Double dance debut

An ancient sequence of nature and the space between fiction and reality are brought to life in Night Light – an evening of earthy contrast, to be presented by The New Zealand Dance Company (NZDC) in Christchurch on September 16.

Night Light shares double billing with another vibrant work, The Fibonacci and Uku – Behind the Canvas by two dynamic New Zealand choreographers.
From floating through time and space, observing nature’s mysterious golden spirals in Colombus’ The Fibonacci to grounding down with feeling in Elliott’s Uku – Behind the Canvas where confronting storytelling is at its most raw, these two divine performances delivered one after the other offer an evening of earthy contrast not to be missed.

NZDC Co-artistic Director and choreographer of The Fibonacci, Tor Colombus describes Night Light as “a reflective offering in response to this moment in time that we are collectively living through.’’

Co-artistic Director James O’Hara adds the dance “invites us to listen, consider, re-gather and also to celebrate how fortunate we are in New Zealand right now.”

“We are thrilled to share these two dynamically contrasting yet complementary works in this double bill originally commissioned by NZDC Founding Artistic Director, Shona McCullagh,” says O’Hara.

The Fibonacci by Colombus explores energy pathways through dance, sound, and place in relation to the mathematical Fibonacci sequence. With meditative movement, the work reveals a tapestry of pattern and form, which provokes a feeling of connection to something deeper than the detail of each individual action.

The world premiere of emerging Māori choreographer Eddie Elliott’s Uku – Behind the Canvas explores the power of vulnerability and the strength within struggle. With inspiration from visual artist Andy Denzler, Eddie draws from the pūrākau (storytelling) held within Te Ao Māori and weaves it with New Zealand Sign Language to reveal the complexity of his own human experience. Anticipation and intensity are at the heart of movement paired with cleansing uku (clay) which symbolises the relationship between Hineahuone and Tāne – where we have come from and to where we will return.