Unitec lecturer realises long-held dream

Media Release                                                               22 June, 2010

Unitec lecturer realises long-held dream with New Zealand’s first Maori dance festival

Pioneering Maori dance choreographer Charles Koroneho is finally realising a long held dream when the curtains go up for the inaugural Kowhiti Matariki Festival of Maori Contemporary Dance this weekend.

The dance festival is being held at Te Papa Tongarewa Museum in Wellington between June 24 and 27 featuring dance performances, forums, films and lectures from established and emerging dance artists of Maori contemporary dance.

“This festival will be amazing and is something that’s long overdue,” says Koroneho. “As a dance community, we’ve been trying to get more involvement in mainstream festivals but our style of work doesn’t always fit in with their programmes so it’s great to see an event like this solely dedicated to Maori dance.”

Koroneho has struggled for years to establish and gain recognition for contemporary Maori dance and is pleased to see this finally happening.

He was a founding member of Te Kanikani O Te Rangatahi Dance Company and then began teaching at Unitec 15 years ago, where he now lectures in dance theory, choreography and performance at Unitec’s Department of Performing and Screen Arts.

He says contemporary Maori dance is unique in that it is made by Maori people, contains Maori language and protocols, and is both cultural and political.

“Most importantly it is made in this country and has reference to Aotearoa and the pacific."

“A lot of contemporary dance you see doesn’t always reflect the country it was made from but contemporary Maori dance is really physical and is now recognised around the world as coming out of Aotearoa.”

During the Kowhiti Matariki Festival of Maori Contemporary Dance, Koroneho will perform one of his signature works called He Taura Whakapapa that is more than 20 years old. He will choreograph the piece and perform it with five other dancers from the Atamira Dance Collective.

“I thought it could be a good idea for the young generation of dancers to see this work. It will be the same piece as it was originally but certain things will be shifted and changed as a way of reinvigorating the work and making it relevant for today.”
Koroneho recently returned from overseas where he completed a three-week residency at the Naisda Dance College - the longest running indigenous dance school in Australia.
There, he taught He Taura Whakapapa to six Naisda students - four Aboriginal and two Torres Strait Islanders – who will perform the piece at Australia's international indigenous arts festival, The Dreaming Festival, being held in Queensland this month.

Koroneho will return to Naisda in September to work with the dancers again.

 “It’s fantastic to have aboriginal indigenous dancers performing Maori contemporary dance and by returning to Naisda it’s a chance for us to keep the connection between the schools alive.”

“This is a connection between indigenous contemporary dance networks which is something I am very excited to be a part of and to be nurturing,” he says.

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