Delia Mathews (born 1990) is a New Zealand ballet dancer. She was a

principal dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be male or female. The position is similar to that of '' soloist''; however, ...

at the

Birmingham Royal Ballet Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) is one of the five major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside The Royal Ballet, the English National Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet. Founded as the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, the co ...

Life

Mathews was born in

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompa ...

, New Zealand, and began ballet lessons with her sister in

Tauranga Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...

at the age of 5. When she was 15, she was accepted into the

Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and choreographer Ninette de Valois. The school's aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers, especial ...

in London, and studied there for three years. On graduating, Mathews received the Dame Ninette de Valois Award for Most Outstanding Graduate. In 2008 she joined the Birmingham Royal Ballet and became a principal dancer in 2017. In 2020, she left the company in order to return to New Zealand and raise her first child. Delia and her husband, a British

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

, now run an

off-grid Off-the-grid or off-grid is a characteristic of buildings and a lifestyle designed in an independent manner without reliance on one or more public utilities. The term "off-the-grid" traditionally refers to not being connected to the electrical gr ...

hotel retreat they built near

References

External links

Watercliff
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathews, Delia 1990 births Living people People from Rotorua New Zealand ballerinas Birmingham Royal Ballet principal dancers People educated at the Royal Ballet School New Zealand expatriates in the United Kingdom 21st-century ballet dancers 21st-century New Zealand dancers