New modern dance show celebrates Waikato's performing talent

Modern Dance show CO-LECT is set to raise the curtain in Hamilton and celebrate local creatives. Photo / Supplied

Modern dance show CO-LECT is set to shine a spotlight on the creative talent brewing in the Waikato with a collection of seven short dance pieces from the minds and bodies of local dancers.

Each work is guided by a different individual and performed by a group of 12 locals, celebrating the creativity around us.

Premiering at Hamilton's The Meteor Theatre on February 3 and 4, CO-LECT is structured like a tapas-style dinner allowing the audience to get a taste of many items in one sitting.

The show originated from the idea to give Waikato dancers a space they could come together to celebrate dance and creativity. The group of local artists composed each work together under the guidance of local choreographer and creative Hannah McFarlane.

"Each week, a bunch of us would gather in any way we could to brainstorm and create. After a few months of working together, we've now got an awesome show that's like going out for a tapas-style dinner - you get a taste of many items in one sitting," she says.

Weaving together dance, voice, and visual effects, each of the seven works makes a unique statement about the experience of dance, created locally, from local dancers and performers for a local audience. The creators were facing several challenges along the way with rehearsals beginning in the thick of Waikato's 2021 lockdown.

"After many Zoom rehearsals, socially-distanced outdoor workshops in parks, show date postponements and, finally, time in-studio together, I'm so excited to see CO-LECT take the stage. The fact that this show was born and mostly devised in a lockdown just shows how powerful creativity and collaboration can be," McFarlane says.

Tickets for CO-LECT can be booked here.