Footnote dancers head off on global sabbaticals

Last year, Footnote had a strategy update and took a lot of time to review our "why". We refined our key focus areas as Performance, Professional Development, and Community Outreach. As part of the Professional Development focus, we set aside time for our dancers to take a sabbatical research period this year. Each dancer has been in charge of planning their own research project to help them develop as individual artists, while still receiving the support of their usual wage while on their sabbatical leave.

The dancers have just departed on their journeys that will take place across July. "We are so thrilled with what the company dancers have each chosen to do on their sabbaticals. Not only will this experience impact their own growth and development but it will also have an effect on the quality of art Footnote creates and the wider New Zealand dance community as they share their learnings through classes and workshops." - Artistic Director Anita Hunziker.

Cecilia Wilcox is using her sabbatical research period to travel to Europe! She is investigating contemporary dance in London, and looking at how New Zealand dance artists can make a career work there. Cecilia is then going to B12 Festival in Berlin, where she is participating in the performance programme. Cecilia will perform in a work choreographed by James Finnemore.

Airu Matsuda is spending his sabbatical research period developing a new work. He has spent the first week taking part in the Pōneke Festival of Contemporary Dance, and then the rest of the time working in the studio in Sydney. Airu is undertaking choreographic research, alone and with others, testing ideas in preparation for creating a new work in the future.

Levi Siaosi is using his sabbatical research period to investigate modes of movement. Levi is working with Shifting Centre for the first week of July, as part of their residency at the Pōneke Festival of Contemporary Dance. He is then travelling between Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney to take part in a variety of classes. Levi will also be using this opportunity to see how practitioners in Australia run their creative practises.

Veronica ChengEn Lyu is going to Europe for the duration of her sabbatical research. She is going to the Deltebre Dansa festival in Spain. Here she will take part in an intensive workshop period, learning from a range of respected artists. Veronica is then going to Berlin for the B12 festival, where she is taking part in classes, and performing in a work choreographed by James vu anh Phan.