Mea Uma

We host and listen.
We know the stories.
We carry the secrets.
We have always known.
Thing.
Finish.
Everything.
Mea Uma.

Footnote New Zealand Dance presents the 2022 season of ChoreoCo, Mea Uma by Elijah Kennar, an experimental work in development and the third piece in his trilogy of works, beginning with Mea Tau in 2017 and Mea Lofa in 2021. Kennar draws on life in his home village in Samoa to explore the intergenerational world of women and the secrets of the stories that are passed down. The audience are invited into a sacred ceremony, invoked by the 2022 ChoreoCo dancers Lucy Chung, Kaliyah Lima, Sharvon Mortimor, Jemima Smith and Annabel Webster.

ChoreoCo is an initiative (established 2014) to provide short term contracts for a small company of three - five dancers each year. For some, ChoreoCo represents their first paid dance contract, invaluable as an experience, and instrumental in helping them secure ongoing freelance work. ChoreoCo has also been a pathway into Footnote’s main company.

Since taking over the management of the venue, Wellington City Council are rebranding the Hannah Playhouse as a ‘Performance Laboratory’, creating an accessible space where arts practitioners are encouraged to push the boundaries of their arts practice. With its ensemble of emerging dancers, designers and choreographer, Mea Uma is the perfect debut of experimental performance at the Hannah Playhouse.