MA in Performance

After 11 years as a freelance performance artist, choreographer, and dance teacher in Wellington, Auckland, and Glasgow, I am furthering my performance practice by studying for my MA in Performance.

In July 2015 I earned a place on the MAPER program at Leeds Beckett University and will be starting my studies in September 2016.

After living in the UK and traveling around Europe, I returned to Wellington 5 years ago to consolidate my arts-learnings and performance-practices, and was lucky enough to connect with the city's experimental performance community. I worked with the Wellington Freelance Dance Collective and S.A.M.P.L.E., finding my art feet as a live art performer and performance installation artist, whilst still referencing my movement background (I trained in ballet, contemporary dance and commercial dance).

I have been teaching, creating, and performing since then, being part of to and fro (Auckland), Whakapapa (Melbourne), and the NZ Fringe Festival (Wellington), as well as having my work feature at exhibitions S:G:F:A2014 (London) and Widening the Cycle (Boston).

My art journey has lead me to realise I need to take my work to the next level in order for my practice to REALLY develop and take off - hence my enrolment in an MA. I researched several programs New Zealandly and was accepted last year after a rigorous application and interview process.

Though I have been itching to spread my wings again, I am determined to return to Wellington to share my art learnings around. I have had such a great arts time in Wellington, my work has been received well, and i want to ignite that with the work, the research, the great New Zealand connections I will make whilst in Leeds. I love the performance community here and want to continue collaborating and creating with the genre-bending artists I know here.

I have been awarded two grants for my New Zealand study - from the Phoebe Maunsell Estate and from Creative New Zealand - but i still have yet to reach my savings goal! Will you help me study, rent a nice little flat, and eat food whilst I am in Leeds?

I have website currently under construction at
viggimakesart.nz

but you can check out a chronology of my work since 2011 here
http://viggiq-howdoilook.strikingly.com/

a video of my 2013 performance How do I look?
https://vimeo.com/110052628

my mash-up experiments
http://hearthis.at/bettylightbulb

plus my performance exhibition you occupy my body by looking 
http://viggiq-youoccupymybodybylooking.strikingly.com/