Striding out in N.Z. style

Press, 15 January 1986, Page 19

Striding out in N.Z. style

Jane Barrer waves her hands expansively. "In New Zealand the movement is freer. You can stride out down the street,” the dancer says. She stretches her legs to prove the point. “In New York working behind a bar and living in a tiny apartment I found my movements were becoming restricted.”

Those limits carried themselves over into her dancing and the dancer is thoroughly enjoying the chance to spread out in her home country again. "Really you don’t think about it until you’ve been away and come back. Then you really notice the freedom and the space here.” The freedom and space lend themselves to an indigenous New Zealand dance of wide movements, she believes. She remembers her own time of choreographing in New Zealand before moving on to Australia, London, Rome and, now, New York, as one of “splendid ignorance.”

Her choreography was born of ingenuity and originality rather than absorbed from outside influences.

The dancer says overseas there are too many influences all forcing themselves on a choreographer. “In New Zealand you had to draw from yourself because those influences weren’t there.” She became interested in modem dance after an early acquaintance with classical ballet and began performing at 16. It was in the early days of modem dance in this country and Jane Barrer admits it is now much easier to be creative in dance because of the growth of dance here. “There are so many more groups, small groups, all competing and encouraging and feeding off one and another for ideas. I have really noticed a change in the time I have been away.”

Jane Barrer’s association with dance goes back to 1974. Since then she has taught in New Zealand, Australia, and London.

Her return to New Zealand brings more teaching commitments with a 10 day course in Auckland and a five day course beginning in Christchurch next week.

The workshops are intended for non-dancers as

well as those who have danced before.

They will lead the dancers through classes to a performance of a piece.

The Christchurch work, as yet untitled, is in the dancer’s head as a framework in several components. Once she meets the students in her workshop she will begin to flesh out the framework making it specific to their skills.

She finds working with those who have not danced fun, because “they are uninhibited. You set them a goal of the performance and then they have to get out and go for it.”

She will be taking the Christchurch workshop, from January 20 to 24, at the Dance Corporate, the successor of the studio she started in the city some years ago.

She first started performing in 1974 with the Maggie Burke Dancers on the television series “Popco,” and in numerous other live venues. She began to choreograph for the group in 1976 and in 1978 became its manager. In that year she also choreographed “Episodes” an original three-act

dance production at the Ngaio Marsh theatre.

In 1979 she formed the Moving Co. and opened her own dance studio, now Dance Corporate. She has choreographed for Derek Jacobi in the film “Pathways to the Future” as well as scripting and choreographing several performances and commercials for television. In 1979 and 1980 she toured New Zealand with the theatre group “Ain’t Misbehavin,” completed her B.A. degree in Political Science at Canterbury University and produced and directed a trade union training film “Down the Road.”

“Down the Road” was a video dealing with unfair dismissal. It was supposed to be the pilot for a series of training films for unions.

Jane Barrer remembers that herself and a competent technician were the only crew working on it. The dancers performed for free, they ran out of actors and filmed a real dispute between delegates.

The video was a chance happening but perhaps pointed the way for a future

that included films. Jane Barrer’s plans when she returns to New York include attending film school. She is not sure what she wants to do yet with that training but making low budget films on a dance theme is one idea. She is aware what it is like to be on the other side of the camera, as one of half a dozen New Zealanders now living in New York who are the subjects of a film.

Marten Rabarts, also a New Zealander, is following the careers of these people — a dancer, a restaurateur, an actress, a clothes worker and a male model. He will film Jane Barrer during her Christchurch workshop.

The dancer has been living in New York for the last two years. After leaving New Zealand she choreographed and performed the lead role in the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children’s Centenary Revue (an original musical) in Sydney. She also choreographed a twentyminute work for the Mr Jupiter Dance theatre using

an original Australian score. After studying with the I. Gesti Compagnia di Mimi in Rome, she became involved in solo clowning in London, before leaving for New York to study at the Niko-lais-Louis Dance-Arts Foundation.

She spent most of 1985 dancing with a group called Trina Moore than Dancers. She sees herself as a choreographer rather than a professional dancer but wants to continue dancing with Trina Moore when she returns.

Paid work for dancers is scarce and like many dancers in New York, Jane Barrer. works in a bar.

As well as film school, the future holds dance teaching — "although space is scarce and expensive.”

In the long term she would like to come back to New Zealand although for now the Big Apple atmosphere suits.

“It’s a free and easy lifestyle. I have just got settled with an apartment I like in a part of town I like and with a job I enjoy.”