Review of Tru Paraha's "Mareikura - Messages of Io", Soundings Theatre, Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, 6 June 2008

Crawford, Terri Ripeka

English

Research Commons@Waikato

PAGE 26 DANZ QUARTERLY * ISSUE N°13THE GREAT ROYALNEW ZEALANDBALLET COSTUMEAUCTIONWetUngton27-29 June 2008Almost 10,000 people visited the Royal NewZealand Ballet's first costume uctcon. Held overthree days in Shed 11 on Wellington's waterfront.people of all ages flocked to vie',v aLmost 140items on display. Costumes, hats, wigs andtiaras from the Ballets overstocked wardrobedepartment were up for silent auction during theday, while thirteen costumes were sold at liveauction on th final evening. The total sale madeapproximetely $40,000.Many of the costumes displayed brought back richmemories of past productions, with some viewersmoved to fears,`The response was overwhelming' says RobynMcLean, the Ballet's communications specialist."Not only did it raise the Companys profileenormously, it was fantastic to be able to offermembers of the public the opportunity to see thecostumes up close the details are amazing.Among the ballets represented were Swan Lake,Alice in Wonderland, The Nutcracker, CindereUa,1001 Nights, Coppelia, La Papillion and Jean.Many of the designs were by the late KristianFredrikeon, including the show's highest seller,the exquisite prototype Cinderella tutu, whichsold to a private bidder for $2,o50. All the itemsfor sale had reserves and prices ranged upwardsfrom $80. The reasons for the sale were financialconsiderations and a tack of space.`Three changes of cast for each production meanthree different costumes ton each role;' Robynsays. "The Company is rapidly running Out ofspace; however, a complete set of costumes fromeach production is retained in the Company'sarchives."The maorify of buyers were private collectors,but the Mad Hatter's costume from Alice, soldto a North island dolt museum, McLean saysshe hopes the Company might be able to hold asimilar auction in a couple of year's time, perhapsin Auckland or Christchurch.The auction illustrated the need for a permanentspace to display the wealth of set and costumedesigns of world class standard by New`4ALICE 1997,QUEENOFHEARTSDESIGNED BY`HILARY NtEDERER,WORN BYNADINETYSONPHOTO: STEPH ENACOURTZwi!aind dovignerv The Company's BusinevuManager, Arnarirla Skrig, points out that a set ofFrodriksori'u d0aiqnv had already been g;ftd tothe Dowse Museum in Lower Hutt and that plansare underway to gift furthur costume designs toTo Papo later this year.II would tie logical it the Royal New ZealandBallet housed the cooturries and designs in theirpremises at the St James Theatre, Wellington.hut then we come back to the main reason for theauction in the first place tack of space. Is there asponsor out there...?Ann HuntMAREIKURA -MESSENGERS OF 10Soundings TheatreTe Papa Tongarewa, Wellington6 June 2008Fire ignites and gestation occurs in the womb, theKura moves through the many rites of passage.We endure pain, and confront the self and theanguish of our ultimate matriarch Papatuanuku.`Mareikura - Messengers of 10', xx liberatingand life giving performance, a ritualistic theatrework that sits as one of a trilogy of works by TruParaha INgoti PuhiL This is audacious Mãoridance theatre choreography, entwining the lifecycles of birth and death, transgressing souls,and enlivening tradition.The audience is lead into another dimension ofunderstanding, of femme fable, MOon women,purification ritual, birth and rebirth. The firsttrimester is offset with a 1993 PJ Harvey track`You're not rid of me', exalting a freedom in themost exquisitely delivered tango-inspired solo byTru. This scene is where the audience's skin canbreathe into some loud lost emotion and revel insome raw sexuality, it allows global access to thework surpassing `lwi -centricity'.Performance Innovation Platform in 2006. Thenature of such evocative work aims to solicitpassionate response, quoting Charles Koroneho;"Finally some work with backbone!", and I agreeit takes backbone performance mentality endintellectuality in order to deliver innovative qualitywork.Dr. Aroha Yates-Smith, in the role of HineTa Iwaiwa, brought a weight and balance to`Mareikura - Messengers of 10', accentuating thepower and fertility of dancers Tru Paraha andWaikato University's Sir Edmund Hillary ScholarTama Kwan Fenton'Coyne. This work embodiedthe three phases of a woman's life accordingto audience member Ngahuia Murphy; "themaiden, the young wild huntress, virgin in itstruest state, that is wild and unattainable to men,undomesticated, dancing in sexual dynamism,singing in the celebration of women, as keepers ofkaranga", and encounters between the realms.The uncompromising stance of thechoreographer now brings this work to a widerpublic forum at the 2008 Matariki Celebrationsat Te Papa Tongarewa's Soundings Theatre.Arguably, `Mareikura `-Messengers of b is oneof the best Mãori Contemporary Dance worksin Aotearoa today. This work needs to sit in itsultimate trilogy state of three acts, to deliverfull power, and expose Tru's full choreographicpotential.Korou kite AolThe conception of Marenkura has had lifelonggestation, with the work's first manifestation atTa Rca-MOon Performance Innovation Platform2004. Ta Where Tapers o Waikato. Another Tern Ripeka Crawfordsect ion of the trilogy of works `Perekura' waswork-shopped at the second Te Rea MOon

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Review of Mareikura-Messengers of Io

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