The Dancing Sons and Daughters of Shona Dunlop MacTavish (MBE)
Hundreds of letters testify to Shona’s impact on the lives of her students, with many also inspired to follow careers in dance and theatre, and open studios of their own.
The three dancers who worked most closely with her, and to whom she entrusted her archives, are Bronywn (Tilly) Judge, Dr Carol Brown and her elder daughter, Terry MacTavish
Other ‘dancing sons and daughters’ of Shona include Dr Suzanne Renner, Simon Ellis, Jan Bolwell, Matthew Onaheim-Smith and Mike Parmenter all of whom made dance their careers, but contributions are warmly invited from all those who wish to acknowledge Shona’s influence on their lives.
Bronwyn (Tilly) Judge
“Shona has been an inspiration for me both as a dancer and an example of how to live ones life with appreciation and gusto.
Always looking on the positive, dance for Shona was a means for
communicating everything, political and social comment, philosophy,
story, grief, happiness, hate, anger and strength.
She imbued in me a love of dancing that has remained with me all my life. Today I make films and choreograph events but the joy I feel as I dance results from Shona’s teachings.When I jump, I am airbound, I fly, only to touch down briefly to takeoff again.
Improvising to a live musician’s parallel interpretation of a theme, I
feel the magic of this two way relationship.
Caught in emotion and make believe I hear the silence of an audiences’ concentration.I cannot retire and twiddle my toes anymore than I think Shona could. When choreographing Isadora’s dance she brought my attention to this quote;
“We should consider everyday lost in which we have not danced at least once.” Friedrich Nietzsche.”
Bronywn Judge
Click on the link below to go to Dr Carol brown’s website
Carol in Joan of Arc
Dr Carol Brown
Terry MacTavish MNZM
Terry in Medea by Euripides
(Terry’s “venomous snake” dance choreographed by Shona)
“[Terry’s] portrayal of the clever, scheming woman – who puts aside all love and pity to wreak her awful revenge – is stunning. The sheer strength and emotional power of her performance lifts the play to its tragic heights, and keeps the audience enthralled.”
B.S., The Star Weekender, 14-6-1992
Jan Bolwell
Jan was a foundation member of Dunedin Dance Theatre, performing many lead roles including the title role in Orlando…
When ex-DDT foundation member Jan Bolwell toured to Dunedin with her company Crows Feet, she invited Shona to be a part of the programme with a recreation of the Bodenwieser’s classic Blue Danube. Shona delivered her own inimitable introduction in which she spoke in German as if she were Bodenwieser herself.
Dr Suzanne Renner
Simon Ellis
“In 1988, I was a 19 year old Physical Education student in Dunedin wanting to become a dancer. Shona was about 68 at the time. I’d heard about her Saturday morning classes (who hadn’t?) and I remember the feeling of trepidation when I joined the class for the first time… Those classes — and the few years I spent with Shona and the Dunedin Dance Theatre — were far more than training my body in the expressive movements of the Ausdruckstanz that Shona had learned from Gertrud Bodenwieser. They were about how we live our lives as human beings, how we take care, how we inspire and are inspired. Shona’s extraordinary joy for life and for being with others was profoundly moving for me. She seemed to be able to tap into our heartbeats with her own breath, to spark the dancing of our lives with action and will. This world of ours doesn’t feel the same without Shona’s voice and breath: inspiring, nourishing and challenging.”
Matthew Onarheim-Smith
Matthew was plucked by Shona from a Footnote school workshop to join her classes and ultimately perform for the DDT, developing a life long passion for dance. His 17-year career as a performer, teacher and dance-maker has taken him to more than 50 countries worldwide. Work he has choreographed has been performed in Oslo, Zagreb, Amsterdam and Vienna. He also has gained a Masters Degree in Osteopathy and in 2018 was made the Caroline Plummer Fellow at Otago University. In that role, his work focused on community dance for older men and movement classes for fathers with their babies. With his wife, dancer Benedikte, Matthew has settled in Dunedin forming the award winning dance company, Kiwegians Inc.
“My dance career began in Dunedin and I am very happy to return. I look forward to giving back to my community by sharing something of what I have learned in my years away and abroad.”
Michael Parmenter
