Images (clockwise from top): © Footnote Dance Company, © Dean Zillwood for Footnote Dance Company, © Philip Merry for Borderline Arts Ensemble, © Philip Merry for Borderline Arts Ensemble, © Dean Zillwood for Footnote Dance Company.
Thursday rehearsals (2019). Photo: Jocelyn Janon.
About
Lucy Marinkovich is a New Zealand–based contemporary choreographer, performer, and arts leader, and the Artistic Director of Borderline Arts Ensemble. Through Borderline, Lucy has built a distinctive body of work recognised for its riotous physicality, conceptual clarity, and emotional depth, with acclaimed productions including Lobsters, Strasbourg 1518, Thursday, and The Night Has A Thousand Eyes.
Borderline’s productions have been commissioned and presented by major national platforms including the New Zealand Festival and the Auckland Arts Festival, touring throughout Aotearoa and internationally across Europe and Asia. Lucy’s choreographic works have been experienced in theatres, galleries, schools, outdoor environments, and unconventional spaces, consistently praised for their artistic rigour, humor, and emotional intelligence.
Lucy is a recipient of Tempo Dance Festival’s Best Emerging Artist and Best Female Dancer awards, the Eileen May Norris Dance Trust Scholarship, and the Creative New Zealand Tup Lang Choreographic Award. In 2017 she joined the Leadership Network of the Asia New Zealand Foundation, and in 2018 was co-recipient (with composer Lucien Johnson) of the Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Harriet Friedlander New York Residency.
Her screen and interdisciplinary work includes serving as choreographer on Time Bandits for Apple TV+, alongside commissions from Weta Workshop. A former company member of Footnote New Zealand Dance Company and Guest Artist with New Zealand Dance Company, Lucy has also taught for the Royal New Zealand Ballet and collaborated with the World of Wearable Arts (NZ and Hong Kong), and Wellington Opera.
Lucy was appointed Arts Fellow at the University of Otago, where she developed InMotion: Dancing with Parkinson’s. A live music-integrated community dance programme for people living with Parkinson’s Disease, InMotion reflects her commitment to socially engaged arts practices and the intersection of artistic excellence and community building.
Beyond her artistic practice, Lucy is Co-Chair of Arts Wellington and an active sector advocate, contributing to governance, policy conversations, and strategic development within Aotearoa’s performing arts ecosystem. She holds a BA in English Literature from Massey University (graduating as a Massey Scholar and with the Outstanding Achiever Award), and is currently undertaking a Master’s degree in Business, strengthening her leadership practice at the intersection of creativity, sustainability, and organisational impact.