Monthly Archives: July 2017

Choreographer Presley Ziogas (Auckland, NZ)

Presley graduated with a BPSA in Contemporary Dance from Unitec in 2018. Prior to her contemporary training, Presley represented New Zealand at the Hip Hop International World Championships with 2013, and continues to bring her hip hop expertise into her contemporary work. Presley is interested in creating intricate dream-like worlds within her choreographic practice and is interested in exploring texturally opposing and isolated movement qualities. Presley’s choreographic work has been exhibited in various platforms such as Short + Sweet Dance Festival NZ (2018). Presley is a guest tutor at the Auckland Performing Arts Centre in contemporary and ballet technique.

Choreographer Lydia Rasmussen and company (Auckland, NZ) 

OTB Dance Collective

OTB Dance is a collective of dancers, from a variety of backgrounds, led by choreographic director Lydia Rasmussen. The collective has contributed works to a variety of festivals and events, including this year’s Auckland Fringe festival, and recent music video by New Zealand band ‘The Backchat’. Works by the collective are collaborative choreographies where all dancers contribute movement to the pieces. With a changing cast, this means there is no defined aesthetic that the dances have in common. Lydia is a University of Auckland, Dance Studies graduate who wants to continue to move as long as her body will allow.

Choreographer Bhuvana Venkat

Independent Dance Company Artham Dance Compnay

ARTHAM Dance Company; Founded by Bhuvana Venkat and Padma Akula is a New Zealand based dance production company providing unique experience for its NZ audience, through exploratory and experimental story telling with an underpinning classical Indian dance form. Artham Dance Company is committed to showcasing original, engaging and exceptional work.

Kamshika Umasuthan

Eena Bajaj

Mythili Varma

Ruchika Rajkumar

Dharshana Ponnampalam

Sumedha Hariswamy

Choreographer Katie Burton (Auckland, NZ)

Katie Burton and Tori Manley-Tapu have known each other for 8 years. They’ve both become mothers in the last 5. Katie and Tori recently danced together in the critically acclaimed Auckland and Wellington season of Orchids, choreographed by Sarah Foster-Sproull (Foster Group).

Choreographers Rewa Fowles and Sophie Greig

Rewa Fowles and Sophie Greig met in 2019 as collaborative freelancers based in Auckland. Both hold a strong interest in spontaneity and the otherworldly scape of space. Through the sharing of stories, observations and beliefs of the night sky LUMINOUS commenced, strengthening their appreciation of what is naturally there. Fowles from the University of Auckland, BA in Drama and Dance, and Greig from Unitec, Contemporary Dance combine their multitudes of creative media to condense their declarations of twilight into a brief scenic physical installation.

Choreographer Kit Reilly (Auckland, NZ)

Kit is a graduate of the New Zealand School of Dance’s Contemporary Programme. His highlights during his time at the school include performing in “Political Mother” by Hofesh Shechter and travelling to New York/ Shanghai with Metamorphosis International Dance Residency.

Since graduating, Kit has been involved in a variety of projects including music videos, Rambert Dance Company’s installation in London, and working with Malia Johnston in RUSHES.

From April 2019 at Wellesley Studios Kit began choreographing his first full length work ‘Utopia #9’ which he also composed the music for.

Recently Kit worked in collaboration with Dance Plant Collective for Tūrama Festival.

Kit Reilly

Choreographer Cameron Carter-Chan (Auckland, NZ)

Cameron has been dancing for 14 years – He has been choreographing and teaching Hip Hop dance at Carter-Chan Dance Studio’s for the last 4 years and is highly trained in Hip Hop, Tap Dance and Musical Theatre. He competed at the World Supremacy Battlegrounds in Sydney 2018 and placed 3rd & 2nd with his crew varsity Hip Hop crew ‘Velocity’. Cameron is an NZAMD Solo Diploma 1st place winner & has competed and performed in places such as Melbourne & Sydney Australia and Cancun Mexico. He is currently apart of ‘Ambush’ Dance Crew and is studying a Bachelor of Communications at AUT.

TBC

Choreographer Chancy Rattanong (Auckland, NZ)

Chancy Rattanong is a graduate of UNITEC’s Performing and Screen Arts degree majoring in Contemporary Dance. Since leaving UNITEC she had danced and worked collaboratively with choreographers but in recent years has spent more time on the other side of the stage. She is excited about creating something solo.

Choreographer Victoria Medina in collaboration with company (Auckland, NZ)

Victoria began her dance training in her home country, Venezuela. At 16, she moved to New Zealand and fell in love with Hip Hop and Urban Choreography. She is currently in her second year of Dance Studies at the University of Auckland. Her style is a fusion of everything she has been through. Victoria aims to bring to light latin/hispanic culture and traditions through her art.

Julia Aloalii

Zaviar Baker

Xyrene Cope

Gabrielle Gandionco

Manon Humphrey

Grace Leong

Kate Littlejohn

Victoria Medina

Cat Raynel

Sarah Walmsley

Choreographers Emma Cosgrave and Abi Jones (Auckland, NZ)

Abi Jones is currently in her final year at the University of Auckland Dance Studies Programme. Through her dance training at the University of Auckland and the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Abi has created a variety of dance works, and collaborated with students from the University of Auckland, Unitec, and UCLA. Abi has worked alongside a variety of New Zealand choreographers such as Sarah Foster- Sproull, Malia Johnson, Sarah Knox, Matiu Hamuera, and Xavier Breed.

Emma Cosgrave is a professional dancer in New Zealand and a current Masters student at the University of Auckland. Since her time in the Dance Studies programme between 2015-2018, Emma has worked with a variety of choreographers including but not limited to, Sarah Foster-Sproull, Malia Johnson, Matiu Hamuera, Natalie Maria Clark, and Sarah Knox. Throughout 2018-2019, Emma recently worked as a guest artist with Footnote New Zealand Dance and Guangdong Modern Dance company in ‘Mass Solitude’ choreographed by Sarah Foster-Sproull.

Emma and Abi enjoy connecting and collaborating with other dance artists to make contemporary dance work in New Zealand, and consistently strives to create choreographic dance works that are different to previous staged ideas.