Howard was born in South Africa and emigrated to New Zealand with her family when she was five years old. The family settled in
Stratford, Taranaki, where Howard grew up. She trained at the
New Zealand School of Dance, and graduated with honours in 1995. Howard danced for
Meryl Tankard’s
Australian Dance Theatre for four years and also choreographed two solo works for the company:
Tonight and
Veronique. She has also danced in Australia with
Garry Stewart’s company Thwack! and
Gideon Obarzanek's Chunky Move Dance Company and choreographed for Company B. In 2007, Howard received an
Arts Foundation of New Zealand Laureate Award. In 2018, she was appointed associate artistic director at Australian Dance Theatre. == Personal life ==