The masterclass led by Dalisa Pigram unfolded as a deeply engaged and well-attended gathering, drawing dancers, movers, and theatre practitioners into a shared space of enquiry and exchange.

Grounded in Marrugeku’s devising methodologies, the workshop invited participants to draw from their own personal and cultural lineages, exploring how movement can carry story, memory, and identity. Through layered improvisation and structured experimentation, participants moved between character, form, and influence, shaping material that reflected both individual voice and collective resonance.

Dalisa’s presence brought a depth of lived knowledge, shaped through decades of practice as a performer, choreographer, and cultural leader. Her approach opened a space where Indigenous knowledge systems and contemporary movement practices met, offering participants a way to engage with dance not only as technique, but as a living language.

The workshop reflected the wider kaupapa of Marrugeku, where intercultural exchange, collaboration, and storytelling are central. It also affirmed the appetite within Aotearoa’s dance community to learn from international artists of calibre, strengthening connections across oceans and deepening the field through shared practice.

Supported by Wellesley Studios, the masterclass contributed to a growing sense of community, where artists gathered not only to learn, but to listen, to test, and to move together in ways that extended beyond the studio.