Cat Ruka Presents New Treaty Militia
Award winning performance artist Cat Ruka is soon to present her latest work NEW TREATY MILITIA, a theatrical protest
that radically explores
the contentious document of the Treaty of Waitangi. It investigates how this document relates to the way in which identity is
constructed – and perhaps obsessed over – in New Zealand, and poses the idea that it preoccupies Maori and Pakeha with
an abstract
game of power transferral. NEW TREATY MILITIA is a surreal and decadent performance critique that strives to demonstrate
the
realities of how this document manifests in all its horrifyingly dark and profoundly creative ways.
NEW TREATY MILITIA is a duet between Cat and New Zealand born dancer and performance artist Josh Rutter. Josh is
currently in Europe
and has recently been working on Stephen Bain’s latest work When Animals Dream of Sheep on the island of Terschelling in the Netherlands.
Over the past two years Cat and Josh have established a strong collaborative practice in various avenues of performance,
encouraging them to
approach choreography in a number of different ways.
The show will premiere at the Hebbel am Ufer performance centre in Berlin, Germany. It will be developed and presented there as part of the
Matchpoint choreographer meeting, a 7-day event curated by Jochen Roller and Anna Wagner. Cat has been invited to participate in
this event
along with 9 other emerging artists from around the world, including the critically acclaimed and highly successful
European choreographer
Matan Zamir. Also attending Matchpoint as an artistic mentor is New Zealand-based artist and curator Shigeyuki Kihara.
NEW TREATY MILITIA will then be presented at Boutique Studios in Brooklyn, New York. Boutique Studios is located right
in the heart of Bushwick,
an area that is fast becoming one of New York’s most interesting hubs for underground artists. It is a multi-purpose
studio run by Kristin Mirabelle and
John Kazar who are both interdisciplinary artists with a strong investment in the community of Bushwick. Cat is
interested in establishing
and maintaining an artistic connection to New York after presenting her solo work Playing Savage there last year to a full house.
The show will then return home to be presented as a series of events for and on behalf of a range of communities in New
Zealand.
It will be shown at the Tempo Dance Festival at Q Theatre in Auckland city, the Southside Arts Festival at OMAC in
Otara,
and as part of a special double bill show in Dunedin (more details of this one-off event in Dunedin will follow).
• SEPTEMBER 11TH AND 12TH, HEBBEL AM UFER, MATCHPOINT FESTIVAL, BERLIN
• SEPTEMBER 28TH, BOUTIQUE STUDIOS, BROOKLYN
• OCTOBER 5TH AND 6TH, Q THEATRE, TEMPO DANCE FESTIVAL, AUCKLAND
• OCTOBER 28TH, OMAC, SOUTHSIDE ARTS FESTIVAL, OTARA
• DECEMBER 1ST, SPECIAL DOUBLE BILL EVENT, SECRET VENUE, DUNEDIN
***For more information please visit www.catruka.com and to stay up to date with New Treaty Militia while it is overseas please visit the
facebook event page http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=245988852098657. Click attend and be in to win free tickets.