Pacific Dance Festival returns this June with a powerful celebration of contemporary Pacific identity in Aotearoa, bringing together artists from across the Moana in an expanded 2026 programme. Returning to South Auckland, the cultural heart of the Pacific diaspora, the festival finds home in the Māngere Arts Centre – Ngā Tohu o Uenuku, Te Oro Music and Arts Centre in Glen Innes, Toi Tū – Studio One Toi Tū in Auckland Central and includes a special Matariki season presentation in Kerikeri.
Festival Director Iosefa Enari MNZM says: “Pacific Dance Festival 2026 is a declaration of who we are now - a diverse, global, future-focused Pacific. Our artists are innovators, storytellers and cultural leaders. This year we honour the full Moana, from Micronesia to Polynesia, and we do it from South Auckland- the home of Pacific creativity.”
The 2026 programme brings together artists from Wallis & Futuna (ʻUvea), Kiribati, Rotuma, Samoa, Aotearoa, and the Indigenous Pacific diaspora of Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Across six performance events and workshops, including Samoan Language Week Workshops, Call to Wallis choreographed by Justin Haiu, Moana Showcase, Kamataga x In the Fale x Vignette of the Frigate [Bird] – Triple Bill, Marewen Kiribati Youth Group Show and Shifting Centre – The Circle choreographed by Sefa Tunupopo, the festival spans traditional, contemporary and street-based practice, showcasing established, emerging, and youth voices.
Full programme and bookings: pacificdance.org.nz
