Arts: Mother of contemporary dance

Footnote dancer Lana Phillips performing in 30Forward. Photo/supplied

On Footnote's 30th birthday, founder Deidre Tarrant chats to Sandra Simpson

It's only as our phone conversation ends that Footnote Dance Company founder Deirdre Tarrant reveals she had earlier propped up her phone and has been doing plies while we've been speaking, "good for the Achilles tendons".

The fact that dancers with Footnote - this year celebrating its 30th birthday - suffer so few injuries is a point of pride for Tarrant, who retired as the company's director in 2012.
"We have an incredibly well-sprung floor at our Wellington studio," she says, "and I insisted that we dance on the best surfaces possible when we tour, which can mean spending time adjusting and adapting."

Tarrant has selected highlights from past Footnote works for the anniversary show 30Forward, with Malia Johnston creating a new work for the five-strong company.

"Contemporary dance is about absolute, physical excellence," Tarrant says, "and in that respect we're elite sportspeople - but without any funding.

"Like sports, dance injury is mostly about impact. In contemporary that's either body-to-body or body-to-ground but audiences expect to see bodies pushing the boundaries so we emphasise excellent technique."

As a child, Tarrant learned ballet "because there was nothing else in New Zealand" and joined the Royal New Zealand Ballet corps at age 14. A $1000 study grant - "the only grant I've ever had" - took her to Europe but because there wasn't enough cash to go by air Tarrant taught dance on a cruise liner and hitch-hiked from Athens to London.

Knowing she would be too tall to remain a ballerina, Tarrant "defected" to contemporary dance in London, spending 5 months "on the floor" learning techniques espoused by the mother of modern American dance, Martha Graham.

"But then I discovered the [Merce] Cunningham technique which had more standing and fitted me very well."

She went to North America and joined the internationally renowned company led by Alwin Nikolais, and spent 11 northern summers teaching in Canada, while her introduction to choreography came in Copenhagen.

Deirdre Tarrant. Photo/supplied

"I haven't done as much choreography as I would have liked but I kept having babies. I managed to run a dance studio and then a dance company but it was to the eternal tune of 'that's no way to bring up a child'. Well, my children have all turned out fabulously."

Her sons are singer-songwriter Bret McKenzie, and successful hospitality entrepreneurs Justin and Jonny.

the details
30Forward performs at 7.30pm at Baycourt on Friday, October 30.
Adults $45, students and children $25. Tickets from Baycourt or ticketek.co.nz.