancers and also taught open classes for both children and adults on behalf of the company.

Edward Laurenson
Vocal Adjudicator
NYPA Vocal Winner in 2012

Originally from Auckland, New Zealand, Edward was the winner of the Guildhall
Prize at the 2013 IFAC Australian Singing Competition, which set him off on his
international journey.

He graduated with Distinction from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama’s Master
of Performance programme in London and, more recently, the San Francisco
Conservatory of Music’s Postgraduate Diploma programme (Voice) – studying under
the tutelage of renowned Australian soprano, Yvonne Kenny, and internationally
acclaimed tenor, César Ulloa.

Soon after completing his studies in San Francisco, Edward was engaged as an
Artist in Residence with Opera Colorado before being selected into the prestigious
Merola Opera Program with San Francisco Opera.

While abroad, Edward has performed a wide range of operatic roles, including Count
Almaviva in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro; Mercutio in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette;
Tarquinius in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia; Older Thompson in Cipullo’s Glory
Denied; Sam in Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti; Peter in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und
Gretel; Jonathan in Heggie’s If I Were You; Barone Douphol in Verdi’s La Traviata;
and Masetto in Mozart’s Don Giovanni among many others. A highlight from his time
in the United Kingdom was having the privilege of performing for Her Late Majesty
Queen Elizabeth II.

Edward is especially grateful to Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and the Kiri Te Kanawa
Foundation, for providing him with significant mentoring, coaching and support
throughout his career.

More recently, Edward was signed as a recording artist with Decca Records and
Universal Music Group and has recorded with Disney and The Royal Philharmonic
Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios in London. He appears on Disney’s recent #1
selling record ‘Disney Goes Classical.'
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His early on-stage experience in New Zealand includes roles as Marius in Les
Miserables, Danny in Grease, Tony in West Side Story, Captain Von Trapp in The
Sound of Music, and Edward in The Factory. Last year, he returned to New Zealand
to perform the role of Anatoly in Chess the Musical at the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre in
Auckland, New Zealand.



 
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Elyane Laussade
Pianoforte Adjudicator

A graduate of the Juilliard school in New York City, pianist Elyane Laussade has delighted audiences on five continents with her imaginative and strongly individual playing. The New York Times has said she is “a pianist with a powerful, polished technique and many an original interpretive notion….with an impeccable sense of style and dazzling power.” Originally from the USA where her principal teachers were Abbey Simon, Karen Brandt, Lili Kraus, and Ruth Tomfohrde, she has now established herself as one of Australia’s finest performers.

Elyane has played concerts with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and has been featured by ABC Classic FM and 3MBS FM in studio recordings and live broadcasts. As a regular supporter of community radio, she performed annually in the 3MBS marathon from 2013-2022, in the English Music Festivals in Melbourne in 2023-24, and the 3MBS 50th anniversary gala concert last year.

As a soloist, Elyane has played recitals in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, China, Japan, Taiwan, South Africa, the USA, and Europe. In Italy, she has performed and given masterclasses in Bologna, Carpi, Dozza, Orbetello, Modena, and Gallarate. Her recital tours in France have included solo recitals, chamber music with the Quatuor Joachim, and several WW1 commemorative recitals. Elyane’s tour of Taiwan included recitals and master classes in Taipei, Tainan, Chaiyi, and at the National Concert Hall in Taichung.

As a concerto soloist, she has played across the USA and in Australia, and has worked with conductors Paavo Jarvi, Marcus Stenz, Anthony Ingliss, Peter Bay, and many more. Elyane is working her way through performances of all 27 Mozart piano concertos with community orchestras around Australia. More than a third of the way to her goal, Elyane has also joined the BSO on an odyssey to play all five Beethoven piano concertos over five years at the Ulumbarra Theatre in Bendigo.

Elyane enjoys a rich chamber music involvement along with her solo career. Apart from her duo partner cellist Luke Severn, some of the more notable of her collaborators include  bass-baritone Herbert Perry, mezzo Kristen Leich, sopranos Helena Dix and Merlyn Quaife, tenor Michael Petruccelli, cellists David Berlin and Zoe Knighton, clarinettists David Thomas and Philip Arkinstall, flautists Catherine Cantin and Prue Davis, guitarist Pepe Romero, pianists Benjamin Martin, Giuseppe Modugno, Richard Dowling, and William Schmidt, violinists Adele Anthony, Andrew Sords, Curt Thompson, Ji Won Kim, Kana Ohashi, Louise Turnbull, Mana Ohashi, Monica Curro, Sarah Curro, and Tair Khisambeev. She has also performed quintets with the Flinders, Joachim and the Partridge Quartets.

Elyane’s love for the musical experience as a close encounter has inspired her to run a special series of intimate recitals at The Laussade Studio in Melbourne, as a soloist and in collaboration with illustrious Australian musicians and leading soloists from abroad. She also presents a Rising Stars series in her studio with younger emerging soloists whose musical gifts she nurtures and encourages.

Elyane enjoys sharing her musical perspectives in lecture recitals and has been invited to participate in conferences in Singapore, Australia, and Italy. She was most recently part of a forum at the 2025 Cremona Music Festival on the future of piano teaching and presented in the Australasian Piano Pedagogy Conferences in Melbourne (2024) and Adelaide (2026).
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Alongside her performing career, Elyane is passionate about teaching and offers innovative piano camps for younger students. She gives regular workshops and masterclasses in her studio and opens them to the public. Elyane also loves writing and is currently editing her memoir.

Somi Kim
Official Accompanist for Vocal

South Korean born New Zealand pianist, Somi Kim has established herself as one of today's most versatile young pianists with a string of competition successes and an extensive concert experience.

Somi is an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, London. She graduated with an Advanced Diploma in Performance and Master of Arts with Distinction, a DipRAM, and the HRH Princess Alice the Duchess of Gloucester’s Prize. Somi is a winner of the Royal Over-Seas League Accompanist Prize and the Gerald Moore Award for Accompanists.

Sought after as a chamber musician, song accompanist and répétiteur, Somi is the official pianist for NZTrio (‘New Zealand’s most indispensable ensemble’ – NZ Herald). She is a staff pianist and coach at the International Holland Music Sessions, International Vocal Competition ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Gisborne International Music Competition and the New Zealand Opera School.

In recital, Somi’s recent and future appearances include Het Concertgebouw, Slovak Philharmonic and Wigmore Hall. Somi made her debut this year with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra performing the Gershwin Piano Concerto.
 
http://www.somikim.com




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