What if the city was a theatre – seeing spaces ingrained in ourselves, as commonplace as where we park our car, and as diverse as the lagoon, created in ourselves as something new; a performance, a dance, a song. The strangeness of watching others interpret these places, alive in their show. 

It’s been an amazing month, watching our city become a theatre. First, welcoming us, embracing us into this festival of wonders and weirdness – was Whairepo Lagoon Dance. A wonder of silk after silk, of spectacular dancers dancing to joy tucked away on bits of the lagoon, of watching a common thing we pass day by day transforming into singing, light, movement. 

Seeing mundane Cuba St. become a beautiful colourful hub of purple ribbons flying and families dancing to joy, their worries, surprise at this happening, weaving ribbons between strangers – dancers, musicians, kids, people, intertwining everyone in delight. This was the Pop Up Street Party. At the same time we were surrounded by fantastical creatures, animals and people coming wonderfully alive in shop windows, as part of the Cuba Street Shopfront Takeover. 

In the performance If These Walls… by Footnote Dance Company we followed a Balkan band into a dark alleyway – sceptical of what this monotonous place had to offer – warmly invited to sit down and live the night with five amazing dancers. They explained to us bit by bit, the importance of these sturdy wall foundations, this gravel parking lot, this piece of turf – lights cascading gently, fiercely rippling on nearby buildings. 

It was just wonderful. 

In another night performance, Tōrua – we followed 7 wonderful Movement Of The Human dancers moving in their own ways through the Memorial Park – showing us these spaces and themselves in them. A real highlight in this special evening show was the powerful duet of two of the dancers. In the background we saw cascading stone steps, strong pillars and immovable foundations – and then a pair of beautiful dancers began to show us, the audience, something more. They were so intense and thoughtful – moving incredibly with an electrifying energy and chemistry between them.

Being part of House of Sand’s strong feminist work, Reddy Nelken, (also an ode to Pina Bausch)  was an incredible experience. Joining other non-professional and professional dancers, in a walk/dance along the water front, moving alongside “I Am Woman” by Helen Reddy and watching the expressions of wonder, surprise, joy and cheer in the passers-by in yet another form of art invading and transforming our city.

In Scrùbi by Metamorphosis artists Jake Church and Anita Hutchins, we scribbled whatever we wanted on a piece of blank paper, then chose the bit that was meaningful for us. Showing it to Anita and Jake, we then got to watch our subconscious drawing unfold in front of us in wonderful music and in beautiful dance.

Cable Care Duets was another Metamorphosis work – we bumped along with a few special guests in a cable car, leading us up and down the hill. In combinations entailing duets of  musician dancers we saw funky dancing that was joyful and exhilarating, opera singing that was melodramatic and amazing, beautiful, wonderful, graceful dancing embodying the tunes of a whispering flute and much, much more.

We hope this becomes a yearly event, to light up the streets of beloved Poneke with joyful dance and music, professional and non-professional dancers and musicians, joy we all need, at this time more than ever. And to add colour to the perpetual dull dress code of the city..:)

‘Not to mention the zany energy of Flamingo Scooter Ballet zipping around the waterfront in outlandish unisex pink tutus and royal blue unitards by Holly Newsome; at the Performance Arcade rolling out the problems of the world on the Te Papa slope with Mark Harvey and one on one somatically detailed encounters with Footnote dancers and guests in Closer; and the gorgeous Ballet Collective Aotearoa’s Subtle Dancing teaser in Civic Square.  Lyne Pringle – Dance Editor. 

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer