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  • Taurite 2022 Programme

hawaikitu presents



TAURITE



Creating and sharing our Indigenous narratives



Kei ngā maunga whakahī, ngā tai mihi tāngata, ngā awa whakatere taniwha, ngā mana o te whenua, toitū ki a koutou.


He tangi, he poroporoaki tēnei ki ngā mate o te wā, e ngā kanohi e kore e kite, koutou i whakangaro atu ki tua o te ārai, hoatu ki te pūtahitanga o rehua, ki te huihuinga o te kahurangi. Haere ngā mana, ngā nui, haere, haere atu rā.


Kāpiti hono tātai hono, rātou te hunga mate ki a rātou. Kāpiti hono tātai hono tātou te hunga ora ki a tātou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, ā, kāti rā, kia ora mai anō tātou katoa.


He mihi tēnei kia koutou e para nei i te huarahi o nga mātua tipuna. Ko te whakaaro i te mutunga ka whai koha tātou mo te orangatonutanga hei painga mo te iwi.


Nau mai, haere mai - we are delighted to have you join us for this show - it’s been a long time coming!



Hawaiki TŪ was formed eleven years ago as a platform to express and preserve ngā taonga tuku iho within performing arts. As kaihaka performers, trained in Kapa Haka, Hawaiki TŪ is grateful for the privilege of creating and sharing our Indigenous narratives in today’s climate. Tomo mai rā koutou e ngā ihorei o te whare tapere, tomo mai ki te kura takahi puni o nga mahi a Rēhia, e kakari kia ora ai te reo Māori me ā tātou tikanga Māori i tua atu i te āke, āke.


I wanted to create Taurite as an offering to humanity to help navigate a way through the challenges of life - and the multiple roles and responsibilities that we hold in the pursuit of life/work/whānau balance - by drawing on customary Māori practices as guide.


The journey we have been on to arrive here has been long and we encountered many challenges but we have drawn on the strength of our collective mauri and wairua to brave the storms and keep the waka moving forwards.



Thank you all for your support.



For me this show means that we are one step closer to fulfilling the legacy of our forebears; preserving whakapapa and taonga, and inspiring the generations of now into the future



THE CAST



Please meet the wonderful tāngata who make up our roopu



EDDIE ELLIOTT



Ngāti Maniapoto





A graduate of Unitec’s 2013 Performing and Screen Arts course, Eddie is a dancer and choreographer whose talent has taken him around the world. He has been nominated for numerous awards, including the iconic Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative and the 2014 I Am Auckland Awards, the Eileen May Norris scholarship and the Toi Tipu Toi Rea grant for the associate artist programme. Most recently, Eddie was awarded the Tup Lung Choreographic award which enabled him to premiere his first full length work at Auckland Arts Festival 2022: Waiwhakaata - Reflections in the Water, followed by his world premiere of Uku - Behind the Canvas as part of the New Zealand Dance Company’s double bill programming Nightlight. Since returning from the Nelson Arts Festival 2022 working under the direction of Charles Koroneho in the performance Ko Te Ākau, Eddie is currently choreographing for the Unitec 2022 end of year performance opening. He is excited to utilise his international experiences to perform in Taurite.





KIWA ANDREWS



Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Whātua ki Kaipara, Ngāti Hine





Kiwa is a graduate of Whitireia Community Polytechnic, Wellington (2012-2014). Having only chosen to pursue the arts after leaving high school, Kiwa immediately was sent to one of the most internationally recognised festivals in the world in Drummondville (Canada) in his first year at Whitireia. Following this, he participated in an international tour annually leading up to 2016, travelling to France, Taiwan, Australia and Macau. After graduating, Kiwa spent time working for multiple performance organisations including Te Pitowhenua, Black Grace and Manu Collective. His involvement with Hawaiki TŪ began in 2015 as part of the production Te Manawa and he has been an active member ever since. Musically trained and pitch perfect, Kiwa enjoys using his skills in waiata alongside his Cook Island dance, Siva Samoa and contemporary dance backgrounds to contribute to the company kaupapa.





KURA TE UA



Te Rarawa, Te Aupouri, Te Aitanga a Mahaki, Te Whakatohea, Tuhoe





Kura is the Artistic Director and Lead Choreographer of Hawaiki TŪ. With a BA in Dance & Māori performing arts, Kura is in her first year of PhD studies. As an established Māori practitioner and long-standing performer of the Kapa Haka group, Te Waka Huia, Kura has extensive performance experience representing Aotearoa on several overseas tours. She is the Artistic Director and Creative Producer of Autaia, a major event that supports schools to create their own haka theatre productions. Kura recently toured the USA with renowned NZ Dance company Black Grace. Her passion is inspired by a desire to positively shape and preserve the integrity of Māori and indigenous performing arts for the ultimate well-being of whānau, hāpori, iwi & hapu.







MARCUS REIHANA



Ngāpuhi





Marcus is a loyal member of Hawaiki TŪ having now been with the company for over 10 years. Beginning with extensive training at the Hawaiki TŪ academy, he has proceeded to become a highly valued performer in many Hawaiki TŪ productions. Marcus’ deep love for Māori performing arts has led him to teach as a kaiako for the past three years at Hoani Waititi where he draws on his lifetime experience as a Kaihaka within Te roopu kapa haka o Ngā Tumanako and deep passion for Te Ao Māori me ona tikanga. With a bachelor degree in Māori performing arts and a post-graduate degree in teaching Marcus is committed to contributing to the arts industry and education to inspire the next generation to continue forging forward with the taonga that lie in Māori performing arts.





NGAKIRIKIRI KERSHAW



Ngāti Ruanui, Ngati Porou, Waikato Tainui, Te Rarawa





Ngakirikiri was raised in Kapa Haka, with her parents being in Te Roopū Manutaki, paving the way for her and her siblings in matauranga Māori. She has had experience performing in children’s television shows, performing on stage and travelling internationally to share Te Ao Māori with other cultures in places such as Belgium, the Philippines, Brazil, Poland and Hawaii. In 2016, Ngakirikiri was invited to join Hawaiki TŪ’s CMPA programme and fell in love with the fusion of Haka, dance, acting, singing and kaupapa. Cast as the lead role of Te Mauri in Hawaiki Tū’s Te Manawa she toured Aotearoa New Zealand before then repeating the role in 2017 at the ASB Waterfront Theatre. She notes “Some of the best years of my life have been with Hawaiki TŪ. I am so excited to be back and working with our whānau for this show, paving the way for our rangatahi who love to perform, sing, create, dance”.



RICKYLEE RUSSELL-WAIPUKA



Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Kahungunu





Rickylee is best known for her role as Chardonnay in Boy directed by Taika Waititi, as well as roles in Waka Warriors, This Is Piki and more recently Vegas and Beyond The Veil. Rickylee came from a world of ballet, tap, jazz and kapa haka which led her to joining Hawaiki TŪ in 2016. With an established background in theatre with Te Rehia Theatre Company Ltd and Auckland Theatre Company. Rickylee continued to share her love for the arts throughout Canada performing and facilitating cultural workshops at Sākihiwē, Edge Of The World Festival and many others. Rickylee is passionate about sharing Māori and other First Nations stories through the arts, film and television, whilst ensuring the appropriate voices are at the table when it comes to safeguarding culture. Rickylee believes in order to continue to grow and create meaningful works, genuine partnerships that equally empower one another are imperative.



SHERRICK RANGITAKATU MARTIN



Tuhoe, Whakatohea, Te Arawa, Ngāti Maniapoto





Sherrick is a creative movement artist and University of Auckland Dance Studies graduate, currently studying for his Masters. He specialises in Māori contemporary dance and dance theatre, street dance styles, commercial dance styles, modern contemporary dance, Haka theatre and Pacific fusion dance. Sherrick is also a Te Ao Māori researcher, exploring the realms of tikanga and matauranga Māori centered narratives; pre-colonial and post futuristic ritualistic practices. He is an emerging independent choreographer, creative director, and producer; creating multimodal movement artistic work for community events and festivals. Sherrick works as a freelance teacher and educator facilitating movement workshops around Aotearoa in schools and various community group centers alongside being Associate Creative Director of Nappyboyz street dance company, and a dancer with NZX-NEXT



PIKAU MANGU



Ngāpuhi, Rotuma





Pikau is a proud descendant of Aotearoa and Fiji. She enjoys embodying & expressing her Māoritanga through maurakau (poutahi), kapa haka (Polyfest, Ahurea) and has performed two years in a row for Autaia. Pikau is tuakana to 5 siblings & at 17 years young finishing year 13 at Te kura kaupapa Māori o Te Kotuku.












KAIĀIO TE WAATI



Te Rarawa, Te Aupouri, Te Aitanga a Mahaki, Te Whakatohea, Tuhoe







Raised in the many worlds of Kapa Haka, performing arts, Te Ao Māori and Te Ao Pākeha, KaiĀio recently stood with his rōpu to perform and blew his māmā away with his commitment to the craft. Unsurprisingly, he’s a natural. KaiĀio ia a taonga of Hawaiki TŪ, bringing laughter, joy and light to the company, all of whom love him and draw strength from his focus and determination to give everything to his performances.












MUSIC BY MAIMOA



L-R :Raniera Blake, Nathaniel Howe, Hoeata Maxwell-Blake, Kaaterama Pou, Mereana Teka, Pere Wihongi, Meto Peke, Awatea Wihongi.



Ngā toa o te tohu kaiwaiata Māori ki ngā tohu pūoro o Aotearoa 2020, mo tō rātou kōpae waiata ‘Rongomaiwhiti’. Ko rātou ngā whetū o te whakaaturanga Waiata Nation. Te kiriata tiriata i tino mātakahia e Aotearoa 2017, mō te waiata ‘Wairua’. Ko te kaupapa o kapa he whakarauora i te reo Māori mā te waiata Kaiwhakapuare i te pēne o Six60 Aotearoa 2021 Māori Pop Group Maimoa broke into the music industry by knocking megastar Justin Timberlake off the No.1 spot on iTunes in 2016 with their debut single ‘Maimoatia’. They then became New Zealand's Most Watched Youtube video clip of 2017 with their smash hit ‘Wairua’ which won Māori Language Radio AirPlay Award 2018 at the Waiata Māori Music Awards, winning the award back-to-back in 2019 with their single ‘Kawea’ and taking away the Rangatahi/Youth award at the National Māori Language awards 2019. In 2020, Maimoa self-produced, self-directed and co-starred in their own television series Waiata Nation, broadcast on Māori Television, releasing their first album ‘Rongomaiwhiti’ which led them to win Best Māori Artist at the Aotearoa Music Awards 2020. Their goal is to help revitalise Te Reo Māori through music. Anei a Maimoa Music!




PRODUCTION TEAM





Kura Te Ua - Director
Katrina Chandra - Producer
Calvin Hudson - Lighting Designer/Operator
Dan Mace - Projection Designer
Joel Orme - AV Operator
Gibby Harris - Waiata/sound/music production
Kirk Torrance - Dramaturg
Matt Gillanders - Videographer
Natalie Williams - Marketing & Publicity
Papa Rereata Makiha - Kaiarataki Tohunga Māori
Pere Wihongi - Waiata composition/Kaihaka
Peter Jennings - Photographer
Rewa Worley - Kaituhi
Teiaro Taikato - Stage Manager
Rona Ngahuia Osborne - Set and Kākahu



NGĀ MIHI NUNUI



A huge thanks to all our whānau/whānui, friends and Hawaiki TŪ company who have supported us all through this journey! Special thanks to: Antonia TM Richardson, Bodhi Twilley, Carol Harding, Celeste Sweeney, Chala Chase, Elizabeth Cocks, Jenny Stevenson, Keahe Makekau, Leisha Conrad, Louise Potiki Bryant, Neil Ieramia, Ngā Puna o Waiorea (especially Pa Chris Selwyn, Whaea Tracey Watkinson and Kelly Henare-Te Kare), Paddy Free, Point England School, Tāwera Ormsby, Tia Ormsby, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hoani Waititi Marae, Willa Cameron and University of Auckland School of Dance and Songbroker Music Publishing for licensing Te Pō (Pitch Black Remix) by Richard Nunns, Hirini Melbourne and Pitch Black,Kono Wines, Te Manu Huia, Charles Koroneho, Ross McCormack, Grant Mouldey and Red Leap Theatre





Also our endless grateful thanks to our Sponsors



FLAVA, NZME, Creative New Zealand, Auckland Live, TAPAC and Q Theatre.



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