NZ Dance Company tours Language of Living

The New Zealand Dance Company

Language of Living

Westpac National Tour

April 29 – May 21

The New Zealand Dance Company’s tour of Language of Living brings together some of the best choreography, dancers and design direct to the heartland in a tour de force this April and May. Launching in Invercargill at the Southland Festival on April 29, the Language of Living National Tour will then head north with one-night-only performances in Christchurch, Nelson, New Plymouth and Tauranga.

Language of Living is the realisation of company founder and Artistic Director Shona McCullagh’s vision to create new connections to dance. As head choreographer for the 2011 Rugby World Cup’s opening ceremony McCullagh witnessed the amazing national and international response to the spectacle that celebrated New Zealand’s creativity.

This passion for creative endeavour saw The New Zealand Dance Company founded in 2011, which has quickly established a formidable reputation for cutting-edge choreography, a commitment to high production values and dancers of fierce physicality. The company’s vision is to attract new audiences to dance by demystifying the art form and fostering partnerships with other creative practitioners in fresh and inventive collaborations.

Language of Living presents a diverse programme of five, earthy, witty and beautiful works by five New Zealand choreographers. The performances provide audiences with a state of the art, integrated sound and lighting experience, along with a celebration of the different cultures within the company. “It’s the diversity of styles, genre, and design approach that makes this programme so accessible. I guarantee that everyone will discover a unique and personal connection to something unexpected within the evening’s programme,” McCullagh says.

One of the works on the programme, Human Human God, was described by this reviewer as "operatic in scope … full of inventive and evocative sequences with marvellous sculptural tableaux with a small group of dancers using their bodies to create shapes and patterns which expressed personal and collective turmoil."

The work by Sarah Foster-Sproull, is a poignant and comical piece about Generation Y by a Generation X-er and features an original music score by Motorcade’s Eden Mulholland.

The creative team behind the works comprises Andreas Mikellis (costumes), Gerbrand van Melle, (video), Matthew Marshall (light design) and Sue Gallagher (set design). The rich sound design of the show includes compositions by arts laureate Gareth Farr, Eden Mulholland, CPE Bach and South Auckland’s The Electric Boutique.

On its recent first international outing at the prestigious Holland Dance Festival, The New Zealand Dance Company received acclaim for the performances. While the Dutch press praised the rhythmic passion of the dancers, and particularly noted the theatricality of the company, the international audiences responded with standing ovations at every show.

“It’s great to be on the international stage, celebrated by European arts festival fans. But we are equally excited to be bringing our work to new audiences on our home turf and connecting with local young dancers through our Youth Engagement Programme known as YEP! In Tauranga and New Plymouth some of the region’s most talented young dancers will share the stage with us in company dancer Justin Haiu’s work, Release Your Robot, and we are holding YEP! workshops in Invercargill, Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, Wanganui, New Plymouth, Te Puke, Hamilton, Tauranga and Auckland,” McCullagh says.

The New Zealand Language of Living National Tour is presented by Westpac, with core funding from Creative New Zealand and sustaining support from ASB Community Trust.

Language of Living Performance Dates

April 29

Christchurch

Aurora Centre, Burnside College

May 3

Nelson

Theatre Royal

May 8

New Plymouth

TSB Showplace

May 21

Invercargill

Civic Theatre

May 14

Tauranga

Baycourt Community & Arts Centre