In a landmark collaboration, Co3 Contemporary Dance Australia and The New Zealand Dance Company honour one of New Zealand’s most revered choreographers, the late Douglas Wright, with the restaging of his iconic masterpiece Gloria.
The work will be performed live with West Australian Symphony Orchestra and St. Georges’ Cathedral Consort at His Majesty’s Theatre.
Wright garnered acclaim as one of New Zealand’s most magnificent artists of the 21st century and was renowned for his beautiful, brave, and innovative work.
Set to Vivaldi’s most famous sacred score, this exhilarating performance promises to burst with joy and hope as dancers fly, twist and turn in a graceful airborne celebration of life.
The work will be presented as part of a groundbreaking triple-bill bringing together leading voices from both sides of the Tasman, featuring brand new works by Co3’s Founding Artistic Director Raewyn Hill and renowned Māori choreographer and Artistic Director of The New Zealand Dance Company Moss Paterson.
Hill’s A Moving Portrait offers an intimate meditative reflection on ageing, fragility, and grace, set to Arvo Pärt’s Tabula Rasa. While Patterson’s Lament traces a powerful journey through memory and resilience, honouring the endurance of whakapapa and the visionary artistry of Douglas Wright.
Douglas Wright was born in 1956 and he worked as a dancer and choreographer with several companies before establishing his own. He spent time with the Limbs Dance Company, before moving to New York where he was part of the Paul Taylor Company, later he worked in London with DV8 Physical Theatre.
He returned to New Zealand and set up The Douglas Wright Dance Company in 1988. Here he created more than 30 major works and the company toured to Australia and Europe. His work Gloria was first performed in 1990.
He also published to volumes of semi-fiction, semi-autobiography, published poetry and was also an accomplished painter. Wright died in 2018 at the age of 62 from cancer.
The season of Gloria will be at His Majesty’s Theatre from 31 March – 1 April 2026. Get tickets from Perth Theatre Trust.
