Tempo Dance Festival Set to Light up Auckland in October

Tempo Set to Light up Auckland in October

New Zealand’s only professional dance festival returns to Auckland for its 14th year of envelope-pushing artistry, with a season of shows that truly has something for everyone in the center of Auckland at from 4th to 15th October.

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the formation of New Zealand’s first ever contemporary dance company, The DANZ season of Limbs@40 features choreography by original Limbs dancers MaryJane O’Reilly, Mark Baldwin and Douglas Wright. Limbs@40 is performed by students from Unitec’s School of Dance, the University of Auckland and New Zealand School of Dance, it is sure to be a personal and captivating look back on the company’s stellar history.

ORCHIDS is a striking new choreography by Sarah Foster-Sproull featuring seven distinct dancers, including former Limbs member Marianne Schultz. ORCHIDS connects some of New Zealand’s most intriguing artists and designers to reveal an entrancing metaphysical realm that explores the complex female spirit where women are mothers and lovers, but also beasts, witches and deities. ORCHIDS investigates lost ritualistic practices and contemplates the conflict and catharsis of women at different stages of their lives.

The chance to witness unique artists working on the absolute edge is the best thing about Tempo. This year, solo works by Louise Potiki Bryant and Jahra Rager Wasasala provide just that. The phenomenal Louise Potiki Bryant (2017 Tuakana artist) performs NGARO, made in collaboration with composer Paddy Free and artist Rona Ngahuia Osborne. Adding to Potiki Bryant’s already impressive repertoire of work, NGARO depicts the “often faceless journey of all too many living with mental health issues”. Performance artist, dancer and poet Jahra Rager Wasasala returns home direct from New York and gifts us her new solo work, ‘a world, with your wound in it’, cementing her as one of New Zealand’s most exciting and innovative multi-disciplinary artists.

Malia Johnston and Momentum Productions break new hip-hop ground with CUDO, a show that will be like nothing audiences have seen before. CUDO is liquid, acrobatic and robotic hip-hop against a backdrop of real time graphic visuals, manipulated by the dancers themselves. The vast possibilities of bodies in space and time are explored by world-renown hip-hop crew Identity Dance Company, alongside the Cesan Brothers and Matthew Moore, all with live music.

Festival favourite whY Chromozone returns to Tempo showcasing the vivid spectrum of masculinity in all its many forms – from traditional to more experimental. Expect raw power, sensuality, cheekiness, strength and subtle vulnerability while challenging the binary concept of gender and celebrating how we see ourselves in society. Featuring new works by the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s Loughlan Prior, gold medal hip-hop champs IDCO, South Auckland performance collective COVEN and many more surprises.

Java Dance Theatre serve up a double bill that will excite the senses. Internationally-acclaimed The Wine Project invites you into a world of intrigue and aroma, of ritual and revelry, of sex and power – creating a magic, dangerous and ancient story of tending the vines, crushing the grapes, and fermenting the juice. An unmissable event for all ages, Dirt and Other Delicious Ingredients (Bruce Mason Centre 11th-14th October) is a “wild and playful dance show set in a land of sweet spices and tomato fights”. Brought to you by Java Dance Theatre with Auckland Live, children will be delighted to enter a magical world unearthed before their very eyes, where dancers delve into the dirt creating a great big feast for the senses.

Get on ya bike and join Tempo in Aotea Square for Pedal Power for a ballet of bikes, a waltz of wheels and a pirouette of pedals! Choreographer Susan Jordan and bike enthusiasts from across Auckland fuse dance with a fun visual spectacle to get your gears moving in this free community event.

FRESH presents a collection of new, collaborative works from exciting emerging choreographers Amelia Chong, Elijah Kennar, Ben Mitchell, Zoe Nicholson and Emma Cosgrove; and bright young things from local secondary schools and dance studios show off their energy and talent in The Pform.nz season of Ignite!

There’s also a new choreographer each day, for the duration of the festival to surprise and delight viewers on Snapchat. Snap Dance, a series of 10 curated dance works by 10 choreographers will be performed exclusively on Snapchat and will feature all a manner of themes and styles in 30 seconds. Follow snapdancenz channel on Snapchat to be part of this all-new experience.

Be sure to check out the Tempo website to stay up to date with all the stunning events on offer. New Zealand has an absolute wealth of dance artistry, and through the month of October Tempo is doing the hard work for you by putting it all together in one fantastic festival.

Tempo Dance Festival 2017
Q Theatre
Aotea Square
Bruce Mason Centre
Auckland Art Gallery
Wellesley Dance Studios
4th – 15th October
http://www.tempo.co.nz/

ENDS

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