Atamira Dance Company

31/08/2026

Meet the choreographer behind YMCĀ

Oli Mathiesen (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Manu) is creating his first full-length commission for Atamira with YMCĀ.

Oli’s relationship with Atamira began in 2020, and since then he has contributed to the company in many ways, as a dancer, choreographer, educator and collaborator. From performing in Te Wheke and Ka Mua Ka Muri, to choreographing for Kaha-Tripleboost and supporting our education programme, Atamira has been a consistent part of his artistic journey.

In Oli’s words:

"Atamira has been a pou in my artistic development for many years. A place where my Māoritanga and dance practice have grown from the same roots. I feel incredibly lucky to return and create this work with the people who have transformed my existence, who I have danced beside from the beginning, who have witnessed every version of me along the way."

Now, after an extraordinary year of international work, including premiering Just Between Me and Jesus at Venice Biennale Danza 2026 and taking his award-winning The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave around the world, Oli returns to Atamira to create YMCĀ.

As a q***r Māori choreographer and dancer, Oli’s practice is shaped by his Indigenous, political, q***r and gendered perspectives. His work moves between performance, endurance, ritual and rave culture, creating spaces that challenge, connect and invite us to see differently.

YMCĀ marks a new chapter in a relationship that has been growing for years and we can’t wait to see where Oli takes us next.

Book now to see YMCĀ.

Tempo Dance Festival NZ
https://www.tempodancefestival.co.nz/events-2026/ymca

Nelson Arts Festival
https://nelsonartsfestival.nz/event/ymca/

📸 Jinki Cambronero

28/08/2026

Last week, Atamira had the privilege of performing as part of Kāhui Collective’s biggest Indigenous runway yet at New Zealand Fashion Week.

Kāhui brought together 16 Indigenous designers from Aotearoa and around the world, with this year’s runway centred on Te Taiao. For Atamira, it was a special opportunity to bring Māori contemporary dance into this space, alongside the incredible designers, artists and creatives who made the evening what it was.

Ngā mihi nui ki a koe KIRI NATHAN for inviting us into this kaupapa, and to the rest of Kāhui Collective for creating a space that celebrates Indigenous creativity, leadership and storytelling. Lastly, a huge mihi to MAJIC for your beautiful voice and waiata for us to embody.

Kākahu: KIRI NATHAN

Images supplied by Kiri Nathan

25/08/2026

Weriweri Ana!

Whānau Day | Kōanga Festival 2026
1pm - 1:30pm
Tokomanawa, Te Pou Theatre

Join us for a playful movement adventure inspired by Kei reira ngā Weriweri (Where the Wild Things Are). Tamariki will explore imagination, storytelling and creative movement as they stomp, leap, creep and roar their way through a fun contemporary dance workshop. Whānau are warmly welcome to join in as we create a wild dance together before taking our moves outside for a fun flash mob. Come dressed as your favourite wild creature and let your wild side run free!

Whānau Day is a fun-filled day with live music, theatre shows, workshops. kēmu, kai, kapa haka and pūrākau from around the world. There’s something for everyone to enjoy on Sat 12 Sept, 10am - 3pm at Te Pou Theatre!

📸 First image supplied by Due Drop Event Centre

20/08/2026

Atamira Dance Company are thrilled to announce the world premiere season of YMCĀ by acclaimed choreographer Oli Mathiesen (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Manu) at Te Rerenga o Tere | Tempo Dance Festival and Nelson Arts Festival this October.

A bold takatāpui rebirth of the Village People, YMCĀ parallels the pop culture icons through a discography of performed identities that interrogate the archetypes, the macho men, and the staging of q***rness and indigeneity. 1970s luxe meets 18th-century bloodshed - a disco interior with a cultural inferior.

Alluring, camp-soaked, and unapologetically original, YMCĀ invites audiences into a world where appropriation has never looked so good.

Te Rerenga o Tere | Tempo Dance Festival NZ
13 & 14 October | 8pm
Rangatira, Q Theatre
https://www.tempodancefestival.co.nz/events-2026/ymca

Nelson Arts Festival
31 October | 7:30pm
Theatre Royal Nelson
https://nelsonartsfestival.nz/event/ymca/

Kaikanikani – Abbie Rogers, Caleb Heke, Madi Tumataroa, Sharvon Mortimer, Tai Hemana, Toalei Pearl Roycroft
Kaihoahoa, Kaiwhakahaere Hanga Hōtaka | Production Design & Management – Filament Eleven 11

Campaign Creative Direction – Kaan Hiini
Photographer – Sophie Miya-Smith

17/08/2026

Exciting collaboration coming…

Both Atamira Dance Company and Thomas E.S. Kelly, Artistic Director of Karul Projects, are part of the PANNZ Arts Market whānau and we’re excited to see what this collaboration brings.

Thomas and Karul Projects have been in Aotearoa with Atamira, continuing an exciting new collaboration between two First Nations companies.

Led by choreographers Gabrielle Thomas and Thomas E.S. Kelly, the first creative development has brought artists together to share and interweave stories, movement, sound and ideas, with artists across generations working alongside one another in the studio.

As Atamira puts it, the work is becoming “something special”.

The first stage of development has now wrapped, with the artists heading back into the studio later this year as the work moves towards its premiere.
We’re excited to see where this one goes. Watch this space.

17/08/2026

We’re honoured to share that Atamira Dance Company has been commissioned by the National Arts Centre, Ottawa, Canada to create a short film as part of their series of digital films ‘Dancing the Land’.

We invited longtime collaborator and founder Louise Pōtiki Bryant to lead this new kaupapa titled Te Manawa o te Pōhutukawa, which we’ve been filming over the past week in Piha.

Pōhutukawa carries deep significance within te ao Māori. As rākau rangatira, our relationship with pōhutukawa is expansive. The kaupapa draws from Louise’s own longstanding connection with the pōhutukawa growing at the beach’s edge in Piha.

We’re excited to begin a new relationship with NAC Indigenous Theatre, joining Dancing the Land as the series reaches internationally to connect with Atamira here in Aotearoa.

Te Manawa o te Pōhutukawa

Kaitito Nekehanga | Choreographer, Kaitohu | Director & Kaiwāwāhi Matua | Editor
Louise Pōtiki Bryant

Kaikanikani | Dance Artists
Bianca Hyslop, Olivia McGregor & Abbie Rogers

Kaitito | Composer & Kaitohu Tango Whakaahua | Director of Photography
Paddy Free

Kaihoahoa Kākahu | Costume Designer
Madison Tumataroa

03/08/2026

What an honour it has been to welcome Gabrielle Thomas back into the Atamira whare. A longstanding member of the Atamira whānau, Gaby has helped shape the company’s artistic journey for nearly two decades as both a dancer and choreographer.

Over the past three weeks, Gaby has co-led the first creative development of our new collaboration with Thomas E.S. Kelly and Karul Projects Dance Theatre.

As the Atamira choreographer, Gaby has been exploring movement, sound and partnering, bringing her distinctive choreographic practice into the room. The space has also been filled with waiata throughout the process, adding another layer of connection to this mahi.

One of the things we value most at Atamira is our intergenerational community. Throughout this development, tuakana, mid-career, and emerging dance artists have all shared the same space - exchanging ideas while challenging, supporting, and growing one another’s artistic practice.

On Friday we wrapped the first stage of development, but we’ll be back in the studio later this year as this new work continues towards its premiere 👀

Atamira Kaikanikani: Abbie Rogers Yoga 🤸‍♂️, Sweat 🏋️‍♀️, Hauora 🌊 Caleb Heke Madison 🌺 Sean MacDonald Tai Hemana

📸 Julie Zhu｜朱常榛

27/07/2026

We still have one more week in the studio with kaitito nekehanga Gabrielle Thomas and we’re opening up morning class as usual.

Nau mai haere mai e te whānau, last open classes for a few months.

Ōpānuku Studio, Corban Estate Arts Centre �9:30am-10:45am �Kore utu | FREE

Tūrei 28 o Hūrae - Rachel Ruckstuhl-Mann
Wenerei 29 o Hūrae - Rachel Ruckstuhl-Mann
Tāite 30 o Hūrae - Caleb Heke
Paraire 31 o Hūrae - Tai Hemana

📸 Julie Zhu｜朱常榛

26/07/2026

This week we had the privilege of welcoming Karul Projects Dance Theatre into our studio for week two of wānanga in Tāmaki Makaurau as we continue collaborating on a new work.

It’s been a time of shared meals, big conversations, laughter, moments in te taiao, tamariki running through the studio, and generous indigenous creative exchange.

Collaboration isn’t easy. It asks us to be open, to trust, to listen, to challenge, and to be brave enough to dream something bigger than ourselves. This looks like learning from one another while building artistic excellence neither company could create alone.

These are the moments that sit beneath the work audiences will eventually see on stage, and we can’t wait to share where this journey leads!

📸 Julie Zhu｜朱常榛