Ko Wai Mātou

Ko Wai Mātou About Atamira

Ko Wai Mātou?

Atamira is the platform or stage on which we perform, giving voice to ancestral and contemporary Māori experiences through our bodies, through dance.

Atamira Dance Company sits at the forefront of Māori contemporary dance in Aotearoa | New Zealand.

Driven by choreographic and design excellence, our work embodies a unique artistic landscape shaped by the cultural identity of our people and their stories.

We uphold the principles of mana tangata | human rights, and mana whenua | the land and its traditional custodians, in Aotearoa and globally.

Atamira annually creates, presents and tours both new and remounted work from our 23 year kete of repertoire.

Our works supports a sector of skilled professional dance artists

We collaborate with world-class designers to realise each choreographic vision.

Community connections are strengthened through pre and post show talks, workshops and masterclasses.

Mahi Tahi / Collaboration

Atamira is integral to the contemporary performing arts sector working with collaborators from diverse creative fields. Over 23 years we have engaged with an exciting network of artists from many disciplines.

Videographers, set and spacial designers, costumiers, lighting illuminaries, poets, philosophers, photographers, and musicians all challenge and influence our work.

The foundation and impulse for all this creative work is a shared understanding and support of a Māori world view.

As a celebration of diversity, innovation, dance, performance, and technology, Atamira dancers and collaborators create from a continuum of stories, interpretation, and memory.

By mapping cultural processes with modern choreographic processes, we acknowledge the impacts of the past on the present while continuously defining our future. Our dance collective is constantly growing and evolving. We take risks. We challenge each other.