Pōtaka Nautilus & Pepe offer a cultural time capsule focussing on the musicianship and beauty of taonga pūoro in dialogue with contemporary dance and cinema performed within the stunning setting of Hamilton Garden's Surrealist Garden.

Digital shells become virtual stages carrying our dancers in Pōtaka Nautilus, as they navigate coastal zones of Aotearoa New Zealand. The kōauau pūpū harakeke and pūtātara are highlighted in this first work, which explores the pelagic acts of voyaging and coming to land. Everything is movement.

In the second work (Pepe), we are acquainted with a solo traveller who signifies both the male and female aspects of Hineraukatauri. Hineraukatauri, atua of traditional musical instruments, is the kaitiaki of all flutes or kōauau from the taonga pūoro family. The motif of the case moth is evoked as dance combines with taonga pūoro, craft and digital media.

The frequencies of taonga pūoro transmute our dance, and this relationship is reciprocal. Pepe & Pōtaka Nautilus explore human existence as part of eternal cycles. They suggest a ritual where echoes of the past resonate in a universal view of the present. Pōtaka Nautilus & Pepe transmit a matrix of filmed kanikani, intertwined with taonga pūoro as journeys of metamorphosis for this live transmission and performance activation from Mahina Kingi-Kaui and Ariana Tikao (live taonga pūoro) with Daniel Belton (live keyed AV) and the Good Company Arts team (virtual).

To complete the evening, our widely acclaimed work OneOne (featuring recordings of the late Richard Nunns playing taonga pūoro), will wrap up this programme as a trilogy event. Kingi-Kaui and Tikao will accompany Belton, playing into the OneOne soundtrack and projected film visuals in this high-energy finale.

"Mā te whiritahi, ka whakatutuki ai ngā pūmanawa ā tāngata. Together weaving the realisation of potential"

Seating provided