Taane Mete, who will be dancing in Te Wheke alongside the Atamira Dance Company. Photo / Supplied
Taane Mete, who will be dancing in Te Wheke alongside the Atamira Dance Company. Photo / Supplied
If you are looking for a show to "open your mind and heart", then "this is the one for you".
Those are the words of choreographer and dancer Taane Mete, who will be dancing in Te Wheke alongside the Atamira Dance Company.
The contemporary dance performance by Atamira stems from the concept of Te Wheke, the octopus, which is used to define family health.
Mete, who grew up in Napier and still has whanau here, says he is looking forward to performing at the newly refurbished Toitoi - Hawke's Bay Arts & Events Centre in Hastings on Wednesday, August 31.
"It celebrates the essence of performers through the ages," he said.
"I choreographed some of the pieces and now I'm back in the show dancing. It's a celebration of generations — ancestral storytelling through to the present day.
"It talks to many generations with compelling music, [the] artistic imagery of digital installations and invigorating dancers. There's something for everyone in this production."
He says, as an artist, "Whatever we create and perform, we hope to inspire people and perhaps open their thoughts or need to dance."
Mete has been dancing for 40 years, and says it all started with kapa haka.
"I was in school competitions and it all started from there."
At the age of 15, Dupree Jazz initiated his pathway towards beginning formal training at The New Zealand School of Dance in Wellington, where he graduated with Honours majoring in Contemporary Dance.
"It can be quite demanding on your body, but it's part of who I am. Movement is medicine for the body."
Taane Mete will be dancing in Te Wheke. Photo / Supplied
Mete is also a yoga teacher and left dancing to teach it. However, he has now come back to dance, and loves the fact that he can continue storytelling with his body.
He has danced with companies such as Footnote Dance Company, Douglas Wright Dance Company, Taiao Dance Company, Fusion Dance Theatre, Michael Parmenter's (Commotion Company), The Royal New Zealand Ballet, Human Garden Dance Company, Mau Dance Company and Atamira Dance Collective. He was also a founding member and a senior dancer for Black Grace Dance Company.
Today he continues his artistic journey as a solo artist. Māori culture and the rich tapestry of Aotearoa influences his artistic palette, allowing him to weave together profound works steeped in tradition from an indigenous perspective. His collaborative art explores new territory to produce world-class performances.
Te Wheke is performed by eight dancers and eight choreographic practitioners, utilising the practice of tuakana-teina. This is a traditional Māori concept and practice that refers to the relationship between a younger and older sibling or close family members like cousins.
In a more contemporary sense, the practice has been adapted to have new meanings, like the relationship between the experienced and inexperienced or the trained and untrained.
