NATIONAL DANCE ARCHIVE OF NEW ZEALAND
NGA KAITIAKI TAONGA KANIKANI O AOTEAROA
 
Report from the Chair
August 2025
 
 
The National Dance Archive was originally formed as a subcommittee of the New Zealand Dance Federation in 1982. And Carolyn McKeefry was there when it took place. So it was with great sadness to say goodbye to Carolyn in December who has been involved with the Dance Archive for all that time. Carolyn, for your service and dedication—most recently (and for the whole time I’ve been on the committee) as treasurer—we thank you from the bottom or our hearts. 
 
So it called for an occasion to farewell Carolyn, which we did over dinner after our February meeting. It was also an occasion to welcome our new treasurer, Nicola O’Neill, who has big shoes to fill, but has risen to the challenge remarkably in the past six months.
 
Trustees and Meetings
As well as the change of treasurer, we also said goodbye to Geordan Wilcox who has stepped down. We will be looking to recruit a new committee member in Auckland to fill this space. Philippa Pidgeon remains our representative in Christchurch, and the rest of the trustees are based in Wellington: Peter Boyes, Kim Crawford, Debra Harris, Katherine Lancaster, Brigitte Knight, Keith McEwing and Sue Nicholls.
 
Two meetings have been held in person this period, with occasion to socialise afterwards—those occasions being the end of year, and then in February for dinner with Carolyn. It is with some irony that our AGM and June meeting, coincidentally scheduled to take place in National Volunteer Week, did not happen due to several trustees’ commitments elsewhere. The old adage is true (attributed to both Benjamin Franklin and Lucille Ball), If you want something done, ask a busy person!
 
Technology Subcommittee 
Having a tributes page on our website was not a purpose we originally envisaged. But with many notable dance personalities passing away recently it has proved a valuable addition to our website. As well as being an obituaries page, it also can serve the purpose of drawing the dance community, and people generally, to what archives exist relating to them and also highlighting the fact of the oral histories that the Dance Archive has recorded. Two notable figures from the past twelve months are Sir Jon Trimmer, and pianist Eli Gray-Smith. Other notable dancers we have lost this year are Rowena Jackson and Val Deakin, who also have oral histories recorded by the Dance Archive. Thank you once again to Brigitte for hosting our website and social media.
 
Archiving Resources Subcommittee
Exploring ways to extend our reach and promote dance archiving has always been part of our constitution, and we have been looking at further ways we can do this. Keep an eye on the website for more details about this.
 
 
Oral Histories Subcommittee
Our oral history project is underway, with the scoping exercise complete and interviewees confirmed. The project has been provisionally endorsed for archiving by the Alexander Turnbull Library and will be added to the NDA’s previous interviews.
 
Sponsorship and Funding Subcommittee
With considerable funds generated from the two film nights in previous years, we did not have a fundraising event this year. It is notable that we have managed to raise enough to fully fund the current oral history project. In the past we have frequently sought funding from either Ministry of Culture and Heritage or Lotteries Commission. 
 
Our continued thanks to the National Library shop, Te Āmiki, for selling NDA cards, generating a small but steady income.
 
The Year Ahead
Now on to the year ahead: this will bring us further oral histories lodged with the Turnbull Library. The website is growing and it is hoped to add more resources to pages for dance researchers as well as providing guidance for the preservation of dance resources and archives.
 
Continuing as I have for the past two annual reports, I will close my report with a whakatauki. This year I look to the collaboration of the committee and our sustained work promoting dance archiving since the Dance Archive’s inception. Ko koe ki tēnā, ko ahau ki tēnei kīwai o te kete; “You take that handle and I’ll take this handle of the basket”. Thank you all for your contribution to the year’s progress, but especially to Carolyn for your 42 years of service to the National Dance Archive.
 
Keith McEwing
Chair
14 August 2025
 
 

NATIONAL DANCE ARCHIVE OF NEW ZEALAND
NGA KAITIAKI TAONGA KANIKANI O AOTEAROA
 
Report from the Chair
20 June 2024
 
Earlier this year I had the opportunity to give a webinar for the Archives and Records Association of New Zealand (ARANZ) on the importance of archiving dance. The response I got from several attendees, many who hadn’t thought much past a dance archive as being lots of video recordings, brought home to me the importance of the National Dance Archive and the advocacy role that we play.
 
As trustees, we are thinking regularly about both the importance of archiving and the variety of material a dance archive could hold, so it is always good to be reminded of how much advocacy is still to be done. Preparing for the webinar was also an opportunity for me to look through the NDA’s own records in the Turnbull Library, and those of the New Zealand Dance Federation, under which the NDA was first formed, to see the significant work that has been done since the NDA was formed in 1982.
 
Trustees and Meetings
Our trustees have remained constant for another year: Geordan Wilcox in Auckland, Philippa Pidgeon in Christchurch, and the rest of the trustees based in Wellington – Peter Boyes, Kim Crawford, Debra Harris, Katherine Lancaster, Brigitte Knight, Keith McEwing and Sue Nicholls. Change is in the air, however, with Geordan stepping down. Another significant departure is our founding treasurer Carolyn McKeefry has also decided to step down. We will miss you both.
 
With the exception of our December meeting, all of our meetings have been by Zoom; a biproduct of those COVID lockdown days. This has on the whole, worked well and given us some extra flexibility regarding our meeting attendance. For December we had a hybrid meeting. Sue hosted the meeting at her place, with Geordan joining via Zoom. After the meeting, for those attending in person, we had a shared meal. Thank you to Sue, again, for your hospitality.
 
Oral Histories Subcommittee
Three people for our next oral history project have been selected, which will illustrate the diversity of dance in New Zealand. Much of this project will be paid for from our fundraising efforts of the last two years’ film nights and donations that ensued. Preliminary consultation with Turnbull Library, with regards to whether they would accept this project as a donation on completion, has held up the process of starting the project, however. 
 
Technology Subcommittee 
Again, we thank Brigitte for her work with the website and the Facebook page. Some posts have been made throughout the year on both website and Facebook and a moderate following has resulted. Further discussions have been had about using both platforms more, so watch these spaces!
 
Archiving Resources Subcommittee
With promoting the necessity to archive dance records this subcommittee gives opportunity to practise what we preach! Some work has been done at looking at our paper files and deciding what needs to be kept. An archiving plan has been discussed along with an organised filing structure. Another project to work on in the coming year.
 
Sponsorship and Funding Subcommittee
With the success of 2022’s film fund raiser we decided to have another in October 2023. We screened the French movie En Corps and approached Alliance Française, and the French Ambassador to New Zealand for their support and for spreading the word of this event. With a near capacity audience of 56 people attending, we raised $504.  
 
NDA also received a donation for $1,000 from 3+ Consulting. As well, we continue to sell cards through the National Library shop, which keeps a small but steady amount coming into our bank account.
 
The Year Ahead
I have already mentioned the oral history project that is underway. I have also talked about ideas for using the social media more and organising our own archives. It will be great to keep a momentum on all of these things into the next twelve months.
 
Conclusion
I cannot overstress my sincere thanks to all the trustees for the time you have volunteered in serving on the NDA committee this past twelve months. A special thank you to Geordan for your contribution to the committee over the past four years, and we wish you the best going forward. Thank you also to Sue in the secretarial role. Always prompt with getting the minutes to me.
 
An extra big thank you to our Treasurer, Carolyn McKeefry, this being the last time we will be able to do so formally with you stepping down. Not only our thanks for continuing to manage our accounts throughout the past year and all the years prior, making sure we keep our balance above $5,000 to avoid bank fees, but more so, thank you for your investment expertise management with our funds raised. Thank you also for the general support you have given to the committee and the archiving cause.
 
Last year I closed my report with a whakatauki. This year I would like to repeat it as for me it sums up our purpose so well. Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua; I walk backwards into the future with my eyes fixed on my past. Thank you all.
 
 
 
Keith McEwing
Chair
18 June 2024
 

NATIONAL DANCE ARCHIVE OF NEW ZEALAND
NGA KAITIAKI TAONGA KANIKANI O AOTEAROA

Report from the Chair
15 June 2023

These past twelve months since our last AGM seem to have flown by! It seems we have less to show for this year than we have for the past few despite all the COVID-related restrictions of the past years continuing to ease. There were still some significant events to highlight, however, and these have put us in a good position for the next twelve-month period.

Trustees
Our trustees continue as for last year: Geordan Wilcox in Auckland, Philippa Pidgeon in Christchurch, and the rest of the trustees based in Wellington – Peter Boyes, Kim Crawford, Debra Harris, Katherine Lancaster, Brigitte Knight, Keith McEwing and Sue Nicholls. With the exception of our Christmas meeting being held at Sue’s place, our bimonthly meetings now have all been held by Zoom. This caters well for national representation with our representatives in Auckland and Christchurch. This is something we should look at developing further.

Sponsorship and Funding Subcommittee
With our last oral history project complete and deposited in the Alexander Turnbull Library, the committee was keen to get the next project under way, starting with a fundraiser. Penthouse Cinema was booked and on 2 October we screened the Rudolf Nureyev biopic The White Crow to a capacity audience in the small theatre. Along with some donations from people unable to attend, including one considerably large anonymous donation, we raised $6,630. The sale of cards through the National Library shop continues to provide a steady, though small, income. It is always good to keep in mind that double benefit of such fundraising efforts are also ways of promoting and making the NDA visible.

Oral Histories Subcommittee
With funds to start the next project our list of names has been consulted and a short list drawn up. The Oral Histories subcommittee will next look at applying for another grant to supplement our fundraising efforts for the project.

Technology Subcommittee
Once again, a special thank you must go to Brigitte for her website and social media expertise. As part of the promotion of the film fundraiser Brigitte created a Facebook page for the National Dance Archive. It is now down to us to keep the page active, which we have not managed to do so well since the fundraiser. Something to look at developing in the next twelve months.

The Year Ahead
It is hoped that in twelve months’ time we will have our next oral history project underway. We have an outline and we have much of the funding needed to complete this project. Time is all we need to make it happen!

It will also be good to follow up on some of the resources proposed for adding to the NDA’s website. Once we have published these on the website, we can then use our social media channel to publicise these and other New Zealand dance resources and collections through our social media pages.

Conclusion
As always, I conclude by offering my sincere thanks to all the trustees for the time you have volunteered to serving on the NDA committee over the past twelve months. A special thank you to our treasurer, Carolyn McKeefry, and to Sue Nicholls doing secretarial duties. Being an organisation run by volunteers we need to exercise patience and be grateful for any progress that we see. I think we should all take pride in our achievements, both big and small, as we look to build on these in the coming months.
We should not lose sight of our purpose to inform and encourage the archiving of New Zealand dance history. This enables the New Zealand dance community to put into practice the whakatauki Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua; I walk backwards into the future with my eyes fixed on my past.

Keith McEwing
Chairperson
13 June 2023