About Penny Gurner

Ethos

A Creative Tradition

The story behind New England Dance Theatre — from the point-of-view of NEDT Director and Dance Teacher, Penny Gurner.

'… the web that has no weaver', as the Buddists say.

The early years

Dance-life began for me through a lady called Glynn Parry Ianno. Based in Port Macquarie, Parry School of dancing was a force on the North Coast that has a heritage in action to this day. Expert at crafting showcases; entertainment value for the audience was assured regardless of the age, or training level of participants — it was a matter of flare, and strategy.  In retrospect, Glynn’s approach and environment was positive inspiration for a future teaching dance regionally. Glynn was nominated for an Order of Australia in recognition of her service to the community.  

At 12 years of age, I was accepted into the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne under the then Dean, Anne Wooliams, formally of the Struutgart Ballet in Germany and one of the world’s most respected ballet teachers. Under her directorship, we had outstanding teachers from all over the world, in ballet, contemporary, and character dance while working in the most beautiful studios in the Southern Hemisphere at that time. Kelvin Coe and other ballet dignitaries would rehearse in our studios, walking past us in the hallways, and occasionally we would cross the road to watch the Australian Ballet rehearse at the State Theatre next door.

The idea was to build on our daily training through exposing us to constant artistic endeavour of the highest standards including other artistic practises: music, art, and theatre. The hope was that this would spark collaborations between the art forms, developing entrepreneurial activity, as well as Arts practitioners for the future of Australian culture.  

Valuable experience in Sydney     

I moved to Sydney in the 90s and found the Bodenweiser Dance Studio in City Rd, run by  ex-Bodenweiser Company dancer,  Margaret Chapple. The Bodenweiser Ballet was Australia’s first contemporary dance company. While working with 'Chappie' and her outstanding commercial jazz and contemporary teachers, a few of us were asked to perform in two famous Bodenweiser pieces for Bodenweiser legacy centenary celebrations: Demon Machine about the industrial revolution, and the  Blue Danube Waltz, a physically sweeping piece performed in long dresses.  Choreographically, Bodenweiser’s vehicle was often a 'vignette' and inspiring evidence that a short piece can be powerful. Overall, it was an experiential lesson in dance-history and informed me that the past has a lot to offer the present in the context of exploring dance.  

Chappie once dreamed that a few of her students would join 'a'  rather than 'the' Sydney Dance company.

After a show at the Performance Space in Redfern an opportunity arose to join the Darc Swan Dance Company, founded and directed by Chris Jannides. Chris was also the ex-founder and director of Limbs company in New Zealand well known for its rapid rise to success based on audience-engaging work, and for launching  Douglas Wright’s career among others. Similarly Darc Swan was an incubator of talent, from the Director, to every one of the people who joined throughout the years it was in action. Hard work, instant accountability (typical of Community Arts) and a variety of projects ensured this outcome. Personally, I found my priorities as a dance-practitioner refined for the future.

It became a Dance-in-Education company after a successful project at the Opera House with previous dancers/actors developed into an invitation to perform in schools on a regular basis. Touring was intensive work – two or three shows a day, transporting portable dance-floors, costumes, sound systems, and travelling.   

When at home in Sydney, we had the privilege of a company class with whomever we wanted to work. As Sydney was well connected with the rest of the world, we had experience with Graham teachers from London Contemporary Dance Theatre, American artists teaching Hawkins, the Limon technique, ballet teachers from Sydney Dance Company. And world-class yoga.

Learning yoga was life-changing as it gave me a new foundation for teaching dance in the future. I felt I was finally learning how to use my muscles in a profoundly coordinated manner for achieving the corrections a ballet teacher may give you without explaining the means.

We used down-time from the Dance-in-Education program to put performances together, often showcasing the work of different choreographers which broadened our experience   while revealing some of the character of the Sydney dance scene. The work provided an excellent view of the independent dance scene and tough freelancers doing the hard yards to become the next mainstream.  For example, Garry Stewart of Australian Dance Theatre co-presented one of his pieces with us at The Edge in Newtown; while  a result of that same performance season for me was a short project with Gideon Obarzanek in the days before his company Chunky Moves. The pioneering process was and is important and nourishing that dynamic through raw phases to polished is a practical emphasis for New England Dance Theatre today.

As Chris’ background was equal parts drama and dance, collaboration with other art forms was routine. A memorable gig was a production of Henry Purcell’s The Fairy Queen co-performed with the Song Company at the Eugene Goosens Hall in Ultimo.

 In terms of dance construction Chris was uniquely capable of fusing drama with movement and music, revealing dance to be a story-telling device often under-utilised, and over-reliant on externals such as  expensive sets and costumes. A stunning example of his finesse was The Swinging Head, a raucous, comedic, and anarchic portrayal of Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

Teaching development

On a daily basis teaching appointments for the Director included locations such as Sydney Acting Centre, and the Australian College of Physical Education, school workshops, and dance camps.  When Chris was unavailable I sometimes went in his place which gave me experience in working with a range of age groups, and skill sets. This was useful experience for choreographing a comic solo for the local member of New England one Armidale Pantomime in the future!

On returning to Armidale, I found myself involved in community projects which put old skills to the test. Projects included  'Phoenix; A Ballet with Songs' (2005)' and  'God’s Drawing Board' (2007).  Both these productions were a collaboration of multiple artists including teams of dancers, singers, actors and orchestras. These were privileges as opportunities but also overwhelming challenges to stage without the comforts of a mainstream rehearsal process and margin for error and adaptation. One sometimes two ensemble rehearsals only preceded performance.  

I completed my Royal Academy of Dance teaching certification in 2007, and began teaching ballet for a local school. I was extremely lucky to apprentice with probably the best ballet teacher of young people I had ever seen in action. Her turn of phrase was ingenious being of dual-purpose: playfully entertaining; and magnetising of the students to the accomplishment of the exercise.

New England Dance Theatre

After 2 years I needed my own environment in which to develop teaching and choreographic skills. Using the name Express Train Move, I taught small groups with satisfying results. Inherent to the name was the goal of providing training that supported quality rather than quantity, helping students to be competitive with less training on the basis of time and labour-saving conditioning ideas.  This remains an important concept to the future of New England Dance Theatre. 

After having my youngest daughter, my students were continuing to learn dance with a local teacher, and I was about to switch focus to writing. Then two dance schools folded, leaving students including my elder daughter lacking continuity so there was pressure to return to teaching. Continuing at a hobby level with a family that had doubled in size was no longer practical so it seemed logical to put the same effort into a bigger project, and to finally establish New England Dance Theatre.

The new name reflects the intention to provide a broad front of service to the Art of Dance and to the community through different people and projects into the future. 

Dance and drama together — for the telling of the human story — remains a priority for New England Dance Theatre as a teaching tool, for student development, and in creating communicative performance.

Looking to the future, it is appropriate to make another reference to the past — and to the efforts of a previously Armidale-based ballet teacher who helped me and many others:  ex-ballet Victoria professional Diana Periera. Diana gave many years of service to ballet in the New England area, a fact for which NEDT, and many others, are grateful.

AN  UPDATE

Since 2015, as New England Dance Theatre, we have enjoyed presenting end of year performances based around a theme giving us a short history of distinctive shows: 

2015:  Up Above my Head:  Black, White, and Red

2016:  Supernatural Creatures

2017:  Around the World in 80 Minutes

2018:  Moments in Time

2019:  Dance and the Voice

Each performance is a group response to the theme, and draws on every participant’s creativity, imagination, and commitment.  Much of the outstanding choreography so far has been produced by students inspiring each other, and engaging audiences.

With the unusual circumstances of 2020 came an opportunity to upgrade teaching skills. I gained Certification in Progressing Ballet Technique (by Australian, Marie Walton-Mahon) and committed to a Pilates Mat-work qualification through Studio Pilates. These modalities were very compatible to learn together and made an immediate contribution to teaching generally as well as to the timetable in the form of new classes applicable to a broad range of participants.

From June 2020 after spending most of term 2 in a virtual learning space courtesy of Zoom, we moved into our current studio premises:  Suites 1–4, 165 Beardy St Armidale.   Now working with professional facilities:  sprung floor, mirrors, and barres, we begin a new era; the next chapter.