Our lotto story

Our Lotto NZ Story 

Nga Kaitiaki Taonga Kanikani O Aotearoa
The National Dance Archive of New Zealand
The National Dance Archive of New Zealand (NDA) is a charitable trust formed to encourage the preservation of New Zealand’s dance heritage.  

We are a voluntary body which develops resources to support our dance community in preserving New Zealand’s dance scene and culture.  We commission oral history recordings of prominent New Zealand dance personalities.  We are not a repository for archive material, but we want to point people in the right direction.

The National Dance Archive of New Zealand (NDA) has initiated several oral history projects since its inception in 1982. These recordings are deposited as part of the National Dance Archive Oral History Project with the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington (ATL Ref: OHColl-0208). Permission to listen to these recordings is required from the National Dance Archive and in many cases from other related parties. To find out if an item is available please consult the Turnbull Library catalogue or contact the Library on https://natlib.govt.nz/questions/new.
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Projects have covered various aspects and communities related to dance in New Zealand. This current project, A Dance Picture, is recording the life-long commitment of four women to dance and the arts in New Zealand. Although they have all been dancers in their own right, they are best known for their roles of teaching, administration and promotion of dance in New Zealand. 

These four women have based most of their dance career in New Zealand. Through their work they have expanded opportunities for New Zealanders in dance education and performance, and ultimately increasing audiences and dance appreciation within New Zealand.

With previous oral history projects completed by the National Dance Archive having largely focused on dancers and dance teachers, this oral history project helps to broaden the spectrum of dance that has been recorded. This project is a fitting complement to the project that focused on Māori and Pasifika men in contemporary dance, as well as the celebration of the 125th anniversary of women’s suffrage. 
The project is of both regional and national significance, as each of these people has had a major impact on the cultural life of New Zealand, both at a regional and national level. Through teaching, mentoring and fostering the next and current generation their influence on the recognition, promotion and growth of professional dance in New Zealand has been profound.

The interviewees chosen for this project A Dance Picture and generous Lotteries grant are:   Carla van Zon, Jenny Stevenson, Jamie Bull, Shona McCullagh 

These interviews will be conducted by Lyne Pringle. 

Lyne has considerable experience in oral history interviewing. As dancer, choreographer, teacher, dance writer and researcher, she has a professional understanding of her subjects, a curiosity about their lives and work, and a researched knowledge of this area in New Zealand’s dance history. Since her training under oral historian, Judith Fyfe, Lyne has been the primary interviewer for five oral history projects commissioned by the National Dance Archive. In 2009, with the help of a grant from the Sesquicentennial Oral History Fund, she recorded the stories of dancers from Limbs Dance Company and Impulse Dance Company, and in 2011 interviewed Māori and Pasifika men influential in New Zealand contemporary dance. More recently, in 2013 Lyne recorded interviews with five people covering a broader perspective of the dance industry in New Zealand.

The Dance Archive are extremely grateful to the Lotteries Commission for the grant that made the continuance of oral histories possible at this time. 

Images left to right:
Douglas Wright
New Zealander
Dancer, Choreographer, Writer
Photo: Peter Molloy

Carla van Zon ONZM
New Zealander
​Dancer, Executive and Arts Administrator
Photo: Carla van Zon

Shona McCullagh
Dancer, Choreographer, Director    
Photo: Sally Tagg