The land and treaty collide

By BERNADETTE RAE

Curve Dance Collective are tussling with the Treaty of Waitangi in their new work Signed, inspired by a workshop they attended two years ago. What began as an exercise to improve their knowledge soon fired up their creative juices.

The three-piece dance theatre epic opens at the Herald Theatre tomorrow, choreographed by Becca Wood, Dolina Wehipeihana, Kelly Nash and Louise Potiki Bryant.

Wood, a founder member of Curve, which began in 1997, contributes a "mythical and mystical" piece, which she describes as "design-based as well as danced", that looks at the historical aspect of the treaty.

"I didn't know anything about the Treaty of Waitangi when I went to the workshop," she says. "I kept wondering why I hadn't learned this stuff in school. I didn't know that the treaty was drafted in just a few days and signed when [Governor] Hobson had been in the country for less than a week and was sick.

"My piece deals with how it all happened, how there were errors in the translation, how the actual signing was rushed and right from that day there were grievances, and how the Treaty was not honoured.

"I try to explain the feelings that arose from all that. They might have been vague feelings at the time, but they are clear now."

Louise Potiki Bryant studied treaty issues in law school and as part of her Maori studies at university. "Obviously at law school we learned about the treaty as part of the legal system," she says.

"And in Maori studies the focus was on the people and their spirituality. The Unitec workshop with Christine Herzog presented another view again, more objective, but still with an opinion. It is such a complex issue and you can explore it from so many perspectives."

Bryant's piece explores the ways in which the treaty affected the land and how the land has absorbed history. She presents the land in different guises, portrayed by dancers as Shadow Lands, Crown Lands, Whenua, Papatuanuku (the Mother) and as Waste Lands.

Kelly Nash, hospitalised a week before opening night, will not perform but contributes the final choreography, dealing with human relations and suggesting how we could look at the treaty in a different way to bring healing and resolution.

Between the three major sections Dolina Wehipeihana performs a series of vignettes. Dancers Kerryn McMurdo and Liana Yew complete the cast. Yew adds Asian to the collective's cultural diversity that includes Maori, Pakeha, Italian, English and Scottish bloodlines.

"We have learned about more than just treaty issues," says Wood. "It has become the foundation for our own relations, as a unit and as individual voices, and the basis for our own kaupapa."

She says dance is an excellent way to address a controversial issue, because it is entertaining and enjoyable and "an evocative way to address an issue where people have strong feelings of hurt".

Performance

* What: Signed, by Curve Dance Collective

* Where: Herald Theatre

* When: July 3-5 8pm