Pōhutu

How do you convey the shifting nature of memory? Pōhutu is an ode to the human experience that navigates time, memory, place and loss.

This high-impact dance performance is a powerful collaboration between choreographer Bianca Hyslop (Te Arawa, Ngāti Whakaue, Tūrourangi, Ngāti Wāhiao) and multi-award-winning performance designer and artist Rowan Pierce.

Bianca’s grandmother, Ramari Rangiwhiua Morrison (Ginger) is at the heart of this narrative, reflecting on her life’s stories and connection to her ancestral whenua.

Pōhutu artfully incorporates image, movement and sound to mirror Ginger’s shapeshifting mind as she grapples with memory loss. All the while, we experience the ever-changing landscape of Whakarewarewa-tanga-o-te-opetaua-a-Wāhiao, Ginger’s birthplace and home to the southern hemisphere’s largest geyser: Pōhutu.

Pōhutu first premiered at Kia Mau Festival 2019.

There is a post-show artist talk for this event on Thursday 17 March.

"Pōhutu is a masterfully crafted performance, a koha not just for Bianca Hyslop’s own whānau, her own grandmother, but one for all audiences who bear witness to it." - Pantograph Punch

Tēnei mea te mau mahara, he taonga. He taonga hoki te wareware i ōna wā. Heoi anō, ko tēnei whakaaturanga, he mea whakaatu i ngā whakaaro o tētehi kuia e mate ana i te mate wareware, kua hāhā katoa tōna rua mahara. Ko te kuia nei, ko Ramari Rangiwhiua Morrison (Ginger). Ko tāna mokopuna te kaiwhakahaere i te whakaaturanga nei, Ko Bianca Hyslop tōna ingoa, he uri nō Te Arawa otirā he tohunga ki āna mahi. E mahi tahi ana rāua ko Rowan Pierce. He whakaaturanga kanikani, otirā he mea āta ruku ki ngā korero mō mau-mahara, mō te mamae mokemoke, me te hononga o ērā mea e rua ki te whenua.