Susan Jordan (born 1947) is a New Zealand dancer, choreographer and dance instructor.

Biography

Jordan began dancing at the age of 7, and danced professionally with the New Zealand Ballet Company from the age of 17. She briefly gave up dancing to study typing and shorthand at a business school, and then theology with the aim of becoming a missionary, however she returned to dancing. Jordan considered studying ballet in England or Australia but instead completed a Master of Arts degree in dance in

Washington, D.C ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

in the United States, where she was exposed to the teachings of

Martha Graham Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer and choreographer. Her style, the Graham technique, reshaped American dance and is still taught worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over seventy years. She wa ...

. On her return to New Zealand she established the dance studies programme 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 ...

and taught the Graham technique. In 1976, she founded a modern dance company in Auckland called Movement Theatre. Jordan established her own dance company, Jordan & Present Co, and during the 1980s and 1990s choreographed works for Creative New Zealand and its predecessor the

Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council The Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa (Creative New Zealand) is the national arts development agency of the New Zealand government, investing in artists and arts organisations, offering capability building programmes and developing markets ...

, as well as privately commissioned pieces. In 1993 she was commissioned to create a piece to commemorate the centenary of

women's suffrage in New Zealand Women's suffrage in New Zealand was an important political issue in the late nineteenth century. In early colonial New Zealand, as in European societies, women were excluded from any involvement in politics. Public opinion began to change i ...

. Her choreography has been described as

postmodern Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by skepticism toward the " grand narratives" of moderni ...

, aiming to create new relationships between performers and their audience. In 2011 Jordan established a dance programme for senior citizens, originally named Dance Mobility and later re-branded as SeniorDANCE, to encourage seniors to keep active. The programme teaches older people to dance and aims to build balance and co-ordination, and has been recognised by the New Zealand Accident Compensation Corporation as an initiative which can help prevent falls in older adults. In 2018 Jordan received funding from Creative New Zealand to complete a research project on creative ageing. Jordan is president of the Northern Dance Network, a charitable organisation that creates 'pathways and opportunities for dance and dancers' formed in 1992, and established the

Tempo Dance Festival Tempo Dance Festival is an annual pan-genre professional dance festival held in Auckland, New Zealand and is the 'longest standing annual dance event' of New Zealand, founded in 2003. History Tempo Dance Festival started in 2003 from an in ...

in 2003.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, Susan Living people New Zealand choreographers 20th-century New Zealand dancers 1947 births Academic staff of the University of Auckland

Biography

Further reading

References