Deirdre Tarrant

Last updated

Deirdre Tarrant

Deirdre Tarrant CNZM (cropped).jpg
Tarrant in 2013
Born
Deirdre Elizabeth Anne Tarrant

1946 (age 7677)
Occupation(s)Choreographer, contemporary dance teacher
Spouse
(m. 1971)
Children Bret McKenzie

Deirdre Elizabeth Anne Tarrant CNZM (born 1946) is a New Zealand dancer, dance teacher and choreographer. She was the founding director of Footnote Dance and is principal of the Tarrant Dance Studios. [1] [2]

Contents

Tarrant was born in 1946, the daughter of Alfred Edward Tarrant, a Wellington manufacturer. [3] [4] She danced with the New Zealand Ballet Company while studying for a Bachelor of Arts degree at Victoria University of Wellington in 1967. [1] [2]

Tarrant founded Footnote Dance in 1985. She led that company until 2012, when she handed over to Malia Johnston. [5] She has been a vocational examiner for the Royal Academy of Dance. [6] She is principal of the Tarrant Dance Studios. [1] [2]

Awards and honours

Tarrant was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2000 New Year Honours for "services to dance and the community". [7] She was promoted to Companion in the 2013 Queen's Birthday Honours for "services to contemporary dance". [8]

In 2006 she was one of the first distinguished alumni to be appointed by the Victoria University of Wellington. [9]

Personal

Tarrant married actor Peter Leo McKenzie in 1971. [3] Their son Bret McKenzie is a comedian, actor, musician and producer, best known as one of musical comedy duo, Flight of the Conchords. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gillian Whitehead</span> New Zealand composer

Dame Gillian Karawe Whitehead is a New Zealand composer. She is of Māori Ngāi Te Rangi descent. Her Māori heritage has been an important influence on her composing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Athfield</span> New Zealand architect

Sir Ian Charles Athfield was a New Zealand architect. He was born in Christchurch and graduated from the University of Auckland in 1963 with a Diploma of Architecture. That same year he joined Structon Group Architects, and he became a partner in 1965. In 1968 he was a principal partner in setting up Athfield Architects with Ian Dickson and Graeme John Boucher (Manson). Athfield died in 2015 due to complications from a routine procedure which resulted in pneumonia, at the Wellington Hospital, where he was being treated for prostate cancer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trish McKelvey</span>

Patricia Frances McKelvey, often known as Trish McKelvey, is a New Zealand former cricketer, cricket administrator and educator. She appeared in 15 Test matches and 15 One Day Internationals for New Zealand between 1966 and 1982. She also appeared in 6 One Day Internationals for International XI at the 1973 World Cup. She played domestic cricket for Wellington and Otago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bret McKenzie</span> New Zealand actor and musician

Bret Peter Tarrant McKenzie is a New Zealand musician, comedian, music supervisor, and actor. He is best known as one half of musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords along with Jemaine Clement. In the 2000s, the duo's comedy and music became the basis of a BBC radio series and then an oft-lauded American television series, which aired for two seasons on HBO. Active since 1998, the duo released their most recent comedy special, Live in London, in 2018.

Peter Leo McKenzie is a New Zealand actor who is best known for his portrayal as Elendil in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. He also appeared in Jackson's King Kong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy McKenzie</span> New Zealand horse breeder

Sir Roy Allan McKenzie was a New Zealand horse breeder and racer, and was well known for his philanthropy.

David Andross Farquhar was a New Zealand composer and professor of music at Victoria University of Wellington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Briar Grace-Smith</span> New Zealand Māori scriptwriter

Briar Grace-Smith is a screenwriter, director, actor, and short story writer from New Zealand. She has worked as an actor and writer with the Maori theatre cooperative Te Ohu Whakaari and Maori theatre company He Ara Hou. Early plays Don't Call Me Bro and Flat Out Brown, were first performed at the Taki Rua Theatre in Wellington in 1996. Waitapu, a play written by Grace-Smith, was devised by He Ara Hou and performed by the group on the Native Earth Performing Arts tour in Canada in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Harcourt</span> New Zealand actress, born 1927

Dame Catherine Winifred Harcourt, known professionally as Kate Harcourt, is a New Zealand actress. Over her long career she has worked in comedy as well as drama in theatre, film, TV and radio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Isaac</span> NZ businessman, cricket administrator & former player

Alan Raymond Isaac is a New Zealand businessman, cricket administrator and former player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Sparrow</span> New Zealand medical doctor, activist and author

Dame Margaret June Sparrow is a New Zealand medical doctor, reproductive rights advocate, and author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin White (artist)</span> New Zealand painter and printmaker

Dame Robin Adair White is a New Zealand painter and printmaker, recognised as a key figure in the regionalist movement of 20th-century New Zealand art.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Gascoigne</span> New Zealand lawyer and statesman

Sir David Rendel Kingston Gascoigne is a New Zealand lawyer and former judicial conduct commissioner. He is the husband of Dame Patsy Reddy, who served as the 21st governor-general of New Zealand from 2016 to 2021.

Footnote New Zealand Dance is New Zealand's oldest contemporary dance company. Based in Wellington, it has been described as "New Zealand’s most enduring and influential contemporary dance company."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Traci Houpapa</span>

Tracey Tania Houpapa, commonly known as Traci Houpapa, is a company director and business advisor. She is a New Zealand Māori.

The 2000 New Year Honours in New Zealand were appointments by Elizabeth II in her right as Queen of New Zealand, on the advice of the New Zealand government, to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders, and to celebrate the passing of 1999 and the beginning of 2000. They were announced on 31 December 1999.

Shona Margaret McCullagh is a New Zealand choreographer, dancer, filmmaker and artistic director. McCullagh was the founding director of the New Zealand Dance Company and was appointed artistic director of the Auckland Festival in 2019.

Dame Deirdre Glenna Milne is a New Zealand feminist active from the 1970s and a retired lawyer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucy Marinkovich</span> New Zealand dancer and choreographer

Lucy Marinkovich is a New Zealand dancer and choreographer. She is the artistic director and choreographer of Wellington-based performing arts group Borderline Arts Ensemble.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carolyn Henwood</span> New Zealand judge

Dame Carolyn Henwood is a former District and Youth Court judge in New Zealand, and an advocate for youth justice and the welfare of children in state care. She is active in the arts, particularly theatre and was a founder of Circa Theatre in Wellington.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Dance diva—Deirdre Tarrant". Victoria University of Wellington. 22 October 2014. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Distinguished alumni". Victoria University of Wellington. Archived from the original on 13 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Tarrant, Deirdre Elizabeth Anne, 1946–". Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  4. "New Year Honours 1988" (PDF). New Zealand Legal Information Institute. 14 January 1988. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  5. "Footnote Dance announces new Director after 26 years". Creative New Zealand. 19 July 2012. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  6. "2012 daCi/WDA Global Dance Summit". Ausdance. July 2012. Archived from the original on 6 April 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  7. "New Year Honours List 2000". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 1999. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  8. "The Queen's Birthday Honours List 2013". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 3 June 2013. Archived from the original on 28 January 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  9. "Victoria's Distinguished Alumni Awards announced". Scoop. 24 August 2006. Archived from the original on 30 August 2006. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  10. "Giant leap for Bret McKenzie". Stuff. 3 March 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2021.