DANZ Reviews

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

Imprint is the first work in a stunning double bill. It is overwhelmingly satisfying; possessing complex indigenous symbolism, psychological profundity and movement vocabulary anchored in the depths of Aotearoa. Six dancers present a bravura performance. One cannot meet this work halfway; it invites complete self-immersion. Spoken comments,... 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

A sizeable and significant co-production between NZ Opera and Black Grace, (m)ORPHEUS reimagines Christoph Gluck’s beloved eighteenth-century opera Orpheus and Eurydice as a “dance-opera” through a contemporary Pasifika lens. Director and Choreographer Neil Ieremia is adept at weaving together cultures and movement vocabularies... Keep Reading

This recently published book by David McAllister, Ballet Confidential, is a "personal behind the scenes guide" to what goes into a ballet performance -- from the training of dancers, then through their careers in a professional company and beyond, with all the highs and lows encountered along the way. Keep Reading

For the winter season in their 70th Anniversary year the Royal New Zealand Ballet offers an enriching and perfectly balanced production with Lightscapes. Two female and two male choreographers, brand new and recent works alongside a Balanchine classic, artistic perspectives from Australia, Europe, the United States of America, and Aotearoa are... Keep Reading

Two fully realized works on Darkness and Light were staged by Footnote. They were bold, assured, highly contrasting, youthful and compelling. Advance To Go, Holly Newsome’s choreography, was a stark interpretation of the Game of Life. Keep Reading

The New Zealand School of Dance centres students in their 2023 choreographic season AXIS; dance and drama students support the third-year contemporary stream dancers throughout the production providing costume design, construction, lighting realisation, and deliberately choreographed stage crew. Eight unique short works (5 – 8 minutes each)... Keep Reading

The Royal New Zealand Ballet celebrates its 70th Anniversary in 2023, a truly magnificent achievement reflecting the extraordinary talent and determination of the artists and crew, past and present, who have fuelled the consistent delivery of productions of remarkable quality. It is an anniversary made all the more impressive for being... Keep Reading