Fusion of Pacific and street dance a winner
An award-winning choreographer and dancer, whose work is a fusion of Pacific and street dance, is creating new work to
perform at next year’s Auckland Fringe Festival, helped by a Summer Scholarship from the University of Auckland.
Vivian Aue, a New Zealand-born Cook Islander, is a third-year student completing a Bachelor of Dance Studies at the
University of Auckland. He will use his Summer Scholarship, worth $5,000, to investigate techniques for translating
movement between choreographers and dancers. His research will result in a series of performances as part of the
upcoming Auckland Fringe Festival, taking place in February next year.
The youngest of five, Vivian grew up performing traditional Cook Island dance from an early age, but was introduced to
street dance during his teenage years at One Tree Hill College. When he started winning competitions while still at high
school, he decided to set his sights on a future in dance.
Vivian’s work, which successfully merges his Pacific Island heritage with contemporary urban dance, recently won Best
Choreographer, Emerging Artist and People's Choice awards at the Short and Sweet Dance Festival 2014, with his piece
Opaque. Dealing with a male’s perception of love, the work was performed again earlier this month, as part of the Y
Chromozome line up at the Tempo Dance Festival, to rave reviews.
The hard working twenty-one year-old, based in South Auckland, also recently returned from competing in the World Hip
Hop Dance Championships in Las Vegas as part of the mega crew group Fresh Nation, made up of 40 dancers.
“I have performed and choreographed most of my life. It’s an important part of my identity and how I express myself,
both as a Cook Islander and a New Zealander. I’m really looking forward to being able to spend the summer researching
and creating new work,” he says.
Next year Vivian will begin a Postgraduate Diploma in Dance Studies at the University of Auckland. He hopes to have his
own dance company in the future.
To view Vivian’s work visit www.youtube.com/channel/UCHj-mk4dwOmAEKPcfujYlJQ
The University of Auckland’s National Institute of Creative Arts and Industries comprises the Elam School of Fine Arts,
School of Architecture and Planning, the Centre for Art Studies, the School of Music and the Dance Studies Programme.
ENDS