Themes of creation, the sea, earth and energy sound ambitious, but that's what choreographers and dancers have tackled in Nga Hau e Wha.
The work is influenced by Maori legends, and the title translates as the four winds or the four corners of the earth, but dancers Taiaroa Royal and Taane Mete have interpreted it as the four elements.
"It's not really a narrative. The first section is Wind and also refers to the creation of man out of dust," explains Royal in a telephone interview from Wellington.
He and other members of the eight-strong company are working on World of Wearable Arts in Wellington until two days before they open in King's and Queen's Performing Arts Centre in Dunedin on September 9 as part of the Otago Festival of the Arts.
The second section, Water, pays homage to Tangaroa, the strength of the sea and the contrasting gentleness of the ebb and flow of currents.
"The swirling of kelp suggests a feminine energy whereas the big waves that crash on the rocks on the shore are more masculine, so it's basically a combination of masculine and feminine, and it also pays homage to Rotorua and its sulphuric bubbling water."
Earth, which was choreographed by Ross McCormack, explores ideas of the earth as Mother Nature, and the creation of woman when Tanemahuta breathes life into her and she becomes one of his wives.
"It also has an underlying comment about how the earth is at the moment with all the earthquakes and disturbances that are happening globally," he said.
"The final section is Fire and it's basically about the underlying power we all feel when we are faced with a situation - when the adrenaline is flowing and we feel excitement or fear or whatever. There's a kind of similarity between that feeling and fire."
In kapahaka performance, when the dancers widened their eyes and poked out their tongues, it symbolised ihi, the fire in the belly, the energy of performance, he said.
"It's not necessarily a Maori thing. Everything has its own energy and the final section is basically about that."
The show, which he describes as provocative and powerful, includes audiovisual projections on the floor.
Royal (51) grew up at Okareka near Rotorua, and although he loved dancing as a child, didn't realise he could make a career of it. However, after two years of a horticulture degree at Massey, he auditioned for the national ballet school (now the New Zealand School of Dance) and gained a place. Since then he's made a career out of dancing, first with Limbs, then as a freelancer.
In 2007 he and Taane Mete formed Okareka Dance Company to fuse contemporary dance with other genres and Maori themes.
Nga Hau e Wha premiered last year and is being revived for the Otago Festival of the Arts and to tour to Christchurch and Auckland.
The show
Nga Hau e Wha, an Okareka Dance Company and Strata Creative Production performs at King's and Queen's Performing Arts Centre, Dunedin, on October 9 and 10 at 6.30pm. www.otagofestival.co.nz.
