For Neil Ieremia, ONZM and Black Grace, 2025 has been a mighty year. Since its hopeful beginnings in 1995, when the Grey Lynn Library Hall was the base for a crew of ten Pasifika young men, Ieremia’s vision for the company has driven three decades of groundbreaking dance performance. Some among those original company members, Taane Mete, Sean MacDonald and Taiaroa Royal have gone on to be giants in the contemporary dance domain. Ieremia himself has never stopped looking ahead and as the Company moves into its fourth decade, many plans are afoot.
The 30th anniversary year has come to a triumphant close in November with strictly limited shows in Auckland and Christchurch that leave no doubt about Black Grace’s place in the contemporary dance world. Fresh from presenting the acclaimed Paradise Rumour at the Aichi Art Triennial in Japan, the company has staged a new work by Ieremia, If Ever There Was A Time. Raw and powerful, its rhythmic energy showcased the commitment of the dancers, in the way we have come to know the jaw dropping physicality of Black Grace’s work; the movements themselves belonging and of, this Pacific place. A call to action by the poet both of words and movement that is Neil Ieremia, the work delivered a message of hope and despair, beseeching the audience to seek truth and forge connections rather than divisions.
The highlight of the unmissable double bill event was the performance of Esplanade, an icon of the contemporary dance canon; the dancework itself, celebrating fifty years since its incarnation by the legendary Paul Taylor for his eponymous New York Company. A prestigious achievement to have secured the rights, the first time ever a professional company in the South Pacific has been licensed to perform Taylor’s work, this represents an historic collaboration for Black Grace and Paul Taylor Dance Company that bridges continents, cultures and generations. A Fulbright grant brought Richard Chen See, Director of Licensing for the Paul Taylor Dance Foundation to Aotearoa to rehearse the re-mount of the piece only once before performed to New Zealand audiences by the Paul Taylor Dance Company itself in 1999. Black Grace’s eight performers danced the acclaimed choreography with exuberant conviction and the contrast between the two works, one timeless, the other of this moment, spoke to the maturity of the company.
And so to the future. Looking ahead to the next thirty years, Neil Ieremia is bringing the company back to Auckland Central with plans for a new city studio space progressing well. His determination to entrench the company and keep its dancers at the forefront of the New Zealand contemporary dance scene, strengthen its global connections as well as regional and community outreach will drive the development of an Academy to train young dancers. Discipline, form and plain old hard work, values Ieremia has long espoused, will no doubt be foundational principles that will prepare dancers to take their place in the rich history of the art form and ensure the continuation of the company’s distinctive character. (CAIT MCLENNAN-WHYTE)
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