Honouring a Dancer - Deirdre Tarrant

Deirdre Tarrant is one of New Zealand’s most highly acclaimed choreographers. Tempo Dance Festival is delighted to honour the life and artistic career of Deirdre during this year’s festival.

Deirdre’s ballet background was with Jeane Horne and the then New Zealand Ballet Company. An overseas study grant took her to dance in London and Europe and to discover contemporary dance in New York. Deirdre is a Vocational Examiner for the Royal Academy of Dance and is Principal of the Tarrant Dance Studios in Wellington and of The Deirdre Tarrant Dance Theatre, a youth dance company with a huge commitment to integrating dance as a vital part of the Wellington community.

She has held many roles in the dance industry over the years and is passionate about supporting New Zealand dancers and musicians.

Choreographies have been many and varied over a career spanning more than thirty years. They range from full-length productions for her youth company (Cinderella, The Nutcracker Doll); educationally-focused works for Footnote Dance (Footnote Footprint, The Time of Our Life); site-specific works (War in Paradise for the Wellington Museum of City & Sea, Around the World in Wellington for Capital E Theatre for Children) as well as a number of works for the Royal New Zealand Ballet (Masques, Wheel of Fortune, The Stranger) and for Footnote Dance.

Tarrant was awarded a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to the community and dance in 2000.

Venue: Q theatre, Rangatira
Price: Koha

As part of Tempo Dance Festival 2012