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Warming Q’s Rangatira auditorium as preparation of the subsequent events of  the 2011 Tempo Dance Festival was the intention for the opening showcase, Tuakana, an interleaving of Maori contemporary dance and kapa haka items performed by Aotearoa’s leading exponents of these forms — members of Atamira Dance Company, and of Te Waka Huia’s Pounamu performance collective.  

Kapa haka and Maori contemporary dance are not often presented on the same stage, even though both are contemporary art forms  which publicly express and celebrate Maori values and examine social issues, rely on choreographic structures for their effectiveness, and seek the continuing development of artistry and virtuosity for their performers.

Their juxtaposition in Tuakana highlights what both forms share — respect for the art form, its protocols, and one’s fellow artists, respect for the mana of senior artists whose many contributions have inspired others to follow a similar path, and for the passion and commitment which performers at all levels bring to their performance.  

Both forms also reach out to their audience, seeking to engage them viscerally, emotionally, intellectually, spiritually —  though the way this is done is perhaps one of the major differences between the forms.

Threeof Pounamu’s works are composed by Te Whanau Wehi –  Wahine Toa (1992) written by Ngapo Wehi as an acknowledgement for Te Atairangi Kahu, the late Maori Queen; Mana Tuku Iho , a poi dance which acknowledges female Maori deities; and Ka Titiro, choreographed by Kura Te Ua and Ngarino Watt,. Collectively these show how kapa haka charges the air of the whole auditorium with dynamic singing and vigorous actions, enlarging this effect by  the visual impact of uniform costuming (piupiu and patterned, woven bodices for the women, piupiu and bare chests for the men), and dramatic makeup for all, including facial tattoos.  Action incorporates shifting dynamic groupings of performers, with women usually in front and men behind, some wielding weapons such as taiaha (mostly men),  and the use of an array of facial expressions and bodily stances. The mood can range widely — from fiercely challenging to gently welcoming, deeply sad to joyously happy — but it is always deeply expressive and invites a similar response in the audience.

The Maori contemporary dance works shown here, by contrast, make primary use of the body itself moving in space, with some additional support from scenographic elements such as lighting, sound and video projections, to draw the audience towards the onstage action – a more intimate experience for the audience.

Taiaroa Royal’s solo Te Pou (1990) immediately rivets audience attention on a still male body, clothed only in black shorts and holding a long white stick with bands at one end. He is set against a glowing halogen-lit backdrop, and accompanied by the schmaltzy/sultry sounds of Marcus Miller and Miles Davis in the Siesta movie soundtrack  backdrop. Modelled on the traditional form of haka peruperu, but with an internal focus, and with the emphasis on slow movement in which the muscular control of the body is balanced against the length of the stick, this now feels very postmodern, and very  contemporary despite being made 20 years ago.

Louise Potiki Bryant’s poetic solo work Tumutumu (2010), an excerpt from her  performance-video-installation Nohupuku, is equally riveting with its flickering, flighty, extraordinarily detailed flurries of movement which conjure everything from honey bees and buzzing insects to wild horses and blossoms tossing on the wind. Wearing a close-fitting, flare-skirted intensely red dress adorned by  clusters of lacy banding and netting at throat, hip, ankle and wrist (designed by Bethany Edmunds) , she carries with her two gleaming remnants of an old pohutukawa which comprise the taonga puoro played by James Webster within Paddy Free’s accompanying soundscore. Dancing in front of two vertical screens which display shape-shifting animations based on intricate line-drawings — perhaps the paths traced by those honey bees as they buzz around the blossoms –  she is very much the indomitable spirit of that old pohutukawa.

Atamira’s  Whanaungatanga, a brief except from their recent full length work Te Houhi, is presented this time without the dramatic lighting and video projections which accompanied it in the premiere season,  putting the focus back onto the movement itself, which is a patterned sequence of stepping, stamping, clapping and slapping much more minimalist than presented in kapa haka. Clad in deep scarlet wraps over black skirts or pants (costumes by Marama Lloyd) , and accompanied by a deeply resonant drumbeat (score Paddy Free), there is also  tension between the group of dancers upstage left and a seated figure downstage right, their ancestor, on whom they slowly advance and retreat, down the diagonal.

Pounamu’s fourth work is Te Taki , with music by Tru Paraha arranged by Chad Doherty, and choreographed by Kura Te Ua and Ngarino Watt. This innovates on the traditional form of kapa haka, with performers dressed in plain black clothing, against black curtains, and with lighting putting a glimmer onto the weapons — a long stick and a dagger – held by the women. The men provide the relish by singing in support of the women’s actions, and the women alternately perform solos with their  weapons, drawing attention in towards themselves as contemporary dancers do.

The entire ensemble appeared together in both opening and closing items, bracketed by opening and closing mihi from Pita Turei with responses from a Tempo representative, and just before the finale, an open stage with an opportunity for audience response to the show. The very low-brow, feel good   grand finale was Poi E Thriller, choreographed by Dolina Wehipeihana. This  had the audience clapping and singing along while the performers took their bows and danced about some more with phrases inflected by gestures and emphases lifted from Michael Jackson’s historic video.
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