Atamira Dance Company

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Atamira Dance Company

Atamira Dance Company is the leading creator & presenter of Māori contemporary dance theatre in NZ

Atamira Dance Company are leading international creators of Māori contemporary dance and performance. We are based in Aotearoa New Zealand, a remote and wild landscape where indigenous Māori stories are a powerful voice in the arts locally and increasingly, internationally. As a dance collective, we offer a rich and diverse programme guided by high calibre choreographers. Our research-based practi

ce keeps us at the forefront of cultural and technical innovation, a process of deep collaboration and genuine openness to risk-taking and experimentation. Single choreographic dance works are the heartbeat of the company, which we perform at international arts festivals across the globe. Audiences have experienced unforgettable performances by dancers driven by a strong vision. We are here to celebrate and share our Māori culture through the arts, and to grow the arts through cultural innovation. As well as single dance works, we have created a number of important large-scale performances in collaboration with other arts organisations.

12/06/2026

Today, Atamira was privileged to tautoko the next rōpū pakihi embarking on the Te Puna Business Growth Programme.

As part of the inaugural cohort in 2025, we know firsthand the value of having dedicated time to pause, assess, and evolve. Through expert mentorship, one-on-one support, and kaupapa Māori-led approaches to business development, the Te Puna team led by Kila Haitana and the affiliated providers of Dentons, Oho, and Manawa Udy strengthened our foundations and challenged us to think strategically, alongside other like-minded pakihi.

“Te Puna arrived at exactly the right moment for Atamira. It gave us the space to reflect on our organisational practices and identify opportunities for development. A year on, many of those learnings still influence how we work, and it’s special to see the programme continue to flourish.”
Ashley M. David
Atamira Kaiwhakahaere | General Manager

These images are from our closing celebration last year. Before long, this year’s cohort will be completing their own journey. Kia kaha to everyone beginning the programme, we wish you all the very best.

Te Puna Creative Hub

10/06/2026

Movement for Matariki
 Monday 6 - Thursday 9 July 2026

The rising of Matariki invites us to pause, reconnect, and come together.

Over four days, we’ll be offering a series of movement sessions designed to create space for connection, joy, reflection, and shared experience. A chance to mark this special time of year as a community.

Created especially for Matariki, these sessions are open to everyone. With offerings for all ages and experience levels, including whānau friendly sessions where tamariki are welcome, there’s something for everybody.

Programme details, session times, and facilitators will be announced next week 👀

Nau mai, haere mai - we hope you’ll join us.

Mānawatia a Matariki ✨

08/06/2026

When Ranginui and Papatūānuku were separated, light entered the world for the first time. Before illumination came Hīnātore - the first flicker, signalling possibility and the promise of what was yet to emerge.

As a tuakana platform for Māori contemporary dance, our role is to create space for Māori artists to follow that spark and bring new possibilities into the world.

This year, we’re excited for a new Atamira commission that supports one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most exciting new choreographic voices: Oli Mathiesen (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Manu).

Oli’s relationship with Atamira began after graduating from Unitec, later creating work through ‘KAHA – Tripleboost’ and touring internationally with ‘Te Wheke’.

Fresh from the success of ‘The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave’ at Edinburgh Fringe and across Australia, and recently selected from nearly 700 international applicants for a choreographic commission at the Venice Biennale Danza, Oli is part of an exciting generation of artists shaping the future of contemporary performance.

It feels pretty special to continue walking alongside Oli’s artistic journey and to support the next chapter of their work.

Watch this space. We’ll be sharing more about this new kaupapa soon 👏🏽

20/05/2026

Three incredible projects led by leading Māori dance artists from the wider Atamira whānau are currently crowdfunding, each creating inspiring and important mahi.

If you’re able, now is a great time to tautoko. These campaigns are in their final stretch…

Rua i Te by Te Toki Haruru
 An international exchange project spanning Canada and Poland, grounded in indigenous creativity, performance, research, and cultural exchange - led by . Only 8 days left to support!

KRD Strip 2.0 Development Season by Ōkāreka Dance Company
 A new development season bringing together some of Aotearoa’s finest LGBTQI+ q***r artists to reimagine the iconic KRD STRIP – A Place To Stand. Lead by and only 8 days left to support!

Oli Mathiesen Venice Biennale Danza 2026
 Funding will support Oli Mathiesen and a team of Aotearoa artists to create and present a bold new work at one of the world’s most prestigious dance festivals, Venice Biennale Danza 2026. Supported by a powerful collection of co-production, venue and commissioning partners. The campaign runs until 17 July.

Every koha helps these artists continue creating ambitious, world-class work grounded in community, identity, and storytelling.

Please consider donating, sharing, and backing these kaupapa. Links to the boosted or givealittle campaigns in our bio.

19/05/2026

After returning from a successful tour in Te Tai Tokerau, we’re straight back onto the studio with open classes on offer from tomorrow.

As always, nau mai haere mai e te whānau!

Tāhū,  9am-10:15am  Kore utu | FREE

Wenerei 20 o Mei - .heke
Tāite 21 o Mei -
Paraire 22 o Mei -

Mane 25 o Mei -
Tūrei 26 o Mei -
Wenerei 27 o Mei -
Tāite 28 o Mei -

17/05/2026

Kua ea te kaupapa! 🤎

As our Te Tai Tokerau tour of Rongo Whakapā comes to a close, we’re sitting with deep gratitude for everyone who carried and held this kaupapa with us.

Ānei te mihi ki ngā iwi o Whangārei Te Rerenga Parāoa, Kerikeri, Kaitāia, me te mana o te whenua i manaaki i a mātou i tēnei haerenga.

He mihi hoki ki ngā whare manaaki , , Te Ahu, me ngā ringa rehe, the many hands behind the scenes whose support and care helped bring this tour to life.

He mihi anō ki ngā kura o Te Tai Tokerau, thank you for welcoming us so openly into your spaces. We loved sharing kanikani me te kōrero with all your rangatahi. Ko rātou te anamata.

He mihi nui ki ngā ringatoi. Ki a koe e , thank you for your aroha, commitment, and for bringing this work into the world. It was a gift to have you dance within it. , for your exquisite talents and the world you created through space and light, and for the soundscape that continues to carry both dancers and audiences. Dream team 🤍

Ki ngā hāpai o muri, to the production team, thank you for your care, dedication and all the long hours poured into this kaupapa. We see you .reynaud, Kaea.

Ā, kā mutu, he mihi aroha ki a koutou ngā kaikanikani. Thank you for all you bring and all you give. Ko koutou te whakatinanatanga o te kaupapa!

“To leave Rongo Whakapā is not to exit, but to carry. It lingers in the skin, in the breath, in the spaces between thought.” — Vincent Nathan

Mauri ora.

11/05/2026

“Rongo Whakapā arrives not as performance, but as invocation, a deliverance of intimacy that presses itself into the body.”
Vincent Nathan

Kaitaia, you’re next.

After a beautiful weekend resting in Ahipara, we’re excited to share Rongo Whakapā with you in the final stop of our Te Tai Tokerau tour.

Nau mai e te whānau. Hokona ngā tīkiti 🎟️

https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2026/rongo-whakapa-kaitaia/kaitaia

Kaitaia
Te Ahu
13 – 14 May

📸

06/05/2026

“A sensual, deliberate unfolding of intimacy that refuses to be forgotten. It will live long in the eyes of those who tasted it.”
Vincent Nathan

Kerikeri, we open tomorrow night at the Turner Centre.

After a beautiful community workshop yesterday and a morning of school workshops with rangatahi, we’re looking forward to sharing Rongo Whakapā with you all.

Limited tickets left - hokona ngā tīkiti 🎟️

Kerikeri
Turner Centre
7 – 8 May

📸 Nimmy Santhosh

04/05/2026

Kua hinga te tōtara i Te Waonui-a-Tāne

Atamira acknowledges the passing of Carla van Zon.

Carla was a vibrant and influential figure in the arts ecology of Aotearoa, a former dancer, festival director, and lifelong advocate for artists whose work shaped pathways for dance, theatre, and performance across the country. She championed bold ideas, backed artists with conviction, and created space for work to be seen and to thrive.

Her connection to Atamira sits within this wider legacy. Carla was a strong supporter of our work, encouraging opportunities that enabled new creation, including her advocacy for Track Zero, which contributed to Ka Tiri o te Moana by Louise Pōtiki Bryant.

Through her mentorship of founding member and now Co-Chair Dolina Wehipeihana, and her connection to Māori contemporary dance, including Taiao in the 1980s - a lineage also held within our team through Creative Producer Marama - Carla remained connected to a continuum that continues to shape the field.

We acknowledge the role she played in supporting artists and the work - a contribution that continues to ripple through our community.

Just two weeks ago, Carla was sharing and supporting our current touring work. A fearless advocate for artists to the very end. You will be deeply missed, Carla.

Our aroha goes to Gregg and the whānau.

E te māreikura, moe mai rā

03/05/2026

For one special evening in Whangārei, Atamira trialled an audience-response performance for Rongo Whakapā.

We invited audiences to not only watch, but to take part in real time through drawing, writing, photographing, filming, with the freedom to move through the space.

It was beautiful to witness. People sat on the floor with pastels and notebooks, quietly drawing and writing. Others captured the work from their own perspective, creating their own responses to what was unfolding.

E mihi ana ki a koutou ngā kaimātakitaki. Thank you to everyone who joined us with openness and curiosity.

Ka nui te mihi hoki ki a ONEONESIX. A huge thank you to the whare and the community that held us this week.

Next stop, Kerikeri. Join us at the Turner Centre next week. Hokona ngā tīkiti 🎟️

https://www.iticket.co.nz/events/2026/may/rongo-whakapa

📸 Nimmy Santhosh

Address

Corbans Estate Arts Centre, 2 Mount Lebanon Lane
Waitakere

Website

http://www.atamiradance.co.nz/

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