Birds With Skymirrors

Birds With Skymirrors PIC CREDIT Sebastian Bolesch

DANCE-THEATRE: NEW ZEALAND PREMIERE

“Physically extraordinary and imaginatively charged, embracing a global view of the world and our place in it.” The Guardian (UK)

An extraordinary sight on a Pacific island beach inspired acclaimed Samoan choreographer Lemi Ponifasio’s powerful new dance-theatre work, Birds With Skymirrors. Walking beside the ocean on Tarawa Island, he noticed frigate birds flying with what looked like liquid mirrors in their beaks. In fact, they were carrying glittering pieces of black plastic waste. In this one apocalyptic image, Ponifasio saw the environmental threat to the Pacific and the world. Birds With Skymirrors, blending dance, ceremony, chant and oratory, is the result.

Hailed by the French newspaper Le Figaro as one of the greats of modern dance, alongside the legendary Pina Bausch and Merce Cunningham, Lemi Ponifasio’s style is poetic, stark, hypnotic and taut with concentration. The dancers of his company, Mau, seem to float across a darkened stage.

Their movements, brief and sharp like animals or birds, are executed with masterful precision.

Co-commissioned by a host of international arts festivals, Birds With Skymirrors is a timely examination of our connection to the Earth and our power to protect or destroy it. This provocative and uplifting dance-theatre work finally returns home for its New Zealand premiere, bringing international acclaim.

Mau was established by Ponifasio in 1995. The Auckland-based company has forged an international reputation for its ground-breaking style, weaving diverse Oceanic cultures and exploring complex forms of knowledge, such as navigation and genealogies. Mau has performed in more than 20 countries and at festivals including the Edinburgh International and the Venice Biennale.

Birds With Skymirrors is at the St James Theatre on 29 February & 1 March for the 2012 New Zealand International Arts Festival, Wellington, 24 February – 18 March. Tickets $38 – $68 available from Ticketek.

CONTAINS NUDITY

ENDS

Sponsored by the New Zealand Listener

With support from

Co-Production: Théâtre de la Ville (Paris), Theater der Welt 2010 RUHR, spielzeit’europa Berliner Festspiele, Wiener Festwochen, KVS Brussels, Holland Festival, Mercat de les Flors, DeSingel Antwerp, New Zealand International Arts Festival

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