Atamira Dance Company

AVAILABLE FOR TOURING


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 Māori contemporary dance artists.

TOMO 23 MIT haka

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 Māori, 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".

TOMO 23 Nancy hugging Sean

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 tūpuna (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.

TOMO 23 MIT hands

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 Māori way of working which was supported by Atamira and embraced by the community".


The 2023 tour to Tāmaki Makaurau, Whangārei, and Kirikiriroa bookends the pandemic. It follows the pivot to a TOMO VR Film experience in Auckland, Vancouver and the NZ Doc Edge Festival XR Exhibition.

TOMO 23 wahine trio

“How do you ‘choreograph’ wairua? Like this, with wisdom, clever craft and deep talent for knowing, how the shape of such things should be.”


Lyne Pringle, Theatreview 2023
Review

TOMO 23 duet falling

TĀHUHU KŌRERO 


Premiere 2019 
Tāmaki Makaurau | 9th — 10th October
Q Theatre, Loft 


2023 
Tāmaki Makaurau | 3 — 5 August 
Tapac Theatre 

Whangārei | 10 August 
Forum North 

Kirikiriroa | 18 — 19 August 
The Meteor Theatre 

Show poster
By Osborne Shiwan
ADC TOMO Bianca Hyslop graphic
Credits

Gabrielle Thomas | Kāi Tahu, Te Atiawa te Tau Ihu