Tempo Dance Festival 2013

Overview

Concrete Playground has one double pass to give away to the October 12 Tempo 10th Anniversary Gala at 8:30pm. Email us at [email protected] with the subject line 'Tempo Gala' along with your name and mobile number to be in to win.

Celebrating its ten-year anniversary Tempo Dance Festival 2013 brings together a varied programme of New Zealand, Maori, World and contemporary events. Here are a few of the highlights.

It kicks off with its signature Maori Dance Showcase, Tuakana, featuring the New Zealand premiere of PURE created by Te Toki Haruru choreographer Charles Koroneho.  An intercultural performance drawn from the ritual activity of the Tohunga; the ritual body enveloped by the mythic. Images of alienation narrate ancestral tales of cultural upheaval and reluctant anonymity.

The 10^th Anniversary Gala Night brings together works from the Royal New Zealand Ballet, Michael Parmenter, Mary Jane O’Reilly, Charles Koroneho, Justin Haiu, The Hip Hop All Stars, Footnote Dance and many more.  A celebration of 10 dances for the 10 years of Tempo, it features artists and choreographers who have been part of the festival's illustrious first decade.

The New Zealand-China collaboration Fault Lines explores what is left after the shaking stops. Led by Christchurch locals Sara Brodie (director), Ross McCormack (assistant choreographer) and Mark McEntyre (designer), it was created with the dancers of the Leshan Dance Company of Southern China who experienced the devastating Sichuan earthquake of 2008.

Tempo 2013 sees the Auckland premiere of an original work by Tupe Lualua: Fatu Na Toto (Planted seeds). Presented by Pacific Dance NZ, Lualua explores the effects of migration expressed through the language of Siva Samoa and Samoan song. Fatu Na Toto is an interpretation of her family's story and what they discovered during their journey in search of a “better” life. In this work Lualua weaves a narrative with oratory, music, song and dance creating an uplifting, sometimes dramatic and moving portrayal of a story which sits close to the bone.