Hot on the heels of a successful USA tour of legacy work Te Wheke, Atamira brings TOMO back to the stage with a stunning cast of Maori contemporary dance artists.

 

Directed by tuakana choreographer Gabrielle Thomas, who states: "TOMO started with the whakapapa of light and darkness, therefore birth. But it's also a story about my mother. My mother was very spiritual. If she had been raised Maori, she would have been considered a seer. Instead, she was put through the mental health system. She struggled but was very powerful and taught me much among the chaos".

Set within a world of shifting architecture, TOMO explores the boundary between two realms of endless time. A hauntingly powerful reflection of life and death, TOMO weaves together the tupuna (ancestors) before them as two wairua (spirits) journey between domains. Their mother holds the power of creation and carries the gateway to the world of light.

This 60-minute dance was the choreographer's first full-length work, created and presented in 2019. Thomas says: "In it, I had the chance to create a space where the work could arrive, rather than trying to force its creation. I found a Maori way of working which was supported by Atamira and embraced by the community".

This 2023 tour of Tamaki Makaurau, Whangarei, and Kirikiriroa bookends the pandemic. It follows
the pivot to a TOMO VR Film experience in Auckland and Vancouver and recently at the NZ Doc Edge Festival XR Exhibition.

‘Dynamic and visually stimulating, there is no denying the talent that TOMO holds, offering the
audience a unique Maori contemporary dance experience on a journey between light and darkness'

- Lauren Sanderson,
DANZ 2019

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Choreographed by Gabrielle Thomas

Performed by Sean MacDonald, Nancy Wijohn, Abbie Rogers,
Cory-Toalei Roycroft, Madi Tumataroa, Caleb Heke

Music Composition by Peter Hobbs

Production Design by Vanda Karolczak