The first Viva Eclectika was held in 1999. The biennial event is run entirely by volunteers and their work is to be admired in terms of motivating the community from all points of the compass, both here in Auckland and globally to dance!  This year’s show brings together 13 groups and 209 performers.

So what is the purpose of this event? I think that the words of Viva Eclectika’s late patron, Sir Paul Reeves are suitably eloquent to capture the vision: “To sing and dance and to laugh and play are vital ways of understanding      each other’s hopes and dreams. We must work for a community where there      is space for everyone to be themselves and make their offering with confidence and pride. Knowledge of each other breeds respect and that’s a quality that should surround everything we do… [Viva Eclectika] has a   deeper purpose of showing how we can live, work and play together in    harmony. That must be good for Aotearoa New Zealand.” (2009)

Now at this point I have to declare that I was invited by NZAA to give choreographic advice to the groups. I did not choreograph their dances but visited each group to offer suggestions that could perhaps provide them with ideas to help them better meet the Viva Eclectika vision. The vision is an interesting one in that it brings together different ethnicities to dance. If groups choose to include say kapa haka the rules state that someone in the group must be Maori. So groups ‘fuse’ the dance and music from their own cultures whilst retaining the distinct qualities of their cultural heritages. This is possibly what sets their work apart from say fusion with contemporary dance that may be a more common dance theatre experience. Fusing cultural difference can produce some surprising contrasts such as EPACS Dragon and Lion Dance with Scottish pipers from St. Kentigern School. You had to be there!

 There is a mix of professional, semi-professional, children, private dance studios, high schools and ages range from 10months to older adults. The choreographic values produce some accomplished and appealing results. Some mercurial Wing Chun Kung Fu sits rather well alongside delicate Chinese fan dance, Samoan siva, Bollywood, Tongan drumming and haka (Amo Ieriko and Daniel Yee, Polynesian Entertainers, NZCA (Akld Br) & Friends, win third prize, $1000).  The cup and prize for best Asian fusion, presented by Hon MP Melissa Lee, goes to a combination of Chinese, Spanish flamenco, French can can and raqs sharqui (The World Dance Project, Candice Frankland, Julie Anterrieu and Amira Brock). This all woman group play delightfully with imagery of Mother Earth as provider of all that is precious to the human condition.

Dancers from each other’s cultures take on the challenge of learning how to dance in quite a different way. The performance quality fluctuates but there are some strong renditions of a gamut of world dances including: Indian Bharatha Natyam mixing with classical ballet (Kanan Deobhakta, Philippa Pidgeon, Sucheta Raj and dancers, second prize of $2000); and a youthful statement of identity in a choreographic collaboration of kapa haka, contemporary dance, hip hop, Jamaican and Arabian (Nga Oha from Western Springs College, runner up prize $500).

And to go with the dances, live music. One group thunder through the audience, audibly and visually, to win first prize ($3000). Tamashii Taiko Drummers and Waka Huia present Taka (choreographers Jane Chen, Conor Young and Maori ensemble). A stage full of Taiko drummers alongside strong waiata, poi and haka performances, playing inventively and sensitively with the image of a hawk (taka) roaming and gracefully soaring, takes once-were-warriors into postmodern dancing of two distinct cultural identities and finding understanding through juxtaposing differences and similarities. The female’s flashing and percussive red fan dance and the strength and awesome precision of the drummers (male and female) were a striking foil for the strident kapa haka. Judge Iosefa Enari in the prize presentation points out how this dance could be performed successfully anywhere in the world.

A crowd favourite, the Caribbean Southern Stars Steel Band with the Korean Youth Dance Group brings the house down and the band expand their comfort zones stepping out from behind their drums to join the fun of gangnam. Make no doubt about it, if you have any inclination towards letting things be that way Viva Eclectika is fun. All the groups are winners in their own ways and it looks like they were having some fun. I did not envy the judges (Iosefa Enari, Jennifer King, Susan Zhu).

 Narrative abounds. African dance makes a premier appearance this year. Fusion/The Ethical Hunter (Eddie Elliot and Graciano Aganze), own the stage with a rewrite of Romeo and Juliet, mixing with Sri Lankan. African Communities Forum Inc. collaborate choreographically toshowcase South African, Indian, Pacific and Maori dance with the effective metaphor of international jet travel.  Pasifika Children and Golden Seasons Dance Academy (Su Ka and Soo Lee-Orr Walker) bring along a large group of young children intertwining their cultures to tell a story about caring for the environment. A tale of war and peace (McCleans College, Vivian Hwang, Sweksha Misra and Angela Zhang) combined Chinese, Maori, Korean and Indian dancing). An auto-narrative from the multicultural Glendowie College (Mary Dina Intalan and Chad Paraone) brought together probably another first, an Afghan male solo with Cook Island, Filipino, Maori and Samoan.

 This fusion with-a-difference, in my estimation, is a difficult choreographic challenge and groups do very well to bring their pieces together. Having experienced their rehearsals I can also report that my little ethnographic sojourn discovered some moments that I would have loved to share with the audience and Race Relations Commissioner, Dame Susan Devoy, who seemed to enjoy her first Viva. In many ways, as groups take on challenges of translating diverse languages in negotiating choreography and accommodating differences in cultural protocols, the creative process becomes as important as the final show. Rehearsals become microcosms of how people take on living with increasing cultural diversity, beyond fusion cooking.

Another strength of Viva Eclectika is the drive of its leader Vivian Chow and her team to advocate for dance in both the political and business arenas – something that our dance industry welcomes.

Culture is what people make, it can glue people together, and if it can do so by fusing difference in dance and music, then Aotearoa’s ethnic mosaic has a promising future in Viva Eclectika. Make dance not war!

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