Atamira Dance company artistic director Moss Patterson (front) leads (from left) Heather Grant, Koren Allpress, Kate Sullivan, Swaroopa Unni and Miriam Marler in a workshop yesterday at the University of Otago's physical education department.
Patterson, who grew up in Dunedin and Alexandra, taught the workshop dancers warm-up and set dance routines, choreographic process and how to transform traditional Maori designs to dance movement.
''It's about transcribing the design into the body.''
Patterson and another seven dancers from the Auckland company will perform Kaha, a production of eight short works, at Arts Festival Dunedin tonight and tomorrow.
''People can be entertained, informed, artistically challenged and feel a sense of awe at modern contemporary dance and Maori culture,'' he said.
The work had been performed in Hawaii, San Francisco and New York and the dance company was looking forward to performing in the Regent Theatre.
The first time Patterson performed at the Dunedin theatre was at Rockquest in a rock band, he said.
