Kotahi is a unique international collaboration bridging the creative and cultural spaces of Atamira Dance Company (Aotearoa) and NAISDA Dance College in Darkinjung Country (Australia), supported by Unitec.

Three new contemporary dance works are presented over two extraordinary nights with Kotahi I on October 4 and Kotahi II on October 5. Each evening provides a unique programme, showcasing the visionary talents of tuākana (senior) choreographers Louise Potiki Bryant, Jack Gray, and Frances Rings.

Kotahi II is part two of the Kotahi programme. A double-bill presentation, it features Indigenous Stamina by Atamira Artistic Director Jack Gray (Ngāti Porou, Te Rarawa) and Shapeshift by Frances Rings (Kokatha, Head of Creative Studies NAISDA Dance College and Choreographer for Bangarra Dance Company).

Indigenous Stamina is where indigenous knowledge meets contemporary interdisciplinarity. Enter into a palette of landscapes by Australian-based lighting designer Karen Norris (Tainui), motion capture by digital designer Miranda Smitheram (Kāi Tahu) and score by Infinite Dakota (Matao).

Shapeshift explores energy as it shifts between the ancestral and the contemporary. Through Aboriginal songline and lineage, we encounter memory in body, spirit, and place as we restore cultural continuum to our contemporary lives. This Aotearoa premiere with Atamira is a true milestone, bringing together Australian First Nations and Māori contemporary dance legacies.

Kotahi I - to complete your experience of Kotahi, join us for the opening night of Tempo Dance Festival on October 4 for Kotahi I. Experience the latest work by Louise Potiki Bryant, Onepū, a piece honouring the intrinsic spiritual power of mana wahine. 

Click here to read more about Kotahi I

 Q&A // There will be a post-show artist talk with Kotahi choreographers following Thursday's performance

Presented by Atamira Dance Company (visit their website, Facebook or YouTube) as part of Tempo Dance Festival 2018

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TEN-TRIP PASS // Be one of Tempo's biggest festival fans with a Ten-Trip Pass and save. Pay $200* and select ten shows across the festival. Use them all yourself, or share with family and friends! Your Ten-Trip Pass can be used to book tickets from 20 September - two weeks before opening night of Tempo Dance Festival 2018