Shona Katrine MacTavish (née Dunlop; 12 April 1920 – 18 June 2019) was a New Zealand dancer, teacher, author, choreographer and pioneer in liturgical dance in the
Asia-Pacific. She was known as "the mother of modern dance in New Zealand".
Early life and dance career
Shona Katrine Dunlop was born in
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 ...
on 12 April 1920;
her father was Francis Dunlop, a Scottish-born
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
minister who lectured in moral philosophy at the
University of Otago
, image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg
, image_size =
, caption = University clock tower
, motto = la, Sapere aude
, mottoeng = Dare to be wise
, established = 1869; 152 years ago
, type = Public research collegiate ...
, and her brother was
Bonar Dunlop who became a noted sculptor.
In 1935, she and her family travelled to Europe, and she enrolled to study with
expressionist dancer and choreographer
Gertrud Bodenwieser
Gertrud Bodenwieser (3 February 1890 – 10 November 1959), also known as "Gertrude", was a dancer, choreographer, dance teacher and pioneer of expressive dance.
Early life
The daughter of Theodore and Maria Bondi, a wealthy Jewish couple, ...
at the
University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna
The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university located in Vienna, established in 1817.
With a student body of over three thousa ...
. She studied there for two years and then joined as a principal dancer.
Bodenwieser and many of her dancers were
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
and in 1938, when the Nazis invaded Austria, the ballet was forced to leave Europe.
The company toured South America then based themselves in
Sydney, Australia, and toured New Zealand during the late 1940s.
Dunlop continued to dance with the
Bodenwieser Ballet
Gertrud Bodenwieser (3 February 1890 – 10 November 1959), also known as "Gertrude", was a dancer, choreographer, dance teacher and pioneer of expressive dance.
Early life
The daughter of Theodore and Maria Bondi, a wealthy Jewish couple ...
and also taught ballet in local Sydney schools, including Abottsleigh Girls' School.
Marriage and missionary work
In 1948, Dunlop met
Scottish Free Church minister MacDonald MacTavish in Sydney, and married him less than three weeks later at
St Stephen's Presbyterian Church in central Sydney.
MacTavish, a Canadian and cousin of Canadian prime minister
Mackenzie King, was on his way to China to take up a position as a missionary in
Yichang
Yichang (), alternatively romanized as Ichang, is a prefecture-level city located in western Hubei province, China. It is the third largest city in the province after the capital, Wuhan and the prefecture-level city Xiangyang, by urban populati ...
and Dunlop resigned her position as a dancer to go with him.
The couple left Sydney in July 1948 for
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
where they spent three months learning Mandarin and waiting for government permission to move to
Manchuria
Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer M ...
. While they were in Beijing, fighting broke out between Communist and Nationalist forces and the MacTavishs evacuated to
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
. They were invited to work at the English Presbyterian Church Mission in
Tainan
Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a special municipality in southern Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and also commonly known as the "Capital City" for its over 200 years of his ...
; Dunlop MacTavish taught not only English, but also ballet for the local children. In 1957, her husband died while they were serving as missionaries in South Africa and she returned to Dunedin as a solo mother with three young children.
Later dance career
Initially, Dunlop MacTavish taught dance at Dunedin's
Columba College
Columba College ( Irish: Coláiste Choilm) is an integrated Presbyterian school in Roslyn, Dunedin, New Zealand. The roll is made up of pupils of all ages. The majority of pupils are in the girls' secondary, day and boarding school, but ther ...
and in 1958, she opened her own studio – New Zealand's first modern dance studio.
By 1963, she had set up a performing group, Dunedin Dance Theatre.
Dunlop MacTavish's fascination with the diverse range of dance forms she had observed while living and touring abroad, combined with her own strong Christian faith, led her to explore the practice of liturgical dance - the use of dance as an expression of religious belief. During the 1960s and 1970s, she developed and delivered workshops and lectures on liturgical dance throughout the Asia-Pacific region, such as the East Asian Christian Council of Youth Conference, the Federation of Theological Colleges of South East Asia and the
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most ju ...
. For many of these projects she choreographed ballet and dance performances for and with the participants and congregations.
In the 1970s, Dunlop MacTavish moved to the Philippines and took a position as professor of dance at
Silliman University
Silliman University (also referred to as Silliman or SU) is a private research university in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, the Philippines. Established in 1901 as Silliman Institute by the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, it is ...
. While there, she conducted research into the dance traditions of the indigenous people of the Philippines. She observed and documented dances performed to mark courtship and marriage, and to celebrate harvests and births and hypothesised that all indigenous dance stems from religious beliefs.
Dunlop MacTavish also worked as a choreographer in New Zealand. Her first work for the Royal New Zealand Ballet was a reconstruction of her ''Pania of the Reef'' in 1970. For this production, she sourced a Māori vocalist and borrowed traditional clothing from a museum.
In 1998 she choreographed the opera ''Outrageous Fortune.''
Honours and awards
In the
1985 New Year Honours
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
, Dunlop MacTavish was appointed a
Member of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
, for services to the arts. In 2001, she was awarded an honorary
Doctor of Literature
Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Docto ...
degree by the
University of Otago
, image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg
, image_size =
, caption = University clock tower
, motto = la, Sapere aude
, mottoeng = Dare to be wise
, established = 1869; 152 years ago
, type = Public research collegiate ...
. In 2017, she was made an honorary member of Dance Aotearoa New Zealand.
Later life, death, and legacy
Dunlop MacTavish suffered serious injury in a crash in 2012, but continued to teach dance after her recovery. She died in Dunedin on 18 June 2019 at the age of 99,
and her funeral at
Knox Church, Dunedin
Knox Church is a notable building in Dunedin, New Zealand. It houses the city's second Presbyterian congregation and is the city's largest church (in terms of building size, rather than congregation size) of any denomination.
Situated close to th ...
included dancers escorting her casket and improvised dance by members of the congregation. She was survived by her long time artistic collaborator and friend, Louise and her three children.
Her son, Dugald MacTavish, a geohydrologist, was awarded the
Queen's Service Medal
The Queen's Service Medal is a medal awarded by the government of New Zealand to recognise and reward volunteer service to the community and also public service in elected or appointed public office. It was established in 1975 and is related to ...
, for services to conservation and the environment, in the
2019 Queen's Birthday Honours. Her daughter,
Terry MacTavish, 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 theatre and education, in the
2019 New Year Honours. Dunlop MacTavish's granddaughter, Jinty MacTavish, was elected to the
Dunedin City Council
The Dunedin City Council ( mi, Kaunihera ā-Rohe o Ōtepoti) is the local government authority for Dunedin in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Dunedin. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Dunedin is Jul ...
in 2010 as a 25-year-old, the second-youngest person ever elected as a Dunedin councillor.
Publications
* Dunlop MacTavish, Shona: ''An Ecstasy of Purpose. The Life and Art of Gertrud Bodenwieser.'' Dunedin, 1987.
* Dunlop MacTavish, Shona: ''Gertrud Bodenwieser. Tänzerin, Choreographin, Pädagogin. Wien – Sydney.'' (Gekürzte Ausgabe, aus dem Englischen übersetzt von Gabriele Haefs, hrsg.v. Denny Hirschbach). Zeichen und Spuren, Bremen 1992. .
* Dunlop MacTavish, Shona ''Leap of faith: my dance through life''. Longacre Press, Dunedin, 1997.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunlop MacTavish, Shona
1920 births
2019 deaths
New Zealand female dancers
Entertainers from Dunedin
New Zealand choreographers
New Zealand autobiographers
New Zealand people of Scottish descent
Silliman University faculty
New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire
New Zealand expatriates in Austria
New Zealand expatriates in China