New Zealand's First Live, Outdoor Digital Dance Showcase to Light Up Tāmaki Makaurau Next Month
Published: Thursday 28 September, 2023
An extraordinary digital dance showcase, featuring a collection of films, real-time digital audience performances and an improvised, fan-directed dance battle between the most talented freestyle dancers in Aotearoa, will light up Auckland in October.
Tempo Te Rerenga o Tere, in partnership with Auckland Live, will bring Capture: Aotearoa’s first live Digital Dance Showcase to Tāmaki Makaurau for nine days from October 12. It will perform at Aotea Square and other central city spots.
The event showcases humankind’s oldest artform with a modern world expression; as an explosion of innovation, creativity and audience participation. Some of the country’s most celebrated artists are showing films, alongside exceptional, up-and-coming talent.
Tempo’s Cathy Livermore says the event captures a new era of dance-making, after artists were relegated to their living rooms during COVID. Many films being shown were created by dancers who pivoted their artistic expression to a digital medium during the pandemic.
The films will be shown on a giant screen, and in between showings audience members are invited to participate by creating their own real-time, cinematic dance designs through tech developed by the Blob Collective.
Cathy says: “Dance is innate in all of us, it is our first language; we dance in our mother’s bellies before we are even born. Dance has always provided a social connection and is like a medicine that brings humans together, to celebrate, to have fun, and to enjoy social connections.
“Capture brings the exponential growth in digital dance to our public spaces where audience members can see it, hear it, and enjoy their experiences of dance in new ways, all in the heart of Auckland.
“In today’s fast world, it’s too easy to become disconnected from your body, to forget what it is to live in a body and love and enjoy movement. We hope by showing Capture in the centre of Tāmaki Makaurau people will be reminded of the beauty, enjoyment, and sense of freedom that dance can ignite in the human spirit.
“And we are doing it all through the lens of innovation.”
The films will be shown on rotation, in Aotea Square and other CBD locations including Auckland Library. Artists include Freshman Dance Crew, Taane Mete, Daniel Belton, Charlene Tedrow, Oli Mathiesen, Threading Frames, Mary-Jane O-Reilly and many more. Topics range from exploring the delicacy of the insect world, to reimagined love stories, to volcanic eruptions in the Pacific.
There will also be an epic, one-off, audience-directed dance battle from The Projekt Team of Hip Hop freestylers. The event, called TECHnique, is a collaborative project with Blob Collective. The Projekt Team includes Happy Feet, who will represent Aotearoa at this year’s Worlds in Germany after winning the country’s first Red Bull Dance Your Style national competition.
Capture will also feature a live performance from the New Zealand Dance Company, which explores visual relationships between live dancing bodies and the screen.
About Tempo
Tempo has been showcasing inspirational dance artistry in Tāmaki Makaurau for more than two decades. It celebrates the vitality of dance in Aotearoa, offers dance artists a platform and infrastructure to present their work, and brings transformational dance experiences to diverse audiences and communities of all ages.
About Projekt Team
Projekt Team is New Zealand's biggest and freshest All Style Street Dance collective. Founded in 2014 by Joshua Mitikulena, Projekt Team is one of the leading collectives creating authentic opportunities for the Hip Hop and Street Dance freestyle community in Aotearoa . All members of the team have strong skills in freestyle and battles with a wealth of knowledge in specific street styles. Team members have experience teaching workshops, producing dance shows and hosting battle events across New Zealand. Our motto, 'People First. Dance Second', is reflected in all our events such as Projekt Feel Good, Loose Change, #TheSoundProjekt and Fusion Concept.
About Blob Collective
Blob Collective is a multi-disciplinary group of artists, creating interactive and vibrant art experiences with digital technologies. They explore playfulness and human connectivity, aiming to inspire the audience and create a positive impact in the community.
