A Karanga To The Lost; A Multimedia Journey Of Communion, Reconnection And Ritual With Our Whakapapa

An invitation to return to the self, Ella Rerekura (Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi, Ngāti Rangi, Ngāti Tūwharetoa) presents her directorial debut, E Ngaro Ana Koe? (Are You Lost?) as part of Basement Theatre’s Matariki/Winter season.

This multimedia dance work is a calling to those who have ever felt distant to their whakapapa, moving with the rhythms of collective and individual reconnection through movement, poetry, archival film and sculpture - and ultimately a provocation to meet the taniwha that live inside us with care, and to honour the continual act of shedding, morphing and becoming.

Featuring seven powerful movement artists alongside Ella - Indiana Carder-Dodd (Ngāpuhi, Te Āti Awa, Pakeha), Rewa Fowles (Whakapapa Māori), Tara Hodge (Te Aitanga a Māhaki, Ngāti-Whare), Hayley Walters-Tekahika (Ngāti Kahungungu, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngapuhi) as well as Harrison Cook (Ngāi Tahu) and Eli Free (Whakapapa Māori) who will be joining digitally from Australia - who each bring their own whakapapa journeys and relationships to the floor, weaving together personal story and shared ritual.

Ōtautahi-raised and Tāmaki Makaurau-based, Rerekura draws from her own experience as wāhine Māori and CODA (Child of Deaf Adults), bringing together her practices of dance, writing, pigment making and archival process. Her work sits at the intersection of identity and embodiment, deeply rooted in her whakapapa journey, reflecting a personal commitment to understanding the presence of her tūpuna and how they reside in her body today.

Conceived with collaboration at its core, the show features work from a total of 16 artists including tuakana support from comedian/actor Janaye Henry (Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa), poet/writer Liam Jacobson (Kāi Tahu) and movement artist Gabby Terras.

E Ngaro Ana Koe? is a calling for us to ask: what brought us here? And where are we going next?

E Ngaro Ana Koe? plays:
26 – 30 August 2025, 8pm 
Basement Theatre, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland 
$30 standard // $20 concession 
Earlybird tickets available until August 5 ($27 standard // $17 concession) basementtheatre.co.nz/whats-on/e-ngaro-ana-koe 

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