Shona Margaret McCullagh is a New Zealand choreographer, dancer, filmmaker and artistic director. McCullagh was the founding director of the New Zealand Dance Company and was appointed artistic director of the

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 ...

in 2019.

Biography

Born in 1962 in Hamilton, McCullagh moved to Wellington when she was four and attended Northland School, and

Wellington Girls' College Wellington Girls' College was founded in 1883 in Wellington, New Zealand. At that time it was called Wellington Girls' High School. Wellington Girls' College is a year 9 to 13 state secondary school, located in Thorndon in central Wellington. H ...

from 1975 to 1979. McCullagh trained as a dancer at the

New Zealand School of Dance The New Zealand School of Dance was established in 1967 and is a tertiary educational institute in New Zealand that teaches contemporary dance and ballet. It started as the National School of Ballet, and after contemporary dance was added in 198 ...

, graduating in 1983 with a Special Award in Choreography. In 1984 McCullagh joined the Sydney company Darc Swan. McCullagh then became was a rehearsal director, choreographer and dancer in

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 ...

from 1985 to 1988. She was a founding member of the Douglas Wright Dance Company. Prior to that she toured New York performing with Douglas Wright & Dancers (1887). Companies that McCullagh has choreographed for include Footnote Dance, Douglas Wright Dance Company, The Royal New Zealand Ballet and her own company The Human Garden. McCullagh has choreographed for theatre including collaborations with Nightsong Productions, The Watershed Theatre, the NZ Actors Company and

Auckland Theatre Company Auckland Theatre Company (ATC) is a professional theatre company in Auckland. It was founded in 1992 and since 2016 has been based in ASB Waterfront Theatre in the Wynyard Quarter in central Auckland. History Auckland Theatre Company (ATC) wa ...

. In addition McCullagh has both choreographed for screen and directed dance films. As a choreographer she has worked on television series '' Xena – Warrior Princess,

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

Spartacus Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising ...

'' and ''

Legend of the Seeker ''Legend of the Seeker'' is an American television series created by Sam Raimi, based on the fantasy novel series ''The Sword of Truth'' by Terry Goodkind. Distributed in U.S. by Disney-ABC Domestic Television, ABC Studios produced the series ...

'' and feature films ''

Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...

'' and ''

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

''. McCullagh will be the artistic director for the Auckland Festival, leading from 2021 until 2024, replacing the outgoing director Jonathan Bielski.

Honours and awards

* Best Dancer (1988) ''Metro'' magazine *1999 North & South Magazine New Zealander of the Year *

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 the 2000 Queen's Birthday Honours * NZ Arts Foundation Laureate (2002) * Winner, Arts category, Westpac/Fairfax New Zealand Woman of Influence Award (2014) * Hynds Creative Entrepreneur of the Year (2015)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCullagh, Shona Living people Year of birth missing (living people) New Zealand female dancers New Zealand choreographers Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand Women of Influence Award recipients New Zealand School of Dance alumni People educated at Wellington Girls' College