International choreographer to attend Pacific Dance Fono

Papua New Guinean Australian choreographer, Julia Mage’au Gray, will be the featured guest artist at this year’s Pacific Dance Fono in Manukau.

Moving between traditional and contemporary worlds through dance is the theme of this year’s national fono.

Being held at three venues as part of Manukau Festival of Arts 09, the fono will be a national gathering of Pacific dance practitioners between 2 and 14 November.

Following humble beginnings in 2006, the fono now encompasses two major components in addition to Ms Mage’au’s attendance. A choreographic lab will provide three selected choreographers with a studio, a mentor, dancers and funds to develop a new dance work.

The two-day fono programme will feature master dance classes in various Polynesian dance forms, a hip hop dance workshop,  a series of panel discussions, professional development workshops and presentation of three new works.

“I had always wanted the fono to be able to provide capacity building capabilities for the Pacific community and now it can, through the choreographic lab,” says Sefa Enari, director of the fono.

“The inclusion of our international guest choreographer is also a sign of the outreach and network capabilities of the sector.”

Leisa Siteine, manager of Manukau Arts, is pleased to see the fono being held in Manukau for the first time. “Manukau is brimming with Pacific culture and knowledge and it’s exciting to see traditional and contemporary dance being explored and developed during Manukau Festival of Arts.”

The Pacific Dance Fono is presented by Manukau City Council in partnership with DANZ (Dance Aotearoa New Zealand), as well as the newly formed Pacific Islands Dance Forum, along with sponsorship from Creative New Zealand.

Pacific choreographers and dancers are invited to apply for the choreographic lab and complete a ‘call for submissions’ form.