Black Grace: Paradise Rumour

This premiere by the New Zealand contemporary dance company Black Grace was commissioned by Sharjah Art Foundation for SB15; it’s a development of the company’s 2009 work Gathering Clouds, which responded to prejudice and xenophobia against Pacific migrants in New Zealand. Asking ‘how far have we really come since then?’, Paradise Rumour deals with personal and collective memories and experiences of the Pacific Island community, starting with the arrival of the missionaries.

Founded in 1995 in Auckland by artistic director Neil Iermia, a dancer and choreographer of Samoan descent, the company incorporates elements of contemporary dance into Indigenous Samoan and Maori movement patterns. Informed by the narrative traditions of the South Pacific, their performances engage audiences with a gamut of musical genres, from Bach and Vivaldi to Samoan hip hop to the electropop stylings of Lorde; their group’s choreographic range juxtaposes the dynamism of high-paced acrobatics with the vulnerability of theatrical narrative, braiding these elements together into a universal physical language.

Recommended. Admission is free, but space is limited and prior booking is advisable.