“Waimārama has a very strong feminine energy and this work is designed to hold up mana and respect for the wahine toa of my whakapapa. It has evolved in what has been a crazy year, where I’ve personally aimed to go with the flow and not fight it. You hope that in this, like the whakatuaki “Kia rere te wairere,” the flow goes to places of positivity” says MacDonald.

The multi-faceted characters resurrected from tribal history to tell the tale of Ngā Wai are brought to life by a cast of exquisite dance artists – Bianca Hyslop, Brydie Colquhoun, Kasina Campbell, Jeremy Beck, Tupua Tigafua and Sean himself. With an incredible design team on board including John Verryt (Set), Vanda Karolczak (Lighting) , David Long (Sound and Composition), Te Orihau Karaitiana (Costumes), and Osborne Shiwan (Campaign Design) Ngā Wai is a celebration of Aotearoa’s most creative performance artists and the wealth of stories that are held by Māori.