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In 2025 Footnote New Zealand Dance celebrates their milestone 40th year, opening with Jeremy Beck’s Modern God; a dance theatre work 3 years in the making. Closing night in Wellington sees the company play to a packed Te Whaea theatre, where space is maximised with wings flown out and white tarkett reflecting the light. Director and... Keep Reading
New Zealand School of Dance’s Performance Season 2024 is a singular mixed programme with six works by selected Aotearoa and international choreographers, covering classical, neoclassical, and contemporary ballet, and contemporary dance. The production is entertaining and well-balanced, presenting three sections of two works, divided by two... Keep Reading
Whakataukī are an important feature of Māori culture, using symbolism and metaphor to convey key messages. Atamira’s purposeful choice of the well-known whakataukī, Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua, invites the audience to celebrate and access the cultural significance of this knowledge – KA MUA KA MURI. Keep Reading
The Royal New Zealand Ballet’s 2024 winter season Solace presents a triple bill of abstract contemporary ballets by three celebrated and engaging modern choreographers. Infra by recently knighted, award winning British choreographer Sir Wayne McGregor, To Hold by Auckland based Royal New Zealand Ballet Choreographer in Residence Sarah Foster... Keep Reading
The inaugural Pōneke Festival of Contemporary Dance presents Homemade Jam, an inspiring triple bill by the project-based BalletCollective Aotearoa, featuring dance students from Tawa College and offering three innovative and well synthesised works, each approximately 20 minutes long. Keep Reading
The New Zealand School of Dance presents Liminal; eight works choreographed and performed by the eight third year contemporary stream students, curated into a cohesive 60 minute production overseen by choreographic mentor Holly Newsome. Presented unconventionally in the round, the student choreographer/dancers manage and manipulate spatial and... Keep Reading
Premiering internationally at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and domestically at the Nelson Arts Festival in 2023, Double Goer is simultaneously a return to Foster Group’s roots (rigorous contemporary exploration in an intimate performance setting) and a directional shift with evidence of an increasingly academic and research-driven approach... Keep Reading
As part of the Auckland Arts Festival, I Don’t Wanna Dance Alone 혼자 춤추고 싶지 않아 at Loft, Q Theatre was a delight to watch. I was pleased to see the New Zealand Asian community represented in the Festival. South Korean background choreographer and director Cindy Yunha Jang-Barlow leads the Asian Community Contemporary... Keep Reading
Best known for her choreography and movement direction for World of WearableArt | WOW since 2002, Malia Johnston brings together contemporary dancers and aerialists for her multimedia production and Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts exclusive BELLE – A Performance of Air. Keep Reading
Highly acclaimed and awarded Melbourne-based Stephanie Lake’s Manifesto is the headline production amongst the small professional dance offering at this year’s Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki |Auckland Arts Festival. Keep Reading
Fringe/NZ Fringe/Wellington Fringe has been presenting eclectic arts to audiences in the Capital for 33 years. As an open-access festival Fringe does not select or curate content, instead allowing anyone to register an event and perform or present whatever they choose. Arts offerings tend to be multidisciplinary, creative, experimental, and... Keep Reading
Akram Khan’s Jungle Book reimagined is the third time Aotearoa New Zealand audiences have had the opportunity to experience his work, following iTMOi (in the mind of igor) in 2015 and the magnificent Giselle for English National Ballet in 2018. Jungle Book reimagined steps more firmly into the territory of dance theatre, with a small cast of... Keep Reading
The New Zealand School of Dance Performance Season 2023 is divided into alternating classical and contemporary dance programmes, featuring students from all year groups to reflect recent changes to the NZSD curriculum and qualifications. Formatting the season in two parts gives time for the dancers to showcase their skills through the... Keep Reading
In a break with tradition Unitec Discipline Leader and Showcase Director Katie Burton presents a full-length work entitled Industry Party commissioned from alumna choreographer, Jessie McCall to celebrate the graduation of a group of eleven 3rd Year contemporary dance students. To enhance the work, she has included the 1st Year students in the... Keep Reading
As their 70th year anniversary draws to a close the Royal New Zealand Ballet wraps the celebrations with a one-night-only gala and a national tour of Loughlan Prior’s triumphant 2019 success Hansel and Gretel. For any arts organisation to reach such a milestone is something very special, and from grassroots beginnings the Royal New Zealand... Keep Reading
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