Popular with [Tempo 08’s] opening week audiences were two works in progress presented by Atamira. Maaka Pepene’s darkly lit duet, Te Kore, beautifully danced by himself and Justine Pepene-Hohaia, at once explored the Creation realm of Māori tradition and the intimacy of procreation and birth. With a subtle ambient score by Tapua Heydon Hohaia, the dancers entwined and continually shifted their positions against the floor, drawing the audience into their tender embrace without any sense of voyeurism.

In utter contrast, Moana Nepia’s brightly lit Waiata Poi had the dancers dressed in alternating layers of bitter orange and bright pink netting attached to laced-up bodices for the women and bare chests for the men, suggesting at once postmodern ballet tutus, candy floss cones, fire poi, and a flock of chattering parrots.  [More]
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Some artists can make a dark thing light; dark, not as in lack of light, nor light as in superfluous humour but more about shades. In this performance of Atamira Dance Collective it seems more about the shades of time.

Maaka Pepene’s Te Kore, which opens this programme, is barely lit. Lighting designer Vanda Karolczak has a knack of lighting dance darkly and this sensuous, dancing loving between Pepene and Justine Pepene-Hohaia unfolds as the night makes way to day. This dance similarly releases us into an eclectic programme.

Each dance is an opportunity for a different choreographic exposure, not seamless but decidedly and richly entertaining.

Atamira dancers, like many of this country’s job and independent dancers, lack some of the finesse and movement ranges that I associate with high end contemporary dance theatre, but their exploration of Māoriness, of gesture and history, has an integrity which pulls their work back into excellence. Subtle, gestural reminders of ritualised movement remains at the forefront of their work and promotes opportunity after opportunity to dip deeply into the realms of expression that have made this dancing troupe what they are.

According to the programme notes, Jack Gray’s Maapuna was inspired by a recent trip to Hawaii. It is as though Gray has reached into a cellular self to find the traces of much older movement memories.

Louise Potiki Bryant’s most successful film so far again dips into the unconscious; the textures between natural forms and body shifting between shades of beauty, provoking rhythms as timeless as wind.

The Starlight Ballroom by Dolina Wehipeihana and Waimihi Hotere, though an uneasy fit with this show, suggests a desire for a more (or less?) visceral response too. Pepene’s acute sensitivity in his soulful singing and diatribes hold a question for me, about the nature of their work, their message, and about the opportunity for this performance vehicle to allow Atamira to most fully explore their artistic voices.

Guest choreographer Moana Nepia has works in two different programmes at the tempo dance Festival. Both well worth watching. It is really refreshing to see his work back out of the box. Waiata Poi is deliciously faulty, not that subtle, droll and fun, with lovely, lovely costumes … A crowd pleaser? I think so.

These dancers and choreographers have sent us a great show. It is deep, not so deep, dark but not dark. It’s great – a great tempo start for me anyway.

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