In 1985 Deirdre Tarrant was the mother of three young boys looking for positive and imaginative experiences of dance for them. Wanting this to be both within and outside the traditional proscenium performance model she decided to explore ways to create dance that related to young lives and experiences and could be accessible and participatory for students in schools.

Deirdre’s background was in classical ballet growing up in Wellington and later in both ballet and contemporary dance overseas when she went away to study, dance and teach in England, Europe and America. Returning home to bring up a family, it became clear that there was no opportunity here to dance and choreograph other than with the then New Zealand Ballet Company. With this already accomplished and with her choreography on tour and being danced by the New Zealand Ballet, Tarrant wanted to be doing more.  And more often.  In fact, she wanted to have her own career in a dance starved arts scene here ‘at home’.

So Footnote was born.  As a collaborative company of dancers, the original company was Marian McDermott, Fiona Drinnan, Marie Richcoeur, Merfyn Owen, Rob Wood, Mary McLeod and over the years the company became established and in demand for performances all over the country. Rock festivals, community events, outdoors, stadium, where ever there was dance, Footnote would be there! Dancers were hungry to create and wanted to work here in New Zealand and the early Footnote Dance was the stepping stone to make this happen for many of the country’s best contemporary dancers.

In 1992, Footnote Dance formed a Board, became a Charitable Trust and changed from a project company to a client of Creative New Zealand. This meant more security in terms of planning and the dream of security for contemporary dancers was realised.

Despite the ongoing struggle to keep going and to find funding to continue, Footnote Dance has become a real national treasure with a very strong commitment to the New Zealand identity of its artistic product. Maintaining a sustainable career path for the dancers has been the key in the fight to survive, and the company is now well established as a fully professional entity with a mission to develop, nurture and present new dance works and to tour these in two major seasons; Made in New Zealand with a range of choreographers and commissioned Kiwi music from leading composers currently working in the country and Footnote Forte Season featuring the work of one outstanding contemporary choreographer.

Wrap activities that help open experiences and inform audiences are popular with the Perforum Series of studio showings, which provide a dialogue and opportunity for audiences to see works in progress and to actively be involved in the process.

Partnerships with other arts are important and dancing with the Vector Wellington Orchestra has been a highlight over the past few years as well as collaborations with Capital E, The National Theatre for Children. Museum Hotel’s Watch this Space has been a very interesting initiative and places dance in context with visual art and improvised performances at the City Gallery Wellington, Christchurch Art Gallery and the Dunedin Public Art Gallery, and the series have become firm and favourite fixtures in the Footnote dancing calendar.