Marianne Schultz

Contemporary Technique Tutor

Marianne arrived in New Zealand from New York in 1986, where she was a 
member of Laura Dean Dancers and Musicians. In New Zealand she has performed with Limbs Dance Company, Douglas Wright and Dancers, Spinning Sun, and in various pick-up companies.  She has taught contemporary dance classes for various companies and schools throughout New Zealand and the United Kingdom, including London Contemporary Dance School, the New Zealand School of Dance, Limbs Dance Company, Douglas Wright Dance Company, Black Grace Dance Company, New Zealand Dance Company, Spinning Sun Dance company, UNITEC Dance Programme and Selwyn College. She was Senior Lecturer, Dance, University of Auckland from 2002- 2004.

Marianne has contributed choreography for numerous theatrical productions for Auckland Theatre Company, Silo Theatre and New Zealand 
Opera and for the award-winning documentary, Dance of the Instant, which sprang from her research on Wellington’s New Dance Group. 

Marianne holds an MA Performing Arts from Middlesex University, London 
and an MLitt in History from the University of Auckland. In 2014 she was awarded the PhD in History from the University of Auckland. Her research focuses on New Zealand’s dance and performing arts history. 


Class Description

My class is based on the techniques of Doris Humphrey and Jose Limon, two 
twentieth- century innovators of modern, contemporary dance. These techniques emphasise breath, flow and musicality in conjunction with alignment of the skeleton. Movement exercises include exploration of the concept of ‘fall and recovery’ and ‘suspension’. Floor work may be combined with standing exercises, while combination phrases of movement that travel in space may be derived from the choreographies of these two dance artists.