Anita Hunziker
Brisbane-born Anita studied at the Queensland Dance School of Excellence. In 2002 she moved across the Tasman to train at the New Zealand School of Dance as a contemporary major and graduated with a Diploma in Dance of Performance. During her time at the school, Anita seconded to Footnote Dance and Dance North. She also received awards for Excellence in Contemporary Dance and Overall Best Student . Anita joined Footnote Dance in mid-2005. This year she co-produced, co-choreographed and performed in Into the Looking Glass for the NZ Fringe.
Sarah Knox
Sarah graduated from the New Zealand School of Dance in 2001 with a diploma in Dance Performance also winning awards for Best All Round Student and Promise in Choreography. She has worked with Douglas Wright and Black Grace and in 2005 & 2006 travelled to Japan to perform as a dancer, vocalist and magician’s assistant in a Resort Hotel. While there, she learned Nihon Buyo – traditional Japanese Dance. In her spare time Sarah is working towards a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Japanese through Massey University. Sarah joined Footnote in 2006 and choreographed Kakushi Aji on the company for the 2008 Made in New Zealand season. Earlier this year, Sarah and Anita produced and performed their own show Into the Looking Glass which was part of the New Zealand Fringe Festival.
Jesse Wikiriwhi
Jesse Wikiriwhi started dancing at 19, focusing on jazz technique before making the move to study full time dance at Unitec in Auckland in 2002. In 2004 he graduated with a Bachelor of Performing and Screen Arts majoring in Contemporary Dance. He has been involved with shows such as Style Pacifika, Trash to Fashion and the World of Wearable Arts, as well as a wide variety of non-profit fundraising events. He has worked in a wide range of film and television productions. Jesse joined Footnote Dance in 2007 and this year Little Sister will be his first choreography for the company.
Jeremy Poi
Jeremy Poi is of Niuean/Cook Island descent. Born and raised in Auckland, while at Western Springs College he was introduced to contemporary dance through Black Grace’s Urban Youth Movement. Jeremy performed nationally and internationally with Black Grace for four years, including performing two years consecutively at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. He has also worked with Mau and Touch Compass. this is Jeremy’s second year with Footnote.
Claire Lissaman
Claire graduated from UNITEC in 2002. Since then she has freelanced throughout NZ performing, collaborating and touring with choreographers including Michael Paementer, Malia Johnston, Raewyn Hill, Chris Jannides, Kristian Larsen, Tane-Mahuta Gray, Touch Compass, Sarah Foster and Vicky Kapo. In 2005 a danceWEB scholarship and CNZ grant took Claire to the Impulstanz Festival in Vienna. This was followed in 2007 by study with Julyen Hamilton and Kirstie Simson (onoff scholarship, Bern). Claire has taught contemporary technique around NZ and in Bern, Switzerland. In 2008 Claire created her first Solo work Landing. She joined Footnote Dance this year.
Francis Christeller
After beginning his dance training in Wellington at Tarrant Dance Studios, Francis moved to Brisbane to study a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance at Queensland University of Technology. During his studies Francis spent 5 months on an exchange to Taipei National University of the Arts in Taiwan, where he developed his knowledge and skills in eastern forms of dance. During his training, Francis had the opportunity to perform in works by choreographers Sarah-Jayne Howard, Wu Chien-Wei, Natalie Weir and Timothy Fletcher. 2009 is Francis’ first year with Footnote Dance.
