FRINGE '04 REVIEW: Atamira

Atamira is an awe-inspiring collective whose three pieces Whare Tangata,
Hail and Te Paki left me breathless at the edge of my seat.

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'Whare Tangata' held the audience captive in an environment that pushed the weight and strength of what is known into the whirling emotion of what is new and may or may not be held. The ingenious use of a white steel box frame that disassembled created myriads of spaces, portals and containers of the simple black stage. The gravity of mana wahine rose like a challenge from the dancers (Dolina Wehipeihana, Justine Hohaia and Louise Potiki Bryant) who seemed to embody a temporal or perhaps generational tension as they danced both together and against one another.

From this very physical and spatially located work 'Hail (In Your Wake)' lifted gently into the spirit realms where Dolina Wehipeihana and Kath Livermore demonstrated their strength and grace in this aerobatic exploration. White costumes that partially obscured the form of the dancer's bodies in conjunction with bright white lighting made this intensely demanding piece seem ethereal right to its explosive finale.

In contrast, Moss Patterson's 'Te Paki' was a liquid and sensual interplay of rhythmic flow that soothed the audience in a lush flow of beauty. Whirimako Black's voice created a velvet sub-marine lounge in which the three dancers (Justine Hohaia, Dolina Wehipeihana and Travis Khan) surged an oceanic syncopation. Travis Khan's solo spun his joy throughout the theatre while the gradual fade of the music left the rhythm of the dancers' breath in my body.

*****

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