When Ranginui and Papatūānuku were separated, light entered the world for the first time. Before illumination came Hīnātore - the first flicker, signalling possibility and the promise of what was yet to emerge.

As a tuakana platform for Māori contemporary dance, our role is to create space for Māori artists to follow that spark and bring new possibilities into the world.

This year, we're excited to support one of Aotearoa New Zealand's most exciting new choreographic voices through a new Atamira commission: Oli Mathiesen (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Manu).

It feels pretty special to continue walking alongside Oli's artistic journey and to support the next chapter of their work.

Watch this space. We'll be sharing more about this new kaupapa soon.

Osborne Shiwan has helped shape the visual identity of Atamira Dance Company. As long-standing creative partners, Lloyd Osborne and Shabnam Shiwan have worked alongside generations of artists, choreographers, producers, directors and trustees, creating campaigns that have carried Māori contemporary dance across Aotearoa and beyond. As Atamira prepares to move into a new chapter, we acknowledge and celebrate their extraordinary contribution to our company.

“Lloyd and Shabnam have helped to create a strong visual design and marketing identity for Atamira that draws upon the company’s unique and rich vocabulary of choreographic, sensory, and culturally determined aesthetics.

While promoting some extraordinary Atamira dance projects, their work has honoured the creative direction of our artists and the company’s commitment to innovation within the contemporary dance sector and nga toi Māori more broadly.

We are grateful for the quality of their work and the contributions they have made to Atamira’s success while ensuring our mahi is represented with care and sensitivity.
Osborne Shiwan will always be part of Atamira’s story, and we will continue to follow and champion their work.”

Dolina Wehipeihana and Moana Nepia
Co-Chairs, Atamira Dance Collective Charitable Trust

Kua ea te kaupapa!

As our Te Tai Tokerau tour of Rongo Whakapā comes to a close, we’re sitting with deep gratitude for everyone who carried and held this kaupapa with us.

Ānei te mihi ki ngā iwi o Whangārei Te Rerenga Parāoa, Kerikeri, Kaitāia, me te mana o te whenua i manaaki i a mātou i tēnei haerenga.

He mihi hoki ki ngā whare manaaki ONEONESIX, Turner Centre, Te Ahu, me ngā ringa rehe, the many hands behind the scenes whose support and care helped bring this tour to life.

He mihi anō ki ngā kura o Te Tai Tokerau, thank you for welcoming us so openly into your spaces. We loved sharing kanikani me te kōrero with all our rangatahi. Ko rātou te anamata.

“To leave Rongo Whakapā is not to exit, but to carry. It lingers in the skin, in the breath, in the spaces between thought.” — Vincent Nathan

Mauri ora.

Ka mihi kau atu ki a koutou ko Auckland Live, ko Moana Festival me te hunga i tae atu ki te mātakitaki i te whakaari o Ka Tiri o te Moana ki te taha o te moana o te Waitematā

I whakakorengia nā Tāwhirimatea te take!

"So much happens behind the scenes to make a production come to life...people quite literally move mountains! Usually the reward is sharing that work with an audience. But just as they were arriving, the atua had other plans. Tāwhirimātea took centre stage and totally stole the limelight...When we gathered upstairs and shared a tear, what surfaced wasn’t frustration, it was gratitude. Gratitude for every single person, front and back of house, who showed up wholeheartedly. Gratitude for an audience who stayed, spreading out across the foyer floor, drinking tea, talking, connecting. Gratitude for the dancers, their whānau, and even their tamariki who packed down in the rain without hesitation. It reminded me that the real work isn’t only the performance, it’s the relationships. Our communities are everything."

Bianca Hyslop, Kaihautū

“There is vitality and powerful commitment to traditions and the path to the future.”

Deirdre Tarrant, Theatreview