Story: Contemporary dance

Impulse Dance Theatre, 1980

Impulse Dance Theatre, 1980

In 1980 Impulse Dance Theatre performed at Evans Bay Intermediate in Wellington as part of a schools tour. During the performance Michael Dickinson (pictured), encased in a long green stocking, rolled out onto the stage then crawled towards and into a crowd of children, whose screams and laughter filled the hall.

Impulse dancers, like those in many other companies, were a versatile bunch – the costume Dickinson is wearing was probably made by one of them – and not highly paid. The company folded in 1982, when the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council cut its funding.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Dominion Post Collection (PAColl-7327)
Reference: EP/1980/2446

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Marianne Schultz, 'Contemporary dance - Modern dance flourishes, 1970s and 1980s', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/42589/impulse-dance-theatre-1980 (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Marianne Schultz, published 22 Oct 2014