Following a successful 9-centre tour of North America, Black Grace will be performing Founding Artistic Director Neil Ieremia's latest full length work 'Vaka' as part of the Festival of Colour in Wanaka and Queenstown, and the Southland Festival of the Arts in Invercargill.

"Powerfully elegant and possessed of technical finesse of almost archaic rawness"
Nahe-Zeitung, Germany 2012

Exploring the idea of a raft as a metaphor for hope, Vaka is inspired in part by The Raft video installation by Bill Viola, as well as a response to The Arrival of the Maoris in New Zealand by Louis J. Steele and Charles F. Goldie 1898, influenced by Theodore Gericault's famous The Raft of the Medusa, depicting the terror of a shipwreck.

"During this creative process we have realised that we are our own vaka (canoe) carrying our values and belief systems, experiences and memories good and bad, and a hope that when we leave this planet we leave it in a better shape than when we found it.
The journey of every vaka faces challenges and danger as it navigates towards an often unknown future.  We are constantly asked to evolve and adapt in order to survive.  How much of ourselves do we allow to change?  The question I was struck with when I considered The Raft was 'why does it often take a disaster or life threatening events for humans to demonstrate humanity?'" - Neil Ieremia

Excerpts of Vaka received standing ovations and rapturous applause in Europe and North America - don't miss what is set to be a night of spectacular New Zealand dance.

"Intensive dance imagery - a powerful demonstration of strength and battle readiness"
Mainpost, Schweinfurt, Germany 2012