Susan Gay Stevens Jordan (born 1947) is a New Zealand dancer, choreographer and dance instructor.
Biography
Jordan began dancing at the age of 7, and danced professionally with the
New Zealand Ballet Company from the age of 17. She briefly gave up dancing to study typing and shorthand at a business school, and then theology with the aim of becoming a missionary, however she returned to dancing.
Jordan considered studying ballet in England or Australia but instead completed a Master of Arts degree in dance in
Washington, D.C
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
in the United States, where she was exposed to the teachings of
Martha Graham
Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer, teacher and choreographer, whose style, the Graham technique, reshaped the dance world and is still taught in academies worldwide.
Graham danced and taught for over s ...
.
On her return to New Zealand she established the dance studies programme at the
University of Auckland
The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...
and taught the
Graham technique. In 1976, she founded a modern dance company in Auckland called Movement Theatre.
Jordan established her own dance company, Jordan & Present Co, and during the 1980s and 1990s choreographed works for
Creative New Zealand
The Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa (Creative New Zealand) is the national arts development agency of the New Zealand government established in 1963. It invests in artists and arts organisations, offering capability building programmes a ...
and its predecessor the
Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council
The Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa (Creative New Zealand) is the national arts development agency of the New Zealand government established in 1963. It invests in artists and arts organisations, offering capability building programmes a ...
, as well as privately commissioned pieces. In 1993 she was commissioned to create a piece to commemorate the centenary of
women's suffrage in New Zealand
Women's suffrage was an important political issue in the late-nineteenth-century New Zealand. In early colonial New Zealand, as in European societies, women were excluded from any involvement in politics. Public opinion began to change in the ...
. Her choreography has been described as
postmodern
Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting the wo ...
, aiming to create new relationships between performers and their audience.
In 2011 Jordan established a dance programme for senior citizens, originally named Dance Mobility and later re-branded as SeniorDANCE, to encourage seniors to keep active. The programme teaches older people to dance and aims to build balance and co-ordination, and has been recognised by the New Zealand
Accident Compensation Corporation
The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) () is the New Zealand Crown entity responsible for administering the country's No-fault insurance, no-fault accidental injury compensation scheme, commonly referred to as the ACC scheme. The scheme pro ...
as an initiative that can help prevent falls in older adults.
In 2018 Jordan received funding from Creative New Zealand to complete a research project on creative ageing.
Jordan is president of the Northern Dance Network, a charitable organisation that creates 'pathways and opportunities for dance and dancers' formed in 1992, and established the
Tempo Dance Festival in 2003.
Awards and honours
In the
2024 New Year Honours
The 2024 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Hono ...
, Jordan was awarded a
Queen's Service Medal
The King's Service Medal (created as the Queen's Service Medal in 1975 and renamed in 2024) is a medal awarded by the government of New Zealand to recognise and reward volunteer service to the community and also public service in elected or app ...
, for services to seniors and dance.
Further reading
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, Susan
Living people
New Zealand choreographers
20th-century New Zealand dancers
1947 births
Academic staff of the University of Auckland
Recipients of the Queen's Service Medal
New Zealand female dancers