Douglas James Wright (14 October 1956 – 14 November 2018) was a New Zealand dancer and choreographer in the New Zealand arts establishment from 1980 until his death in 2018. Although he announced his retirement from dance in 2008, on the occasion of the publication of his first book of poetry, ''Laughing Mirror'' he subsequently continued to make dance works, including touring ''The Kiss Inside'' during April 2015.

Biography

Wright was born in

Tuakau Tuakau ( mi, Tūākau) is a town in the Waikato region at the foot of Bombay hills, formerly part of the Franklin district until 2010, when it became part of Waikato District in the North Island of New Zealand. The town serves to support local fa ...

, South Auckland, in 1956. From 1980 to 1983 he danced with the

Limbs Dance Company The Limbs Dance Company was formed in Auckland, New Zealand in May 1977 and disbanded in Wellington in September 1989. Limbs was "the first contemporary dance company in New Zealand to win a general following", and performed alongside notable New Z ...

and choreographed a number of works on the company before travelling to New York where he danced with the Paul Taylor Company, 1983–1987 and London with

DV8 Physical Theatre DV8 Physical Theatre (or Dance and Video 8) was a physical theatre company based at Artsadmin in London, United Kingdom. It was officially founded in 1986 by Lloyd Newson (1986–2015), Michelle Richecoeur (1986–1988) and Nigel Charnock (1 ...

, 1988. Returning to New Zealand in 1989, he formed the ''Douglas Wright Dance Company'', with which he created more than 30 major works, touring New Zealand, Australia and Europe. In the 1998 Queen's Birthday Honours, Wright was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for services to dance. In 2000 Wright received one of five inaugural Arts Laureate awards from the

Arts Foundation of New Zealand 'The Arts Foundation of New Zealand Te Tumu Toi is a New Zealand arts organisation that supports artistic excellence and facilitates private philanthropy through raising funds for the arts and allocating it to New Zealand artists. The concept ...

and in 2003 he was the subject of an award-winning feature-length documentary film, ''Haunting Douglas'', directed by

Leanne Pooley Leanne Pooley ONZM is a Canadian filmmaker based in Auckland, New Zealand. Pooley was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, she immigrated to New Zealand in the mid-1980s and began working in the New Zealand television and film industry ...

for Spacific Films. With the launch of ''Laughing Mirror'', Wright announced his retirement from dance. Subsequently, however, during 2010 he workshopped material towards a new major group work commissioned for

Auckland Festival Formerly known as Auckland Festival, Auckland Arts Festival or is an annual arts and cultural festival held in Auckland, New Zealand. The Festival features works from New Zealand, the Pacific, Asia and beyond, including world premieres of new wor ...

2011, which premiered on 16 March 2011 at The Civic Theatre as ''rapt'', and at the Hague, in the Netherlands during 2013. During 2014 and 2015, he workshopped and developed material towards ''The Kiss Inside'' a further major group work commissioned for the New Zealand Festival, which premiered on 16 April 2015 at

SkyCity SkyCity (originally known as the Eye of the Needle) was a revolving restaurant and bar situated atop the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington, United States. Description and history The restaurant featured a carousel (or ring-shaped) dining fl ...

Theatre, Auckland before touring to Wanaka,

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, and

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after which touring followed on the North Island of New Zealand during March 2016. During 2018, he choreographed a solo ''M_nod'' on dancer Sean MacDonald, which had its premiere in the Grey Lynn Public Library hall to an invited audience during July, and was publicly presented in Q Theatre's Vault during Tempo Dance Festival 2018. The work was commissioned by

Auckland Art Gallery Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions. Set be ...

director Michael Lett, and a film was made of the work. Wright died 14 November 2018, aged 62, from cancer.

Published works

He wrote two volumes of semi-fiction/semi-autobiography, ''Ghost Dance'' (Penguin, 2004 – Montana Awards Best First Book of Non-Fiction, 2004) and ''Terra Incognito'' (2006), and also hosted an inaugural one-man exhibition of his paintings and multimedia sculptures. In October 2007 a poetry collection, ''Laughing Mirror'' was published by Steele Roberts. A second collection of his poems, ''cactusfear'' was published by Steele Roberts in October 2011, and a retrospective exhibition of his work as a choreographer, based on photographs, films and writing, was held at

The University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

Gus Fisher Gallery Gus Fisher Gallery is a contemporary art gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It is located in the Kenneth Myers Centre, a historic building restored in 2000 with the help of the gallery's patron, Gus Fisher (1920–2010). The gallery exhibits a reg ...

in 2012.

Choreographic works

*1981 – ''Back Street Primary '' (poetry, J Frame; mus. Talking Heads), Limbs Dance Company, Auckland *1982 – ''Late Afternoon of a Faun or Thrilled to Bits '' (solo, after Nijinsky; mus. Debussy), Limbs Dance Company, Auckland *1982 – ''Baby Go Boom'' (mus. Holiday. Armstrong, Farnell), Limbs Dance Company, Auckland *1982 – ''Kneedance'' (mus. Anderson), Limbs Dance Company, Auckland *1982 – ''Walking on Thin Ice'' (mus. Ono), Limbs Dance Company, Auckland *1982 – ''Aurora Borealis'' (mus. Ono, Anderson, Hagen), Limbs Dance Company, Auckland *1983 – ''

Land of a Thousand Dances "Land of a Thousand Dances" (or "Land of 1000 Dances") is a song written and first recorded by American rhythm and blues singer Chris Kenner in 1962. It later became a bigger hit in versions by Cannibal & the Headhunters and Wilson Pickett. A ve ...

'' (mus. Small, Pickett), Limbs Dance Company, Auckland *1983 – ''Sorry to have Missed You'' (mus. Tartini), Royal New Zealand Ballet, New Moves, Wellington *1983 – ''Ranterstantrum'' (mus. Branca), Limbs Dance Company, Auckland *1983 – ''Dog Dance'' (solo; mus. Cage), Douglas Wright, New York *1984 – ''Threnody'' (solo; mus. Penderecki), Douglas Wright, Auckland *1984 – ''It's Not Unusual'' (mus. Tom Jones), Douglas Wright and Brian Carbee, Auckland *1984 – ''Cubist Cowboy Shootout'' (with Brian Carbee; mus. various), Auckland *1985 – ''Halcyon'' (mus. Vivaldi), Limbs Dance Company, Whangarei *1986 – ''Parallel'' (mus. Busby), for two gymnasts, New York *1987 – ''Hey Paris '' (mus. Ayler, Hirt, Nancarrow), Douglas Wright and Dancers, New York *1987 – ''Quartet'' (mus. Vivaldi), Douglas Wright and Dancers, New York *1987 – ''Faun Variations'' (solo; mus. Ravel), Paul Taylor Company, City Centre, New York *1988 – ''Now is the Hour '' (mus. McGlashan and various), Limbs Dance Company, New Zealand International Festival of the Arts, Wellington *1988 – ''Aria'' (solo, text Dostoevsky), MJ O'Reilly, Auckland *1989 – ''How on Earth '' (mus. various), Douglas Wright Dance Company, Auckland *1989 – ''a far Cry'' (mus. Bartok),

Australian Dance Theatre Australian Dance Theatre (ADT), known as Meryl Tankard Australian Dance Theatre from 1993 to 1999, is a contemporary dance company based in Adelaide, South Australia, established in 1965 by Elizabeth Cameron Dalman . The ADT was the first modern ...

, Adelaide *1990 – ''Passion Play: A New Dance'' (with

Kilda Northcott St Kilda may refer to: Scotland: * St Kilda, Scotland, archipelago in the north Atlantic off the west coast of the Scottish mainland Australia: * St Kilda, Queensland, a locality in Bundaberg Region * St Kilda, South Australia, suburb of Adelai ...

), Wellington *1990 – ''Gloria'' (mus. Vivaldi), Douglas Wright Dance Company, Wellington *1990 – ''I Am A Dancer/Gloria'' (documentary film/dance, dir. Bollinger/ Oomen), Top Shelf Productions, TV1 national television broadcast, Sunday Arts *1991 – ''As It Is '' (mus. Bartok, Laird), Douglas Wright Dance Company, Auckland *1992 – ''Beethoven'' (mus. Beethoven and the Shangri-Las), graduating students of the Performing Arts School, Auckland *1992 – ''The Decay of Lying'' (text, Wilde; mus. Lully), The Royal New Zealand Ballet, Wellington *1992 – ''Elegy for Jim, Leigh and Bayly'' (solo, mus. Wilson), Artzaid Benefit, Wellington *1993 – ''Forever'' (mus. various; film Graves; design Pearce), Douglas Wright Dance Company, Auckland *1993 – ''Elegy for Jim, Leigh and Bayly'' (dance film; dir. Graves),

New Zealand International Film Festival New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, Wellington *1994 – ''As It Is – A Fragment '' (for television broadcast, dir. Graves mus. Bartok, Laird), Dance and the Camera, Television New Zealand, national broadcast, TV1 Work of Art *1995 ''Forever'' (dance film co-directed with Chris Graves), TV1 national television broadcast, Work of Art *1996 – ''Ore'' (solo), Next Wave Festival, Auckland *1996 – ''Ore'' (dance film; co-directed with Chris Graves), International Film Festival, Wellington *1996 – ''Buried Venus'' (mus. Farr and various; design, Pearce), Douglas Wright Dance Company, New Zealand International Festival of the Arts, Wellington *1996 – ''Aida'' (directed by Wright), Victorian State Opera, Melbourne *1997 – ''Forbidden Memories '' (a work for theatre based on a novel by James Purdy with design by

John Verryt John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

), Auckland *1997 – ''Cunning Little Vixen'' (directed by Wright), Opera Australia, Sydney *1997 – ''Rose and Fell'' (mus. Part, Gubaidulina, Mussorgsky), The Royal New Zealand Ballet, Wellington *2000 - ''Halo'', The Royal New Zealand Ballet, Wellington *2002 – ''Inland'' New Zealand International Festival of the Arts, Wellington and national tour (mus Juliet Palmer, video Florian Habicht, costumes Tanya Carlson, text Douglas Wright and Peta Rutter, design John Verryt ) *2006 – ''Black Milk'' (mus. David Long, design and costumes Michael Pearce, lighting Robert Ghesquiere, text and banners Douglas Wright ) *2007 – ''Tama ma'' duet commissioned by

Taane Mete Taane Mete is a New Zealand dancer, choreographer and yoga teacher. Early life and education Mete affiliates with Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Koroki-Kahukura. He graduated with honours from the New Zealand School of Dance in 1988. In 2008 he ...

and

Taiaroa Royal Taiaroa Royal is the New Zealand dancer and choreographer. Early life and education Royal identifies with the iwi Te Arawa of the Rotorua and Bay of Plenty regions, Ngāti Raukawa, Uenukopako and Kāi Tahu of the South Island. As a teena ...

as the second of five sections comprising a larger work of the same name which premiered in the Concert Chamber, Auckland Town Hall, October 2008, subsequently toured New Zealand, and began international touring commitments in 2010. *2007 – a small dance for the children's theatre work Rumplestiltskin (Phineas Phrog Productions) *2007 – He then choreographed a dance especially for his niece Sarah *2011 – ''rapt'' – commissioned by

*2015 – ''The Kiss Inside'' – commissioned by the New Zealand Festival *2018 – ''M_nod'' – commissioned by Michael Lett

References

Sources

* Elleray, Michelle (1993). ''Barbarous gestures: voicing the visual in a far Cry'' Unpublished monograph * McNaughton, Howard (1998). ''Performing on the Faultlines: Douglas Wright's Forever'' in Helen Gilbert (ed) (Post)Colonial Stages: Critical and Creative Views on Drama, Theatre and Performance in Colonised Cultures. Hebden Bridge, U.K, Dangaroo Press. * Whyte, Raewyn (1994). ''Dance Works of 1993: A Review Article Illusions: NZ Moving Image and Performing Arts Criticism''. #23 Winter 1994: 28–35 * Whyte, Raewyn (1996). ''Buried Venus: An Interview with Douglas Wright.'' Landfall: New Zealand Arts & Letters #191 Autumn 1996:37–49 * Whyte, Raewyn Chronology of Douglas Wright Choreographic Works rchived doc, continuously maintained* Wilcox, Leonard (2006) ''Dancing Dissent: Douglas Wright’s Black Milk'' Landfall: New Zealand Arts & Letters #212, Spring, 2006:145–151. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Douglas 1956 births 2018 deaths LGBT dancers New Zealand LGBT entertainers New Zealand male dancers New Zealand choreographers People from Tuakau Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit 21st-century LGBT people