THIRD year New Zealand School of Dance student Kimiora Grey can’t believe she’s been given the chance to work with some if the best this country has produced.
The 20 year old is one of eight dancers in a new work from the Okareka Dance Company, Nga Hau E Wha, (The Four Winds) being staged at the recently opened Te Whaea Theatre in Newtown this week.
The Okareka Dance Company was formed four years ago by dancing luminaries Taane Mete and Taiaroa Royal. The pair had envisaged their latest work would feature only male dancers but this changed when they began working with fellow choreographer Ross McCormack.
“Ross saw me dancing at the school and I was offered a part in this work,” Grey says. “I feel privileged.”
Grey joins Mete, Taiaroa and five other dancers in what is Okareka’s most ambitious work. The larger number of people involved has seen a collaborative approach to its creation.
“We’ve only had six weeks to create the work and we’ve all had a lot of input as we’ve workshopped it,” Grey says. “Eden Mulholland [from Kiwi band Motocade] has also worked with us live to create some stunning music. I’ve really enjoyed the whole process.”
Nga Hau E Wha is a contemporary dance work steeped in Maori legend, culture and spiritual stories. But Grey says the piece is also culturally diverse with Maori, Pakeha and Asian dancers bringing a multicultural aspect to the work. The piece is divided into four acts titled after the four classical elements – wind, water, earth and fire – which Grey says could also represent the four corners of the earth.
“It’s a spiritual story that is of and from New Zealand but its message is one that everybody can understand” Grey says.
Nga Hau E Wha, Te Whaea Theatre, National Dance and Drama Centre, June 29 – July 9.