He Huia Kaimanawa - Preview Season

Bianca Hyslop and Rowan Pierce are proud to present this preview season of He Huia Kaimanawa at Te Raukura ki Kāpiti in Paraparaumu this December in the lead up to it's official premiere at Auckland Arts Festival 2023.

-

He whakaaroha, ā, he kōtuinga tairongo o te nukuhanga, o te reo, o te whaitua me ngā hangarau mariko.

He mea huataki e Bianca Hyslop, kaitito nekehanga, rāua ko Rowan Pierce, kaihoahoa, a He Huia Kaimanawa. He whakaari mataora e urupare ana i te maieatanga, te tūhuratanga me te whakamānawatanga o te Reo Māori.

Ka titiro whakamuri ki ō mua rā me te kauneke whakamua ki te āpōpō, ā, ka puea ake i te whakaari ēnei mea te rirohanga me te whakahokinga, waihoki, he whakanui i te mahi a te tini nāna i para te huarahi e ora tonu ai te Reo Rangatira.

He whakamātakitaki tū ana te ihi, hītaratara ana te kiri a He Huia Kaimanawa, ka mutu, he toronga nō te whatumanawa rawa ki te whakaūkaipō anō i te reo i riro.

-

A poignant and affecting synergy of movement, voice, spatial design and virtual technologies.

Initiated by choreographer Bianca Hyslop and designer Rowan Pierce, He Huia Kaimanawa is a new performance experience that responds to the resurfacing, reclaiming and honoring of Te Reo Māori.

Through the gathering of real life stories it confronts accounts of loss and reclamation that are shared by so many across Aotearoa. These accounts are deeply resonant for all who call Aotearoa home.

Looking to the past as we move into the future, the work brings to light these stories of loss and reclamation while celebrating the work of the many who have carved the path for the ongoing revitalisation of Te Reo Rangatira.

Presented as a series of imagined realities, He Huia Kaimanawa brings into focus the importance and challenges this revitalisation process is facing in an increasingly virtual world.

Visually potent and experientially impactful, it is a visceral exploration of learning Te Reo Māori as second language learners.

Creative team:
Co-Director/Choreographer/Performer: Bianca Hyslop (Te Arawa, Ngāti Whakaue, Tūhourangi-Wāhiao)
Co-Director/Designer: Rowan Pierce (Ngāti Pākehā)
Mātanga Matauranga Māori/Co-devisor/Composer/Performer: Tūī Matira Ranapiri Ransfield (Ohomairangi, Te Arawa, Tainui, Mataatua, Arai-te-uru-, Tākitimu, Manuka,
Kurahaupō)
Co-devisor/Performer: Nancy Wijohn (Te Rarawa, Ngāi Tūhoe, Te Arawa-Ngāti Tahu, Ngāti Whaoa)
Co-devisor/Performer: Kelly Nash (Ngā Puhi, Ngāi Te Rangi)
Co-devisor/Performer: Samara Te Aniwa Reweti (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi, Te Arawa)
Stage Manager: Lucie Camp (Ngāti Pākehā)

Bianca Hyslop and Rowan Pierce
Bianca Hyslop (Te Arawa, Ngāti Whakaue, Tūhourangi-Wāhiao) and award winning artist Rowan Pierce are practitioners at the forefront of their respective fields of contemporary dance/movement and performance design/live art. Based in Aotearoa/New Zealand, both artists have extensive experience and have gained success working independently as well as with top performing arts companies in Aotearoa and abroad. Companies include Atamira Dance Company, Movement of The Human, New Zealand Dance Company, Okareka Dance Company and World of Wearable Arts.

This collaborative partnership is self-produced and together the pair create work that pushes beyond any one form of performing arts practice. Their work is an immersive performance experience that utilises various forms of storytelling including image, movement, sound, spatial/object design and beyond. This results in a universal performative language that defies genres and opens live performance experience to new and broader audiences.