Next month, Mrs Dunlop MacTavish (97) will become an honorary member of Dance Aotearoa New Zealand at a ceremony at the Regent Theatre in Dunedin.
It is the first time Danz has bestowed the honour.
Danz chief executive Anton Carter said Mrs Dunlop MacTavish was a worthy recipient.
"To acknowledge Shona in this way is an important part of Danz’s work to highlight the efforts of those who have contributed to making dance what it is today — to celebrate champions with the vision and drive to go against the norms, to stand up and speak out, to rally others and to be a beacon for what you believe in," he said.
"Shona is a very worthy recipient of our first honorary Danz membership."
Mrs MacTavish was born in Dunedin in Clyde St, but travelled to Europe in 1935.
There she managed to escape Hitler, and help her Jewish dance professor escape as well.
She later lived in China, and was on the last plane to escape Peking (Beijing) as Mao Zedong approached.
Mrs Dunlop MacTavish opened her dance studio in 1958 and set up Dunedin Dance Theatre in 1963.
Regent Theatre director Sarah Anderson said the event next month was expected to draw a large turnout.
"We are thrilled to co-present this event with Danz and have it take place at Regent Theatre, where Shona has presented many of her works.
"We will pull out all stops to ensure the event reflects Shona’s standing in the Dunedin community and the incredible contribution she has made to dance in the region."
Mrs MacTavish said last night she was "staggering along, dear, thank you".
She was "greatly honoured" with her honorary membership.
The love of dance in its contemporary form was now throughout the whole country.
"It’s all very interesting to me."
Daughter Terry MacTavish said her mother had told her it was an honour to be able to have received the dance training she had and pass that on to her students.
Those students had matured to do "wonderful work".
