HOLDING GROUND

Name: HOLDING GROUND
Start: 2025-10-30T19:30:00+12:00
End: 2025-10-30T20:20:00+12:00
Location: THEATRE ROYAL

The New Zealand Dance Company

Dance

Holding Ground brings together two dynamic works in sharp contrast – one grounded in place, the other in technology.

Holding Ground pairs two dynamic dance works exploring the body’s response to pressure, imbalance, and change.

A new duet by Moss Te Ururangi Patterson unfolds within a confined space, where two dancers engage in a shifting exchange of tension and release. With an original score by Shayne P Carter and James Webster, the work draws on deep currents of gravity and wairua. Entering a state of hypofrontality, the dancers move instinctively – calm in the storm, present, and guided by something older than thought.

In Intensional Particle, Japanese artist Hiroaki Umeda immerses us in a futuristic terrain of light, sound, and movement. The body dissolves into data – a pulse of vibration and force. What emerges is both meticulous and explosive.

These works form a vivid counterpoint, inviting us to sit in the tension between motion and stillness, and find balance within it. Together, they ask: what does it mean to hold your ground?

Image – S20

Choreographer – Moss Te Ururangi Patterson
Composition – Shayne P Carter & James Marsden
Dancers – Eden Kew, Caterina Moreno
Intensional Particle Choreographer/Dancer – Hiroaki Umeda
Image Direction – S20 Visual Research: Ludovic Burczykowski
Image Programming – Shoya Dozono
Video Editing – Guillaume Gravier
Sound & Lighting Design – S20 For The New Zealand Dance Company
Chief Executive/Artistic Director – Moss Te Ururangi Patterson
Artistic Manager/Rehearsal Director – Caroline Bindon
Creative Producer & Head of Audience – JP Bolton
Finance & Operations Manager – Christine Rice

Made with support from Asia NZ, CNZ & Wellesley Studios

Moss Te Ururangi Patterson

Renowned Māori choreographer and Artistic Director, Moss Te Ururangi Patterson (Ngāti Tūwharetoa) brings both integrity and humility to his choreographic practice in Aotearoa and overseas.

Patterson is held in the highest regard by his peers and performing arts communities in which he has worked as a dedicated, and gifted artist, director and producer. Born in Turangi, Moss’s proud ancestry comes from both the central north island and northern tribes of Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Moss has been a professional dance artist in Aotearoa for the past 25 years and studied physical theatre and music in Dunedin before moving to Auckland to study dance and choreography at the Unitec Performing Arts School. Over the ensuing years, Moss worked with Footnote Dance, Black Grace, Touch Compass, Atamira Dance Company and the Royal New Zealand Ballet.

Moss continues to be a passionate advocate for the empowerment of Maori culture, Te Reo Māori, and contemporary dance in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Hiroaki Umeda

Hiroaki Umeda is a choreographer and a multidisciplinary artist now recognized as one of the leading figures of the Japanese avant-garde art scene.

Since the launch of his company S20, his subtle yet violent dance pieces have toured around the world to audience and critical acclaim. His work is acknowledged for the highly holistic artistic methodology with strong digital back ground, which considers not only physical elements as dance, but also optical, sonal, sensorial and, above all, spatiotemporal components as part of the choreography.

Based on his profound interest in choreographing time and space, Umeda has spread his talent not only as a choreographer and dancer, but also as a composer, lighting designer, scenographer and visual artist.

New Zealand Dance Company

The New Zealand Dance Company (NZDC) is a leading, full-time arts organisation that creates and presents innovative and inspiring contemporary dance for audiences in Aotearoa and around the world.

Artists and audiences are at the heart of its programmes, embodying its commitment to serve dance-loving communities by delivering compelling and relevant dance experiences driven by diverse voices, reflecting the energy and spirit of Aotearoa.