Mika (Neil Gudsell)

Category Three: Nationally Recognised Notable New Zealanders

Date of birth

8 February 1962

Parents

Dawn and Bill Gudsell

Education

  • Marchwiel Primary School
  • Watlington Intermediate
  • Timaru Boys High School

Career

  • Kiwi Cabaret Artist
  • Dancer, singer, actor, drag queen
  • Best known in New Zealand as a drag queen and entertainer
  • Featured as an artist at Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Tokyo and Kyoto Fringe Festivals
  • Has toured overseas in the United Kingdom, Europe and Japan
  • Performed with Elton John in London
  • His choreography fuses Maori, Polynesian and European dance traditions into an ‘urban Maori dance style’
  • More recently Mika runs an educational programme to nurture young dancers, and offers scholarships
  • The ‘Te Mika Show’ was launched on Maori Television in 2006
  • Mika now focuses on fostering Maori diversity and promoting Maori language and culture through his work

Last updated: 16 Sep 2021