Photo of Carol Brown entitled "At the Bay".

MEDIA RELEASE
12 OCTOBER 2006

World renowned choreographer to join University of Auckland Dance Studies Programme

An internationally acclaimed, Dunedin-born choreographer and researcher will next year join the Dance Studies Programme at the National Institute of Creative Arts and Industries, The University of Auckland.

Dr Carol Brown is co-founder and artistic director of the London-based Carol Brown Dances and a Senior Research Officer at Roehampton University (UK). With a Masters of Arts (Distinction) in Dance Studies from the University of Surrey, Dr Brown has toured her work internationally, including to the New Zealand International Festival of the Arts (Wellington, 2005); Raymond and Isadora Duncan Centre for Dance (Athens, 2005); Dance Umbrella (London, 2004); Ludwig Forum (Aachen, 2004); Prague Quadrenniale (2003) and the Philadelphia Fringe Festival (2003).

Dr Brown's work is recognised for its "conversations" with artists in other art forms, exploring bodies, their histories and inventions, and the mediation of these concepts through writing, film, digitization, buildings and sound.

"It is an honour to be joining NICAI and working in such a diverse and inspiring arena," says Dr Brown, who will assume a .5 role at the University. "My experiences and identity as a New Zealander greatly inform my work overseas, so it will be exciting to share some of my off-shore experiences with NICAI and the wider New Zealand community."

Dr Brown has also won such esteemed commissions and awards as the Arts Council England Plus Award; Ludwig Forum International Prize for Innovation, Germany; National Endowment for Science and Technology and the Arts Dreamtime Award, UK; Arts Humanities Research Board Post Doctoral Fellowship, UK; and the Jerwood Award for Choreography, UK.

"Carol Brown's interactive and interdisciplinary approach is an ideal fit for the National Institute of Creative Arts and Industries, and I look forward to the collaborative projects and initiatives that will be born from her appointment. I am delighted that such an internationally respected Dance scholar and practitioner has chosen to join our creative academic team," says Professor Sharman Pretty, Dean, NICAI.

Dr Brown will take up her appointment in 2007/2008, providing extensive research opportunities for students completing Postgraduate Dance Studies courses and research.

The University of Auckland's National Institute of Creative Arts and Industries comprises the School of Architecture and Planning, Elam School of Fine Arts, the School of Music and the Dance Studies Programme.

ENDS

For more information visit www.carolbrowndances.com

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