Shirley Horrocks' documentary on the New Dance Group includes this photograph of the dancers by Brian Brake. Photo / Supplied
The Tempo Festival offers many diverse delights with Old Yeller and The New Dance Group creating living histories of New Zealand dance.
Old Yeller has been a hit at previous festivals for showcasing performances by mature dancers who have "made their indelible mark on New Zealand and international
dance over the last 50 years".
This year the show features the talents of Shona McCullagh, Shona McKechnie and Mary Jane O'Reilly - all former Limbs dancers - who will perform a piece created by Doris Humphrey in 1920.
Another dancer in the programme is Juliet Fisher, now in her 60s, who was a past member of the Martha Graham Dance Company. She has lived and performed in Europe and the United States for most of her life and this show will be her first in New Zealand.
The New Dance Group is a documentary by film-maker Shirley Horrocks.
A remarkable slice of dance history, it tells the story of The New Dance Group, which pioneered modern dance in this country in the 1940s.
Led by Philip and Olive Smithells and Edith Sitos, the group was notable for spearheading modern dance. Horrocks says the group was outward-looking at a time when New Zealand was focused inwards. "They used dance to tell stories relevant to the time which was quite unusual in New Zealand. One of their pieces protested the bombing of Hiroshima."
The work features footage of the dancers from the Film Archive, photos by Brian Blake and Neville Lewers, and interviews with seven of the surviving dancers who are now in their 80s.
"Everyone who has seen the film so far says it is very moving."
It grew out of dancer/choreographer Marianne Schultz's research for her master's degree. She also choreographed a recreation of one of the dances which will be performed by the BackLit dance company before the screening.
A second piece performed by the same company was filmed by Leon Narbey and is featured in Horrocks' film.
Performance
What: Old Yeller
Where and when: Tapac, 100 Motions Rd, Western Springs, Oct 9-10, 6pm
What: The New Dance Group documentary by Shirley Horrocks
Where: Tapac, tomorrow, 1pm
