Emma Murray calls moving to Switzerland a "lucky mistake" but the choreographer and performer also says the move is one that has enriched her life.
Christchurch-born Murray had been a soloist with the Royal New Zealand Ballet from the age of 19 before moving to Europe in 1997, ending up in London living with her sister and doing odd jobs, while auditioning for dance work.
"It was a year before I got a job in Switzerland so I felt lucky to be working at all."
Going to Bern also meant a change of direction as she joined the contemporary Konzert Theater Bern, although Murray says she had been "getting interested" in the way contemporary dancers move before she left New Zealand.
"I now have a real appreciation for the discipline and craft that ballet taught me.
Contemporary dance allowed me to draw on that technique while moving in other directions."
Leaving the Konzert Theater Bern in 2008 to concentrate on choreography, Murray had a dance residency for two years from 2013 at the Dampfzentrale cultural centre in Bern.
When she returns this month she will oversee the final rehearsal phase of a Dampfzentrale show developed with two other women, both also mothers and "makers of dance".
Although Murray is separated from her Swiss partner, she has good support from him and his family which allows her to work and teach while raising their two children, Joshua, 14, and Eliza, 7.
"Yes, the winters are long in Switzerland but we're set up for it - I can't get used to how cold the houses are in New Zealand. Everyone works a bit harder through the winter and then we all really enjoy summer.
"I quite enjoy my status as a foreigner but there's a universality about dance that connects people from all parts of the world."
Her Footnote work, Participation (originally titled Puls), is based on durational practice and the idea of transformation through repetition and has a musical backdrop by Swiss sound designer Till Hillbrecht.
"I haven't done much to maintain a presence in New Zealand," Murray says, "so I've come back as a relative unknown but making this work has been really enjoyable. I've been able to reflect on what I've learned which is something I perhaps couldn't do as well in Switzerland.
"And I've been reminded again of the unique qualities Kiwi dancers have - real humility, hard-work ethic and have-a-go attitude."