MAU [Dance Theatre]

Direction and Choreography Lemi Ponifasio. Lighting by Helen Todd. Sound Design and Live Sound Mix Marc Chesterman

Soundtracks include Rise ['99], Boneflute ['00], Paradise ['03-05] and Requiem ['06-08]. Performances have been made in New Zealand, Noumea, Adelaide, Venice, Stuttgart, Amsterdam, Vienna, Brussels, London and New York. One of the foundational concepts for MAU is Va. Va is relational space that weaves and binds the body with the world. The Va is a dimension where we are all inseparably intertwined; a permeable flesh network where things pass into us as well as we into things. It is the space of responsibility and response-ability. The Samoan expression 'teu le va' or honour the space, asks us to maintain our abilities to be in the va space. This call for presentness is embodied in Samoan customary rituals such as tatau and ava ceremonies. The work of MAU, an act in the Va, is a process allowing for constant change, which never reaches its final form. Refusing to be controlled, it lays in motion never-ending vibrations of unrest. See MAU website.

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