Revitalized sand dunes, de-contaminated waterways and recovered bird habitats are some of the images shared by researcher and environmental activist Huhana Smith in the post-show symposium for HOU Atamira at the MAU Forum, 6-7 March 2010. But what does the ecosystem of Kuku (via Levin) have to do with contemporary Maori dance theatre?

HOU is a suite of works that thematically reflect the primordial structures of life through the experiences of birth, nurturance and training, mark-making and lamenting; an itinerary of events mapped and formed within a performance ecology embedded with a Maori worldview.

HOU Atamira at the MAUForum takes place within a vast workshed on the Corban Estate in Henderson. Leaving the bright Auckland daylight to enter the dark we encounter long tables and a bank of bare wooden raised seating. The stage itself is wide and deep and resonates with potential. This site, the scene/seen of performance, becomes the locus for a nexus of entanglements between the dancers and what is danced.

Of the four works showcased in this mixed bill, Tuhoe Whakapapa by Nancy Wijohn and Pahemo by Gaby Thomas were introduced as ‘works-in-progress’ and two were fragments of previously performed works, Te Whenua by Moss Patterson and Reflections choreographed by Maaka Pepene. This curatorial shaping contained the diverse choreographic signatures of four choreographers and the ensemble work of seven dancers.

In Te Whenua a solo figure becomes a force of nature as he holds ground. He counterweights a chorus of shape shifting dancers whose movements cascade around him. Playing between equilibrium and disequilibrium, this darkly powerful metamorphosis erupts from an originary birth scene. The evocatively textured sounds of Paddy Free’s composition become the backdrop to the visceral cries of these performers as they form tangles that coalesce and dissolve.

Whereas lines of connection become lines of flight in Te Whenua, in Tuhoe Whakapapa these are stitched together and precisely encoded to create a dense geometric surface. Through mapping the terrain of the ground with precise steps, the dancers articulate a performance mnemonic. Poly-rhythmically their steps beat a pattern in syncopation to upper body gestural motifs. As repeated variations combine, the patterning evolves the complexity of genealogical stratification. History becomes poetically embodied in these acts of listening steps.

Gaby Thomas takes the traditional ti râkau class as a starting point for an exploration of personal history and experiences of belonging/unbelonging. The choreography is crisply performed with rhythmically percussive accents. Lines of action fold and unfold as the dance moves between narrative and formalist choreographic methods. The seven dancers are surely manipulated through a series of games, class-like tasks and a staged competition. Images of classroom behaviours, during ti râkau practice, are disrupted by differences being highlighted and exaggerated. An X-factor styled competition for ‘the best of’ is staged. But drawing on racial stereotypes to make a point about not fitting in, diminishes the impact of this work. 

The final work of the evening, Reflections, takes its musical bearings from the Adagio by Albinononi. A sincere, lyrical lament, the dancers curving lines and punctuated crossings amplify the musical phrasing of this well-known music.

One of the many delights in this programme is the casting. Long-standing members of the Atamira collective get to dance with newer members, including the choreographers, in a biodiversity that unfurls many delicious combinatory possibilities, such as the duet between Tai Royal and Kelly Nash in Reflections. This company appear to genuinely enjoy performing together and discovering the performing life of new works.

The event of HOU, enveloped in discourse chaired by the eloquent Moana Nepia, video documentary, feasting and meeting, overlays the choreographies of Patterson, Thomas, Wijohn and Pepene with an atmosphere of conviviality and exchange. It is a positive direction for the company to nurture emerging choreographers in this way and to stage for audiences questions and issues that provoke us to think about their work within the context of a cultural landscape.

Dance needs resources and curatorial programming like this to thrive. As Huhana Smith stated at the closing Symposium, if we add water we get fresh growth.
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