TONY VEZICH

TONY - THE SHORT STORY

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Tony studied contemporary dance in the New Zealand School of Dance, and then went on to spend the next decade and a half working as a dancer and choreographer in Germany. While living in Germany, Tony formed the Temper-Temper Dance Company and was its artistic director and choreographer. Tony currently has more than 40 choreographies to his name.
 

Tony devised and developed the “Release The Beast” dance technique, which he has taught throughout Europe and Scandinavia. He is currently on artistic leave from the position of head lecturer of contemporary dance technique in the Iceland Academy of the Arts, to pursue his independent artistic wishes, and to simultaneously and secretly reform Temper-Temper.​

TONY - THE LONG STORY

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Little did Tony know at the tender age of 7 or 8, with knees and elbows still muddied from the midgets league football game played at Parrs Park, that he had begun his life-long journey in dance. It was on those Saturdays, after tremendous battles had been waged between his beloved F.C. Lynndale and arch rivals Blockhouse Bay, Tony would attend disco dance classes in the early afternoon. He was very fortunate not to have to pay for this pleasure either. His older sister was the teacher.

The young Tony heard his destiny call to him in the form of football and he followed his calling diligently and without deviation until the day his mother said “all boys should know how to dance with a girl” and bribed the 10 year old boy to take a ballroom dancing class, the bribe being a “thickshake” from his most favourite fish n’ chip shop in New Lynn. Truth be known, Tony would have taken the class without need of a bribe, but he thought it a good story to tell to his mates so they wouldn’t think he had turned gay on them. Tony developed a massive passion for dance at this early stage of his life, and for all the various forms of dance that one could indulge in. Not only was there a waltz, but also a foxtrot… and even better, a quickstep. More fun was to be had with the cha-cha-cha, rumba and with his most loved dance form of all, the Jive. Tony proceeded to samba and jive his way to becoming South Pacific champion.

Tony discovered Jazz dance, and just how great it felt to not have to rely on a partner. Tony quit football overnight. He spent a couple years working as dancer for TVNZ. There were years and years of ballet, a wonderful education at the New Zealand School of Dance, the major discovery of contemporary dance, a decade and a half of working as a dancer and choreographer in Germany, and he has enjoyed more performances than could be possibly wished for.

Tony has more than 40 choreographies to his name. He formed Temper-Temper Dance Company while living in Germany, and was Temper’s artistic director and choreographer. Tony devised and developed the “Release The Beast” dance technique, which he has taught throughout Europe and Scandinavia. He is currently on artistic leave from the position of head lecturer of contemporary dance technique in the Iceland Academy of the Arts, to pursue his independent artistic wishes, and to simultaneously and secretly reform Temper-Temper.​