For Dancing Ōtepoti artists, perching on barnacle-covered rocks in a stiff nor-easter is the perfect place to respond to the environment in intuitive, physical, and playful ways.

Dancing Ōtepoti is a contemporary dance project rooted in its environment. Special sites in the area are identified and the dancers work with musician Alan Starrett and filmmaker James Rigby to perform a short creative response to each place.

The Ōtepoti-based dance artists - Miriam Marler, Anna Noonan, Neža Jamnikar, Kilda Northcott, Bennedikte Onaheim-Smith – bring with them a wealth of national and international experience in dance, choreography, and movement. 

Rather than working from set steps or stylistic moves, each dancer explores the space spontaneously and intuitively. Feelings and thoughts elicited by the site are expressed through the medium of the dancers’ bodies, whose movements are shaped by the natural and man-made environment, as well as the stories that each place holds.

Short films of the dance works will form the basis of the public installation of Dancing Ōtepoti. This will also provide opportunities for members of the public to take part in dance workshops, seminars, and public discussions about the project.

Project organiser, dance practitioner and educator Ali East hopes that bringing danced landscapes into the city will promote conversations about how we perceive and respond to our surroundings in and through our bodies.

Dancing Ōtepoti is still finalising its location and dates. Keep an eye out for information about this project on the Ara Toi Instagram account, @aratoiotepoti, The Star, and other community media outlets.