Kāhu ki Rotorua: The final night of Pōhutu

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See below for English translation

Nā te puku kē te hiahia ki a hoki mai ki te kāinga

Nō te rewatanga ake ō ngā ārai whakahirahira mō te pō whakamutunga ō Pōhutu, kai te paepae e tū matarae ana te pou waihanga mē te pou tātaki a Bianca Hyslop (Nō Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao me Ngāti Whakauekaipapa) ki te aha?

Ki te whakawehi i te hunga mātakitaki ki āna pūkenga kanikani me te tīata. Ehara noa iho a Pōhutu i te whakakitenga whakangāhau kau; ko te huarahi motuhenga tēnei i takahia ai e Bianca, e mārama kehokeho ai ia ki ā ia anō.

Ka āta mārohangia ē ia tana kaupapa ki te ātea nui o Aronui. Ka oti i ā ia tana whiriwhiri, tana whakaniko mē te tā i āna kawenga kōwhaiwhai, ka ara ake he mahi whakanui nāna te aroha, tuarua e rokohanga ai te kānoi rangatira e peruperu ana.

E mahi tahi ana ā Bianca me tōna hoa rangatira kō Rowan Pierce, he mātanga whakaniko atamira, kua niho roa rāua ki tēnei ao whakangāhau tangata. Mai i tā rāua kaupapa, “He Huia Kaimanawa” he whakamihi tēnei kaupapa ki te whakarauoratanga o te Reo Māori, tae noa ki te kaupapa toiora nei kō Pōhutu.

Kai te hāngai tonu te pepeha ō nehe ki ā ia e kīia ana, he aturangi ka mamao.

Engari ehara noa tēnei toa, e toru tekau mā whā noa te rahi i te wahine kanikani; he wahine kawe pūrākau e rapu tāngaengae ana ki tōna ūkaipō. I whānau i pakeketia i Tāmaki Makau Rau, e ai hoki ki ā ia, kāore e tino kaha ana tana whānau ki te hokihoki mai ki Te Pākira.

‘He ahakoa te take e ngaro nei i ā au, nā te puku kē te hiahia ki a hoki mai ki te kāinga ānei pea, mā aku mahi kanikani ē mana ai taua kōingo.’

Wheoi anō rā, kia tahuri noa tātau ki Pōhutu, he paki kōrero nō te waka o Te Arawa, (anō nei nō Tūhourangi rātou, ko Te Ure o Ūenukukōpako, ko Whakauekaipapa hoki) kai te arahina paitia rātau e te mātanga mātauranga Māori nei i a Tūī Matira Ranapiri Ransfield me te pou waihanga tuarua ko Rose Tapsell. Kai tahaki hoki tokorua anō Rangatira, ko Kelly Nash (Nō Ngāpuhi me Ngāi Te Rangi) me Pierce.

Bianca Hyslop.

‘Me te mea hoki, nāku tonu i whakahau i taku wairua ki a tika taku kawe i tēnei kaupapa nō reira, i hoki atu ahau ki taku kui nō Te Whakarewarewa ia. E tangi ana te ngākau, e hoki kau ana ngā rau maharatanga mōna, e noho kaumātuatia ana me te māuiui wareware. Kai tēnei tāima, ahau e para ana te huarahi ki taku taha Māori engari, kai te titiro ōku kanohi ki ā ia, kai te ia o te moana kē ā ia e nunumi atu rā ki te huapae.

Ka kā te ahi o te puku, e ruku ai ahau kī te rētōtanga o taku ao taketake, he unu i te wai ū o te whenua, e Māori ai te kōiritanga o taku tīnana, e rere ai taku kauwhau.’ ‘koia te tino take o tēnei kaupapa, he whakawhenua i ahau ki taku ao taketake, ā whakapapa, ā kōrero tuku iho, ā toto hoki nei me te tuku hoki i ēnei kohinga nui āku ki te ātea ā kanikani nei.

Nā reira e tūhono hoki ai ahau ki te hunga mātakitaki e rongo ai rātau ki taku mauri, nā reira pea kā oho ake he kokonga moeroa i roto i ō rātau puku. Kai kauae ōku kaumātua e tanu ana, kai te takiwā o Ngongotahā, hai te Oketopa nei te hura kōwhatu whakamaumaharatanga a rāua, nō reira ē tika hoki pea taku kanikani i ā rāua i te marama nei ki taku kāinga i Rotorua.’

E titiro pae tawhiti atu ana ngā kanohi o Bianca me tāna e wawatangia ai, e hūpekepeke kau ana te hunga kanikani, ko te aroha me te tūranga hākoakoa te waka kawe i te wairua o te hunga kanikani. Ko te whainga nui ko te waihanga mahi rangatira e toro atu ai ki ngā whatumanawa o te ao katoa.

Kai te pō nei e pahū, e pōhutuhutu kau ana te wai ora o te Kaupapa, e warea kau ana te wairua o te tangata ki ngā kupu tūmatarau a Bianca, he kōrero hītoria, he ahurea, me tōna ake titiro matawhānui.

E peru ē hine, e rere ai te koromāhu ki te kōmata o te rangi, me he rite ki tō tūpuna whakahirahira, me te-ope-tauā-o-Wāhiao o Te Whakarewarewa.

English Translation

As the curtains rise for the final night of Pōhutu co-creator and performer Bianca Hyslop (Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao, Ngāti Whakaue) stands poised to captivate her audience once again with an intricate blend of dance and narrative.

Pōhutu is not just a performance; it is an intimate portrayal of Hyslop’s journey towards self-discovery, whakapapa, and artistic expression.

Unfolding on the stage of the ARONUI Indigenous Arts Festival, it becomes a canvas where memories are painted, love is celebrated, and lost connections are sought.

In collaboration with her partner and stage designer, Rowan Pierce, the pair have ventured into creating compelling theatre works.

From their majestic “He Huia Kaimanawa,” which salutes the resurgence and sanctity of Te Reo Māori, to the highly acclaimed Pōhutu Bianca’s vision for her art form is indelible.

Her journey began at Unitec, where she earned her Bachelor of Contemporary Dance in 2009. Since then, she has been a force to reckon with, mostly casting her spell in Māori contemporary dance spheres.

Her inspiration stems from working alongside the country’s best, including the iconic Taiaroa Royal and Sean Macdonald, both of whom recently bagged laureates.

However, the 34-year-old is more than a contemporary dancer; she’s a storyteller seeking to reconnect with her roots. Born and raised in Waitākere, Auckland, Ms Hyslop says her immediate family did not have a strong connection to her Rotorua Marae, Te Pākira.

“For whatever reason, I’ve always had a strong desire to reconnect. I’m hoping I can start to do this through my art form of dance and storytelling,” she says.

To say the least, Pōhutu is a Te Arawa affair, (all descendants of Tūhourangi, Ūenukukōpako and Whakauekaipapa) with Mātanga Mātauranga Māori composer Tūī Matira Ranapiri Ransfield and performer co-creator Rose Tapsell lending their talents to the show, alongside rehearsal director Kelly Nash (Ngāpuhi, Ngāi te Rangi) and Pierce.

Bianca Hyslop (Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao, Ngāti Whakaue).

“I made this work in connection to my nana who is from Whakarewarewa. She spent the last years of her life with Alzheimer’s. At the time I was on a journey of connecting to my taha Māori, she was drifting away. All I could do was go deeper – draw upon the land and let ancestral memories within me carve and build the narrative,” she says.

Created in 2019 with the support of Kia Mau Festival, the show has since been performed at Tempo Dance Festival in Auckland and Te Raukura ki Kāpiti Theatre in Kāpiti, so Bianca is excited to bring it home to Rotorua.

“The purpose of initiating the kaupapa was to connect to my whakapapa through the memories and stories that my blood, bones, and DNA hold and to share those in the way that I know best – through movement and through dance. To connect with audiences on a visceral level with the hopes of moving and shifting something within them.

“My nana and grandad are buried together at Kauae Cemetery in Ngongotahā. Their unveiling is this October, so it seems very fitting that I get to dance this dance with them at home in Rotorua this month,” she says.

Looking ahead, Ms Hyslop envisions a future dancing with love and passion. Their focus is to create art that not only resonates with them but leaves an indelible mark on the world.

And as Pōhutu lights up the stage tonight, one cannot help but be entranced by the stories Bianca weaves - a tapestry of history, culture, and personal vision. A dance of identity and connection.