Wright to tour new dance work

Douglas Wright

Veteran choreographer and dancer Douglas Wright is taking his new work, Black Milk, on the road next year, opening in Invercargill's renovated Civic Theatre on March 25 before touring to Dunedin, Christchurch, Auckland and Wellington with the support of a CNZ $165,000 grant.

Last year, Wright was awarded the CNZ choreographic fellowship to research and develop new work; Michael Parmenter is this year's recipient.

"After Inland in 2002, I intended to focus exclusively on my writing and didn't think I would make another large-scale dance-theatre work," said Wright. "However, the central idea for Black Milk wouldn't leave me alone and, in the end, I had to give in to it. The fellowship was perfect timing because it gave me a year of unpressured creative time."

Sarah-Jayne Howard and Claire O'Neil will return from overseas for the tour, while Craig Bary has rescheduled a Sydney Opera House performance to be available. The eight-strong ensemble will also feature Alex Leonhartsberger, Jessica Shipman and Paora Taurima, plus actor Carl Bland.

The choreography will be set to Hungarian composer Gyorgy Ligeti's music, integrated into a score by Wellington musician David Long. Wright's long-time collaborator, Michael Pearce, will design the set and costumes.

The Black Milk tour will coincide with the release of Wright's second book, Terra Incognito, to be published by Penguin. His first book, Ghost Dance, won the E.H. McCormick Best First Book Award (non-fiction) at this year's Montana New Zealand Book Awards.

Black Milk will be staged at SkyCity Theatre in Auckland from April 5-8.