Haka on the Horizon: Māori contemporary dance and whare tapere

Abstract

The founding of the esteemed Atamira Dance Company (ADC) in 2000 signified a new wave of Mäori dance, integrating cultural strengthening with innovation. For instance, the distinguished and founding members of the ADC, Louise Potiki Bryant and Jack Gray, seized the opportunity to collaborate with the inspirational scholar Te Ahukaramü Charles Royal. This paper provides a glimpse into their combined efforts towards developing the breadth and depth of haka through their contribution to the whare tapere recovery. Principles and qualities of human-land synergy and the water deity Hineruhi informed the research; the cultural work reveals the experimental horizons of what Royal (2012) calls expressions of "new indigeneity". The invigoration of haka within the whare tapere tradition has stimulated creative direction for Mäori contemporary dance. Unique works by Potiki Bryant and Gray illuminate momentums of Mäori contemporary dance in Aotearoa New Zealand.