Te Wheke — Atamira Dance Company
Regent Theatre, Dunedin
Wednesday, October 19
REVIEW BY PENNY NEILSON
Atamira's artistic director Jack Gray and executive director Marama Lloyd have delivered a masterpiece. Te Wheke is the culmination of eight choreographers, eight dancers, 21 years of history and a huge body of work to celebrate this boundary-pushing and dynamic contemporary Maori dance company. First created in 2021, and including excerpts from previous works, Te Wheke was conceived out of shared experiences of the pandemic and the need for a sense of collective wellbeing. This work uses te wheke (the octopus) as its inspiration. The octopus represents family health: the head is the whanau; the eyes, waiora and the eight tentacles each representing a different aspect; Mauri, Whanaungatanga, Wairua, Whatumanawa, Hinengaro, Mana Ake, Tupuna and Tinana.
The stage is shrouded in darkness and has several lengths of black silk suspended from the rigging above the stage; the silks themselves becoming the ninth character at times — subtle yet striking set design by John Verryt. The lighting and AV design (Vanda Karolczak and Louise Botiki-Bryant respectively) along with sound design by Paddy Free created an amazing emotive composition and lushness.
The cast of eight dancers perform solo, as duos, all together or any number in-between. The work is lyrical, athletic, powerful, incredibly moving and almost balletic. The Mana Ake with Oli Mathiesen was an absolute standout. His frenetic and consuming solo completely blew the audience away. Nancy Wijohn, is always a powerhouse, but Cory-Toalei Roycroft was captivating. It seemed she was charged by an electrical current.
Te Wheke is indeed a legacy work, but a legacy that will continue for many, many years. Really cannot wait for the next one, Atamira.
