KEY POINTS:
One of the first of many marvellous images that illustrate Tara Jahn-Werner's comprehensive history of dance in New Zealand is of prima ballerina assoluta Anna Pavlova, not in satin slippers and layers of tulle, but warmly wrapped in her own fur coat out in the Kiwi countryside, and laughingly posed in front of a flock of sheep.
The year was 1926, and Pavlova had just swept through the country after a successful Australian tour.
She was not the only artiste to grace these shores from the 1870s on, with promoter J.C. Williamson playing a major role in the many visits of opera, theatre and classical music companies that enriched early New Zealand society. Composer Percy Grainger and singer Dame Nelly Melba visited in 1903. Polish composer and virtuoso Jan Paderewski came in 1904.
"In the 'Gay 90s' (1891-1900), seasons of Gilbert and Sullivan operas flourished only months after they were first staged in England, and a Williamson-backed opera company held lavish seasons that could be compared favourably to those at The Savoy, in London ... Each of the main centres had had at least one well-equipped, state-of-the-art theatre.
"Abbott's Opera House in Auckland and Dunedin's Princess were considered outstanding for their auditoriums, while Wanganui's Royal Opera House was famed for its excellent acoustics."
Thus Jahn-Warner starts her comprehensive and well-researched record of the evolution of dance and its associated arts in this country.
A parade of talented performers, teachers and entrepreneurs pop from the pages as Jahn-Werner plots her course through the decades.
Makereti Papakura, one of Whakarewarewa's most famous guides, a natural entrepreneur and a charismatic personality, made a distinctive mark on Maori music and dance in those early years.
Adeline Genee, credited with single-handedly reviving the public's interest in England at the turn of the century, "transforming ballet from a bit of light relief during an evening at the opera, to an art form that could be taken seriously in its own right", toured in 1913 with a 70-strong contingent from the Imperial Russian Ballet and inspired dance teachers here, notably Dunedin's May Black who founded the Otago School of Dancing.
Maud Allan, famous for her lascivious version of Salome and inspired by her more famous contemporary Isadora Duncan, introduced the draped and barefooted style of dance here, in 1914.
From 1900 and through to 2007, Jahn-Warner reports the development of New Zealand dance in an accessible style, weaving in the effect of wars and economic ups and downs, and how they reflected on and were reflected by the dance world.
Her chapter headings reflect the saga: "The Russians are coming! The war years"; "The growth of professional dance"; "A choreographer's eye"; and, for the years 2000-07, "A vibrant scene".
It is a scholarly effort without the intricacies or analysis of an academic treatise - which works both in its favour and against.
While the work fills a gap in our dance literature and the gorgeous illustrations - old photographs and new studies, and the beautiful posters of performances through the ages - add colour and extravagance to Jahn-Werner's rather measured account, a little more interpretive opinion from this very experienced consumer and commentator on dance and the arts would have been welcome.
Book review
* What: The Illustrated History of Dance in New Zealand
* By Tara Jahn-Werner
* Random House $69.99
* Reviewer: Bernadette RaeBeautiful images trace evolution of graceful art on our shores
* Bernadette Rae is the Herald dance writer and reviewer.
