A new Indigenous collaboration
We’re proud to announce a major new collaboration between Atamira Dance Company and Karul Projects Dance Theatre.
Bringing together two Indigenous-led contemporary dance companies from Aotearoa and Australia, this ambitious exchange centres Indigenous excellence, artistic leadership, and shared futures.
Led by choreographers Thomas E.S. Kelly (Karul – Minjungbal, Wiradjuri, Ni-Vanuatu) and Gabrielle Thomas (Atamira – Te Ātiawa ki Te Tau Ihu, Kāi Tahu, Pākehā), two distinct artistic practices, each shaped by their own cultural knowledge and choreographic voice, are united. The creative partnership will culminate in a powerful new contemporary dance work.
Across the past three weeks, we’ve moved between Minjungbal Country in Coolangatta and our whare in Tāmaki Makaurau, sharing movement, waiata, meals, conversations, time in te taiao, and plenty of laughter. These moments of exchange and relationship-building are at the heart of the work.
The first stage of development has now wrapped, but this is only the beginning. We’ll return to the studio later this year as the work continues towards its premiere.
We can’t wait to share more of this journey with you.
Bringing together two Indigenous-led contemporary dance companies from Aotearoa and Australia, this ambitious exchange centres Indigenous excellence, artistic leadership, and shared futures.
Led by choreographers Thomas E.S. Kelly (Karul – Minjungbal, Wiradjuri, Ni-Vanuatu) and Gabrielle Thomas (Atamira – Te Ātiawa ki Te Tau Ihu, Kāi Tahu, Pākehā), two distinct artistic practices, each shaped by their own cultural knowledge and choreographic voice, are united. The creative partnership will culminate in a powerful new contemporary dance work.
Across the past three weeks, we’ve moved between Minjungbal Country in Coolangatta and our whare in Tāmaki Makaurau, sharing movement, waiata, meals, conversations, time in te taiao, and plenty of laughter. These moments of exchange and relationship-building are at the heart of the work.
The first stage of development has now wrapped, but this is only the beginning. We’ll return to the studio later this year as the work continues towards its premiere.
We can’t wait to share more of this journey with you.
World Premiere Coming Soon
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.
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.
Kua ea te kaupapa!
As our Te Tai Tokerau tour of Rongo Whakapā finishes, 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.
As our Te Tai Tokerau tour of Rongo Whakapā finishes, 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 Tiri o te Moana
Choreographed by Louise Pōtiki Bryant
Choreographed by Louise Pōtiki Bryant
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!
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
Bianca Hyslop, Kaihautū
"Everyone worked so hard to bring Ka Tiri o te Moana to life, and I’m so grateful. It wasn’t to be this time, and it’s the nature of mounting works in the embrace of Te Taiao…"
Louise Pōtiki Bryant, Choreographer
Louise Pōtiki Bryant, Choreographer