new zealand

This year's dance told the story of how the Haka has been used as a response and representation of community strength in the face of recent tragedies in New Zealand. The dance was led by Thys Moreau and Connor Postlethwaite.

Our story

Our story takes two routes. The first has a focus on the idea of unity and how Haka performances throughout New Zealand are used to present unity in times of crisis. The dances we have chosen are all real examples and adaptations from examples of Haka’s that embody this idea of unity. The second story is within the lyrics and text. The words and phrases paired with the actions of our dance have reference to Maori mythology and the means by which specific figures in Maori mythology work to couple with that idea of unity. Overall messages within our story are bringing across the deep rooted cultural value on togetherness and unity in times of crisis, seen in our Christchurch shootings haka and our BLM haka. These specific hakas encourage people to reflect on these events and to find unity after quite impactful events, and therefore links well with the message we are trying to deliver through our dances.