Edge Moves

An American dance professor gained a fascinating insight into NZ culture during an exchange organised by the Auckland University of Technology (AUT). Tarin Chaplin wrote about her time in Auckland and Wellington in a two-part article for the Barre Montpelier (Vermont) Times Argus. “I know my positive take on Maori-pakeha relations is based on minimal exposure, but Kiwis seem farther on the road to cultural collaboration than the many other societies abroad I’ve lived and worked in,” she writes. “From Whaingoroa’s Soul Speed dance/theater troupe to the Auckland-based companies Atamira and Mau, the joining of traditional and contemporary dance forms, spiritual values, and inter-cultural perspectives are creating powerful new modes of artistic expression.” Chaplin spent 16 days in NZ as a guest of AUT and Dance Aotearoa New Zealand (DANZ).