WHENUA WĀHI
Stories of Land and Place
Moss Te Ururangi Patterson - Guest Artistic Director
Aaron Huata - Executive Director
Tempo Dance Festival
Te Rerenga o Tere 2024
In 2024, Tempo Dance Festival returned as a weaving of movement, memory, and whenua, bringing artists and audiences into a shared exploration of connection and place. Under the artistic direction of Moss Te Ururangi Patterson, the festival unfolded through the theme Whenua Wāhi — Stories of Land and Place, where dance became a vessel for storytelling, whakapapa, and lived experience.
Across stages, streets, and digital spaces, the festival gathered local and international artists whose works traced where we come from, who we are, and how we move through the world. From large-scale contemporary works to intimate and site-responsive encounters, each offering carried a dialogue between past, present, and future.
Alongside the performance programme, Tempo 2024 extended into a wider ecology of experience:
Masterclasses and artist-led workshops opened pathways into creative process, offering space for learning, exchange, and growth.
Community gatherings created moments for kōrero, reflection, and connection across diverse dance communities.
Te Ao Matihiko explored the meeting point between movement and technology, expanding how dance can be experienced beyond the physical stage.
The public programme activated the city, inviting audiences into shared spaces where dance unfolded in unexpected ways, bringing life to the urban landscape.
Together, these elements formed a living festival, where practice, place, and people came into relationship, and where dance was encountered not only as performance, but as a way of knowing, gathering, and remembering.
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Karakia i te ata
Festival morning blessing ceremony with te whānau o Ngāti Whātua
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Pōwhiri
The festival opened with a pōwhiri welcoming artists, audiences, and community
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Kia tū te Rangatira—Honouring
A ceremony celebrating legacy, leadership, and contribution to dance innovation
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Whakakitenga—Performance
Dance innovation on stage at Q Theatre
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Te Ao Matihiko—Tempo Digital
Dance films and immersive digital experiences
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Whakapakari—Development
Masterclasses supporting artistic and professional development
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Hāpori—Community
Community programmes led by creatives, whānau, and local voices
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Hōtaka Tūmatanui—Public Programme
Free festival events welcoming the public into a range of shared spaces
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Hauora—Wellbeing
Movement experiences supporting wellbeing, restoration, and care
FESTIVAL STRATEGIC PARTNERS
Festival Partners
MEDIA PARTNERS
