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Mana Wahine

Ballet and Dance

Mana Wahine Tickets

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About

MANA WAHINE, Ōkāreka Dance Company's most iconic work, premiered in 2014 in Rotorua, and is now returning to Rotorua in March 2024 to celebrate its 10th Anniversary.
Inspired by two brave ancestral w?hine M?ori from Te Arawa; Kearoa and Te Aokapurangi, MANA WAHINE has continued to intrigue, captivate and move audiences all over the world since it's 2014 premiere.�
Therefore celebrating its 10th Anniversary highlights the longevity of this production; that New Zealand audiences still continue to experience high-quality art; and that MANA WAHINE, having been performed almost every year since 2014, is now about to launch into mainland America. With a tour of confirmed venues on the west coast of America and Canada, this launch will continue the international gain this work has achieved over its 10 year lifespan.

MANA WAHINE: AN ALL-FEMALE WORK THAT DRAWS STRENGTH FROM TRADITIONAL M?ORI CULTURE TO ILLUSTRATE A TAPESTRY OF DANCE, THEATRE AND FILM.
A choreographic collaboration between Taiaroa Royal, Malia Johnston and Taane Mete, these artists came together initially in 2012 to create a powerful collage of imagery and movement that transcends time and space. Death, life, land and creature inspires the 70min performance that emanates the life force of women. The true story of Te Aokapurangi, a young maiden from Mokoia Island, and the bravery of Kearoa, Te Aokapurangi's ancestor, both influence the story line of this production.�
Te Aokapurangi was captured in battle by a tribe from the far North. Many years later she returned and single handedly saved her people from slaughter.�
Whereas Kearoa stopped, with the sound of her voice, the brutal and manic incantations of her husband, Ng?toroirangi, that was sending the Te Arawa waka and the iwi on it, to their death down a whirlpool.
Both these w?hine tipuna have been the pivotal inspiration behind this work. The story of their love, courage, determination and fearlessness provided ?k?reka with the energy and inspiration to create a work with a vision of strength that empowers women around the world. MANA WAHINE is a commanding work that uplifts the spiritual status of �the woman� within us all; drawing inspiration from Maori myths and legends as well as true events that celebrate the courage and the power of women.�

MANA WAHINE is steeped in m?tauranga M?ori. With waiata, karakia, karanga, and tikanga infused in the performance.

�After 5 years of renovations and earthquake proofing, the newly opened Sir Howard Morrison Center in Rotorua provides a stunning backdrop for Rotorua audiences to attend live performances, and indeed return to see this work or to witness it for the first time.�

It is with pleasure that �k?reka returns the mana, strength and beauty of this production to the people of Te Arawa, celebrating not only their ancestors of past gone, but one of their own living treasures, ?k?reka's Artistic Director and Rotorua born and bred, Taiaroa Royal, a resident of Lake ?k?reka, Rotorua.