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BEST NEW ZEALAND DANCERS PROFILES
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The Illustrated History
of Dance in New Zealand, offers a
bird's eye view of dance in New Zealand
over the past 100 years and readers are treated to
images from private collections that have never before
been revealed to the public.Focusing on the many resilient
and highly creative personalities associated with
dance in New Zealand,
the book begins in the early 1900s,
moves to the 1920s when legends like
Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova toured
the country, and through to the establishment of the
Royal NZ Ballet in 1953.
The dance
crazes of each decade are covered, such as
rock and roll and the twist, and the book ends with
the vibrant and multicultural dance environment
of today including kapa haka,
ceroc<, break dancing and
crumpling, to name just a few examples. Author
Tara Jahn-Werner meticulously researched and spoke
with international and local dance
personalities and concludes there is one word that
sums up dance in New Zealand and all its supporters
resilience.
Internationally renowned
dancers and choreographers
toured here as far back as the early 1900s
and the effect they had on local dancers and
dance teachers lasted generations.This inspiration
combined with the dancing efforts of the highly creative,
strong and brave
émigrés of the 1940s and
1950s, created the foundations of a very
strong dance community.
"Some of these personalities
are household names, others have disappeared into
obscurity, but it is important we remember the important
roles they played," says Jahn-Werner. "Thanks to them,
we are by no means a cultural backwater; we are up
there with the best on the world stage in Europe and
New York."
Best New Zealand Dancers
Brendan Cole
Douglas Wright
Freda Stark
Hayley Holt
Jon Trimmer
Kimberley Crossman
Kylie Bax
Rowena Othlie Jackson
Yvonne Cartier
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