DANZ QUARTERLY No 4 June 2006

The search for “Fame”
Part one of an outline of tertiary dance providers in New Zealand.

by Francesca Horsley

New Zealand dance has come of age – intellectually that is. Once regarded as a “no brainer” concerned only with the body, dance’s place in the hallowed ground of a university would have been heresy. Thankfully Cartesian thinking that separated mind and body has been debunked and dance is now seen as worthy of intellectual discourse.
In America, dance first entered the university environment in the 1930s when Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey and other pioneers of modern dance gathered each summer at Bennington College in Vermont, to teach and choreograph. From there, dance became a major at Bennington, and was subsequently adopted by other university institutions in the West.

New Zealand started early but in a small way when, in 1948, Philip Smithells incorporated dance as part of his School of Physical Education at Otago University. Next was the formation of the New Zealand School of Dance in 1967. Each new programme was heralded as a significant milestone. In the 1970s and 80s, dance as a study option became more popular and dancers frequently travelled to America and Britain, sometimes for post-graduate work. Alternatively, they studied here but were housed in departments such as anthropology, drama or women’s studies.
Now there is a wealth of dance programmes throughout the country catering for every form of dance, be it cultural, ballet, contemporary, educational or recreational; if there is a niche, the market is there to fill it.

Tertiary institutions, reconstructed under a neo-liberal education policy, are highly competitive. Forced to abandon their emphasis on learning and intellectual debate for its own sake, programmes are now equally driven by commercial potential, income-creation and academic rigour. All of them are striving for that essential “EFTs” rating – the equivalent full time student quota that funds “bums-on-seats”.

It is a watching brief to see the whether a still fragile dance industry will survive this competition. Is the present boom sustainable and if not, what will be the fallout? Also the entire sector is in a state of uncertainty, with the appointment of our current Finance Minister as Minister of Tertiary Education. All bets are off as to the educational strategies Dr Cullen will adopt. The present environment allows no comfort zone; institutions cannot rest on their laurels or look to past achievements to guarantee their future. The Government is changing funding criteria. It wants more collaboration between institutions and will be looking at offerings on a regional and national basis. The big question is whether four tertiary institutions in Auckland will continue to be able to offer dance.

In Auckland, the competition is intense, with four major tertiary institutions offering well thought-out undergraduate degrees in dance studies. These are augmented by an array of certificate and diploma programmes offered by private providers.

Unitec Institute of Technology’s Bachelor of Performing and Screen Arts (Contemporary Dance Major) grew out of the desire to replace the Limbs Dance Company School when the company folded in 1989. A stand-alone Performing Arts School was then established. It developed a NZQA approved National Diploma of Contemporary Dance, with a strong focus on choreography. In the early 90s the School joined with Unitec, and the Bachelor of Performing and Screen Arts (Contemporary Dance Major) was created. It has the longest and most distinguished legacy in Auckland dance education and still has some of the best dance facilities in the country.

Unitec’s core principles, according to one of the founders Ali East, was to train choreographers, creating independent, self-responsible dance artists who had something to say for their own sake and a strong connection to Aotearoa. Staffed by one full-lecturer and an assistant, it contracted top New Zealand dancers, choreographers, specialists and visiting overseas artists to take classes.

The school has gone on to fulfill its founders’ aspirations. It has produced an impressive list of choreographers, dancers and film makers who have played a leading role in establishing the present high standard of NZ dance, with a number having international careers.

This concept still runs true for Chris Jannides, Head of Discipline (Dance) for the past eight years. A founding member of Limbs, Jannides ran his own company Darc Swan for 15 years in Sydney as well as participating in a range of Australian dance and theatre projects.

Jannides says “It is a practice-based course, with students spending five to six hours every day in the dance studio. They have a contemporary technique and ballet classes daily with choreographic practice in the afternoon. We are well set up with three studios, great resources, as well as a large range of technical equipment and editing suites for their video screen dance component.”

The part-time teaching staff includes top choreographers Michael Parmenter and Sean Curham, Malia Johnston, Guy Ryan, (both graduates) with additional graduates including Alexa Wilson and Alyx Duncan.

As well as running the programme, Jannides has created a strong link between the school and the Auckland dance scene - acting as mentor to young graduates and providing resources to assist the initiatives of emerging choreographers. This has further added to the school’s identity and prestige.

Jannides says that students are told from the start that everything beyond their school environment is going to be tough, and they really have to make their own resourceful pathway. “We prepare them for it, and they gain so much initiative which is why the Auckland dance scene so vibrant at the moment.”

While still having the largest student numbers, the last two years have seen their comfortable monopoly come up against tough competition from a very pro-active AUT and University of Auckland, and the no less passionate Te Wãnanga o Aotearoa dance programme which targets Maori and Pacific Island students. All have been successful in branding and extending their profile.

However, Tina Hong, Executive Head of the School of Performing and Screen Arts, says that Unitec is strategically committed to the programme and to its focus on preparing graduates for dance careers. Notwithstanding a drop in student numbers, they intend to build on their success and ensure viability by promoting their distinctive contribution to dance in New Zealand.

On the other side of town, at their Manukau Campus in central Mangere, Moss Patterson heads the dance department at Te Wãnanga o Aotearoa, offering a three year Bachelor of Maori Performing Arts. The degree programme allows students to major in Dance, Drama or Music while also studying core subjects, Kapa Haka, Te Reo, and Arts and Culture Polynesia. Graduates come out with a strong understanding of Maori and Polynesian culture and an ability to use this knowledge to inform their choreography and dance technique.

The programme began in the early 1990’s as a certificate course under the auspices of Greg Tata and Napi Waaka in Rotorua. In early 2002 the degree was redeveloped by Jonathan Fohrman, an American ethnomusicologist. The dance curriculum was revised by Dr.Tania Kopytko in 2002 .When the Wananga’s Manukau Campus opened in 2003, the degree was also provided in Auckland, and Patterson, a Unitec graduate and former member of the Black Grace Dance Company, joined as a tutor. After two years of service in this role he was promoted to Head of the Manukau Performing Arts Department and the National Head of Dance.

The contemporary dance component of the degree amounts to approximately one year’s dance training, which Patterson says is not ideal. Graduates wishing to become professional dancers would need further training or be taken on as apprentices with companies such as Black Grace or Atamira Dance Collective.

He says that the large number of successful Maori and Polynesian companies - groups such as Kahurangi, MAU, Mika, and Atamira provide good opportunities for his graduates.

Election year saw Te Wananga o Aotearoa faced with multiple challenges. Many of the Campus programmes were shut down entirely e.g all music programmes, Trades and Technical Training. These programmes were a sad loss as they were providing essential skills to many students who did not previously have access to high quality education. However, due to strong and passionate petitioning by Fohrman and Patterson and the performing arts team, the degree programme was maintained. This is testament to the professional nature and success of the programme to date with students performing in and contributing to many public forums such as tempo Dance Festival, Culture Moves Dance Conference, and The Tertiary Dance Festival 2005. Considering the difficult political, financial, and social climate at the time this was a remarkable achievement.

This was recognised by the Te Wananga Council resulting in the degree being given redevelopment status in 2006 for roll out in early 2007.

Patterson is excited by the programme and its ability to provide a specific focus on traditional and contemporary knowledge. “The students will have the unique opportunity to explore dance from a traditional as well as a contemporary perspective providing new insights into this ever-evolving art form.”

Occupying an enviable central location in the city (although parking is a nightmare) is The University of Auckland. Their dance studies programme began in the mid 90s with a post-graduate dance diploma and in 2002 with the Bachelor of Performing Arts with a Dance major, developed by Susan Jordan. The staffing, degree and in fact the whole department went through an upheaval over the next three years emerging in a newly created Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries, with Dr Ralph Buck as Associate Professor of the dance studies programme.
Previously with the University of Otago, Buck’s varied background includes writing the Queensland and the Australian dance education curriculum, developing dance education resources, providing teacher in-service, and working with students with learning difficulties and disabilities.

Buck says his newly structured degree has a broad focus on learning in, about and through dance, with six key themes: education and community, contextual studies, dance vocabularies, choreography, professional practice and Maori and Pacific Island dance.

These key themes are in every year of the three year degree. “At the beginning of year one, students are introduced to the themes and issues; year two they are questioning, unpicking things and finding their place, and by end of year three they are all talking about research, working at a critical level, examining and pulling apart things, ready to put them back together again.”

The degree has an academic focus with research as its primary goal, and a deliberate focus towards post-graduate study. Buck says “I think NZ needs an institution that has a research driven agenda in dance. The key to that is not being narrow as to the scope of what the research could be. I am open to the students’ research interests and where they want to go.”

While their numbers are relatively small they have a strong post-graduate programme. Among current first years are students interested in becoming dance teachers, either secondary schools or primary, creating community projects or running small dance festivals.

The University is committed to the programme. To provide for the practical component of the degree, two new studios have been built bringing the total to three. But Buck says the focus is not on training dancers. “If students come seeking that experience I tell them that this is the wrong place.”

“There is always going to be an overlap,” he says “because we are all going to include some making and presenting of dance. But each institution has a different focus and the different staff provides diverse experiences. As such he believes that the institutions are relatively complementary.

“I believe there are going to be more and more students enrolling in our programmes. Now that dance is more meaningfully included in the school curriculum, more schools offer dance at NCEA level. This is the trend in Australia, America and England. Students are shopping around, and we have an increasing number of international students.”

The Bachelor of Dance at AUT University is the fastest growing dance studies programme in Auckland. Housed within the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences and linked to the Division of Sport and Recreation, its Bachelor of Dance was established in 2001.

In 2003 AUT University appointed Canadian, Jennifer Nikolai, who brought dance, theatre and arts management expertise to the position of programme leader.

Jennifer Nikolai and Dr. Alice Knappstein set about re-structuring the entire programme, aided by full time senior lecturer, Linda Ashley. The new degree and a pro-active marketing strategy have put the AUT Dance degree on the map. “Our numbers have increased substantially,” Nikolai says.

Based at the Akoranga Campus on the North Shore, their facilities are still relatively small, with one major studio, and access to a large gymnasium. However their position within the Faculty, Nikolai says is advantageous, complementing the usual studies in choreography, ballet, jazz and contemporary.

Their approach to studying dance is holistic with a focus on preparing students for employment in the industry. Students develop industry links in their chosen field in the second year and in their third year spend half their time out in the industry. This could be in schools, studios, in the community or conducting their chosen research.

AUT University has made some strategic alliances. Last year it formed a partnership with the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD). Students, coming in with extensive ballet training, can accelerate through some practical papers, while doing their RAD teacher training electives; graduating with both the Bachelor’s degree and RAD Registered Teacher Status.

They also emphasise training students as teachers, either in private studios or in secondary schools. As a sponsor of Subway 2006 Stage Challenge, AUT dance students are involved in running workshops throughout the Auckland event and this year were choreographers for the first JROCK 2006 Event in Auckland and Wellington.

The first graduates of the AUT University Bachelor of Dance have received rewarding employment in a range of areas including teaching special needs students, teaching NCEA level dance in Secondary Schools, establishing their own companies, working in senior’s homes or continuing with post-graduate studies in dance.

Aside from the training of dancers, choreographers and dance teachers, the research and advanced practice from all academic staff, a pre-requisite for offering a degree, is benefiting the dance community in significant ways. It was only a few years ago that a dance research output was minimal. Now, with students and academic staff contributing a wide range of academic papers and performance, the growing body of dance knowledge is impressive.

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