DANZ QUARTERLY Issue 22 - January, February, March 2011
Christchurch
Farewells
Sheryl Robinson
(14 December 1962 – 13 September 2010)
By Fleur de Thier
I am just one voice writing on behalf of the many people whose lives Sheryl Robinson
touched.
Sadly on September 13 this year
Sheryl passed away, or on to better things as
she believed,
after a short battle with cancer. As I looked around the funeral that was so
beautifully orchestrated by Sheryl, I was reminded of the many people that chose to pursue contemporary dance because of her.
I worked and danced with Sheryl for 18 years. She was my dance partner, my
employer, my supporter and my friend. To many others she was a teacher, a mentor,
a yogi, an aunt, a colleague and a friend. I think we could all say she had dignity, a
wicked sense of humour, and a love so strong for dance she made it her life.
Sheryl studied at the New Zealand School of Dance and graduated in the early 90s.
She came to Christchurch and worked with Sarah Franks and Manawa Nui Dance
company. It was not long before she set up her own dance company, Dance Core. It was through her work with Dance Core that she started to make her stamp on the
Christchurch dance scene. Her Martha Graham-inspired movement was to become
her signature style, and I have to say no one could do it like she could.
In the late 90s Sheryl started working at Hagley Community College, teaching dance
as a subject. In 2000 she established the Hagley Dance Company. Some of New
Zealand’s best contemporary dancers went through Hagley and many went to the
full-time course because of Sheryl. Today the course is held in high regard nationally. Also during this time she set up another performing company called Local Weeds,
performed with Scrambled Legs and made some solo works.
Sheryl also taught at IBA, Canterbury Ballet, Southern Ballet, Rangi Ruru and
St Margarets. She very quickly carved a full-time career for herself. She would
occasionally disappear up to Wellington to work with Paul Jenden and Louis Solino on
Paul’s well-known Fairy Stories. She would always return refreshed and invigorated.
When Sheryl was not working she was spending time with her family, her cats, working
in her garden, practising yoga, listening to Bach and reading. Yoga was always part of
her life but she embraced it even more so in the last two years. She practised as best
she could right up to her death.
I was lucky enough to have the chance to perform with Sheryl in 2009, as part of a
newly formed company Rebound. The company was set up for dancers forty plus.
Sheryl created another of her famous signature works on us and performed it herself,
proving she still had it – and then some.
In April this year we were rehearsing for our season of Paul Jenden’s Fairy Stories and
Jose Limon repertoire when after a beautifully performed showing, Sheryl needed to
sit out as she felt unwell. Three days later she was diagnosed with cancer; very quickly
becoming at peace with her fate. She embraced the illness and lost her fear of dying.
What an inspiration she was to all of us!
I last saw her four weeks before she died. She was making one last work for Rebound
that reflected her journey through her illness. She was determined to finish it. She had
it all planned out but could not explain it well enough so she would haul herself out of
bed, tubes attached all over the place, and demonstrate to me what she meant. We
had the best rehearsal and I feel privileged that my last encounter with her was as her
dancer, and what a gift she has given us by creating this work for us to perform.
Again I state I am one voice. Many people were close to Sheryl and I have tried to
honour her as we all saw her. Her final message to us read at the funeral was “don’t be
sad. This life has been a dress rehearsal and I move onto the bigger stage to dance in
the light.”
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