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THE HIGHLAND DANCE COMPANY OF NEW ZEALAND18th October 2011
The formation of The Highland Dance Company of New Zealand is a positive and exciting initiative that promotes Highland Dance to the dance community and general public both within New Zealand and internationally.
The origins of Scottish Highland Dancing are shrouded in antiquity and legend, with Highland culture largely an oral one in which the traditions of music and dance have been passed down largely by word of mouth and physical demonstration. The first Scots to settle in New Zealand arrived in 1840. By 1886 there were 55,000 Scots living in New Zealand. Among these early immigrants were "dancing masters" who spread their cultural heritage and were the forebears of Highland Dancing as we know it in New Zealand today.
The New Zealand Academy of Highland and National Dancing was founded in 1945 with the objective of raising the standard of technique and execution of Highland Dance and establishing a fuller appreciation of the art form. Today the New Zealand Academy has an extensive syllabus, offering training from pre-school tiny tots taking their first steps into dance, through to professional development programmes for dancers, teachers and adjudicators.
In late 2010, after several years of discussions and brain-storming, the NZ Academy Executive Council announced their intention to form a Dance Company. The concept was to create an opportunity for our top-level senior Highland dancers to perform together in a non-competitive environment promoting and showcasing Highland as a dance genre and to develop a repertoire that was innovative and inspiring, for both the dancers and the viewing audiences.
Mrs Julie Hawke of Christchurch and Mrs Robyn Simmons of Blenheim (Co-Directors of the dance company), in the ensuing ten months, have met the original brief of auditioning dancers nationwide to offer 32 dancers positions in the Company and then to choreograph two dance pieces to be ready to perform at the NZ Academy of Highland and National Dancing's Annual Conference in Palmerston North, September 2011.
The first dance piece, entitled 'NZ Dancing Feet', is choreographed to a specially commissioned composition by NZ champion bagpiper, Jamie Hawke - one of Julie's three bagpipe playing sons. The music moves through sequences of strathspey, jig and piobaireachd culminating in a rousing selection of reel tunes. The dancers perform a fast-moving choreography which showcases the precision and exacting technique which is quintessential Highland Dance combined with the visual spectacle of constantly moving formations.
The second dance 'The Thistle and the Fern' explores the history of the Scots arrival in New Zealand from the first visit of Captain Cook and his introduction to the sound of the bagpipes to the Maori through the dissemination of the culture of the Celts today. The dancers are challenged to expand their movement vocabulary and move through a myriad of styles and groupings reflecting the emotive elements of the early Scots arrival in Aotearoa and their longing for their homeland.
After a spectacular debut performance which was met with much acclaim from the Academy's members, The Highland Dance Company of New Zealand was invited to perform in Auckland as part of the Rugby World Cup celebrations prior to the Scotland vs England rugby match. The Company were guest performers at 'The Spirit of Bannockburn' concert at Vector Arena along with Red Hot Chilli Pipers from Scotland and then also performed at The Cloud prior to the rugby game's commencement. Further invitations have also been received to perform in 2012 at the Shanghai Arts Festival in China and at the Virginia Tattoo in the USA.
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