New Zealand Society

Boot Camp has begun for the six young boys cast in the lead roles of Auckland Theatre Company’s production of Billy Elliot the Musical. Aged 10-14, they’ve come together for an intensive, two-week workshop to prepare to play their parts. Tap dancing and ballet lessons in the morning are followed by acting and singing classes in the afternoon. It’s a big ask for the boys and their families but do these obstacles enhance their performances? Justin Gregory went to find out.

As the refugee crisis deepens in Europe, Christchurch children have gained an insight into the plight of the many Syrian families affected.

A Christchurch woman is hoping to provide better role models for her peers. Herstory is an online photographic project that showcases women in a variety of jobs. Now its founder has taken the idea further.

'Buffaloes are beautiful' - that's the motto of Phil Armstrong and Annie Armstrong-Wills who raise a herd of water buffaloes just north of Auckland. They hit upon the unusual idea some years ago while looking for a lifestyle project.

The fructose in sugar is like kryptonite to Maori and Pasifika people so Hastings Girls' High School has begun a healthy food revolution in their community.

Losing a baby at any stage can be a traumatic and emotionally challenging time for families. But what is the process undertaken by hospitals when a baby doesn't make it, and what kind of care is offered to assist in the immediacy of the grieving process? Sonia Sly headed to Wellington Hospital to meet a midwife working in the neonatal unit, and a woman whose experience of losing several babies moved her to seek change in the hospital system… Please note: Some content in this story is may...

A pop-up health clinic for young people in Central Auckland has been saved from closure, just for the moment.

Students in the Hawke's Bay are knitting booties for premature babies, making toast, and planting gardens to make life better for people in the community.

Not every family that leaves a neonatal unit does so with joy. After losing seven babies one woman decided to help grieving families through their loss.

NZ Society heads to Christchurch for some swing - southern style. The city has a new, all girl big band and its members range in age from 17 to the mid-70s.

A $37 million dollar white water rafting park caters to both the enthusiastic amateur and the established pro but it also offers students from low decile schools the chance to learn water safety.

Aucklanders love going to the beach but not all of them love poetry. Is it because they just haven't met each other yet? A poet and calligrapher think the obvious solution is to write giant poems in the sand.

Ethiopian coffee, radio shows, and rappers are part of the daily grind for Constable Rob Stanton. Dubbed an honorary African he’s a crucial outlet for the community to voice their concerns even if they are about the police.

Prisoners at Paremoremo jail are prepared for life outside the bars.

What's a university to do when pigeons invade its campus? In Canterbury, the answer has been to employ a predator to patrol the university, specifically an endangered New Zealand falcon.

Inside vast cement silos, artists from across the country are employing videos, photos, sound and computer simulations to discuss infrastructure, interdependence and the busy hive that is our globalized world.

Like it or not, we live in a global world where decisions made elsewhere directly affect our lives here. But a new exhibition in Auckland details the fight back by artists, people - and natural forces. The Hive Hums With Many Minds is a mixed-media event which opened its second stage this week in the monumental Silo Six venue at Winyard Quarter. Inside these vast cement silos, artists from across the country are employing videos, photos, sound and computer simulations to discuss...

When it comes to luxury, money is no object. And for Tokyo-based designer, Takano Keitaro of Clematis Ginza, making luxury shoes is an art form that requires the investment of a time-honoured craft. But if you want to buy a pair of his bespoke shoes you could expect to pay more than the cost of the latest iPhone. Sonia Sly met the designer during an event held as part of iD Fashion Week in Dunedin.

How much attention do you pay to your feet and what is the cost of wearing bad shoes? Footwear designer Takano Keitaro says he sees more damage today to people's feet than ever before.

One hundred years ago a group of New Zealand soldiers caught up in the Irish Easter Rising of 1916 had the chance to change history when one had a clear shot of the rebel leader James Connolly.