Phase Ata quit law school to take his chances on a career in dance. Photo / Jinki Cambronero
Born into families stacked with sporting legends, Phase Ata and Azael Setu Uini-Faiva are redefining masculinity through dance
Phase Ata and Azael Setu Uini-Faiva were born into sporting nobility, with an All Black and a Silver Fern among their close family. But when it came to choosing a career path, the two young dancers had a different game plan in mind.
Handpicked by Black Grace founder Neil Ieremia for his latest Company B production, The Next Wave, they’re part of a new generation of dancers and choreographers being given the chance to see if they have what it takes to make a life in the arts.
The pair have become such close friends that they’ve been dubbed “The Inseparables”, spending extra time rehearsing together almost every day in the lead-up to next week’s Auckland shows.
“We’re already bickering like siblings,” says Ata, 22, who’s also part of a competitive dance crew and has a five-year-plan to establish himself in the industry. Between gigs, he makes ends meet with a part-time job at an inner-city bar.
At 19, Uini-Faiva is one of the youngest and least experienced among Company B’s 10 dancers, all of whom are being paid the living wage by Black Grace. It’s the first time he’s been introduced to ballet and contemporary dance after specialising in siva Samoa, which he’s performed at Polyfest.
Ieremia says prejudice against men who’d rather dance than play rugby or league has softened since the 80s when he was growing up in the tough, working-class neighbourhood of Cannons Creek in Porirua.
The cousin of former All Black Alama Ieremia, he was 19 when he quit his bank job, moved to Auckland and enrolled in a full-time dance programme before founding Black Grace in 1995. “People were still using words like poofter if you were different,” he says. “It’s changed dramatically since then.”
Both Ata and Uini-Faiva seem remarkably comfortable in their own skins as gay Polynesian men. There’s more to life than dreaming about becoming an All Black, they reckon. Still, it’s taken some convincing to get their families onside.
“Especially coming from Pasifika, there’s this sense that dance isn’t really a job,” says Uini-Faiva, whose uncle is former All Black Keven Mealamu. Another uncle, Josh Aloiai, represented Samoa in rugby league and plays for the Manly Sea Eagles in Australia.
As a kid, Uini-Faiva often went along with his family to watch Mealamu play. “He’s always been a big role model in my life. I wasn’t bothered about sport, but it really inspired me to find something else I could be just as passionate about.”
Ata’s sporting lineage is just as impressive. His cousin Paris Lokotui, a big supporter of his dance career, is in the Silver Ferns squad. Her brother, Cody, is part of the Crusaders development squad and their father, Lua Lokotui, represented Tonga at two Rugby World Cups. Another cousin, Katelyn Vaha’akolo, plays for the Black Ferns.
Unlike Uini-Faiva, Ata – who has Tongan, Samoan, Japanese, Māori and Fijian heritage – was a naturally gifted athlete. At school, he played tennis, water polo, volleyball, basketball, netball and kī-o-rahi (a fast-paced game that’s a little like touch rugby), although he was never a big fan of contact sports.
“You see me on stage now, throwing myself around. In rugby or league, you’re throwing yourself at people,” he says, with a laugh. “There’s a difference, right?
“But growing up exploring myself within sports made me more tough and masc in a way, then dance mixed everything together with me being more femme. I can pretty much change myself like a chameleon now.”
Ata was in his first semester of a law degree at Victoria University when he dropped out and applied for the performing arts programme at Whitireia’s Te Kāhui Auaha campus. He didn’t tell his parents for three months.
“Mum didn’t like the idea of me dancing and being in the industry because it was not a career path that would take you far,” says Ata, who graduated this year with a Bachelor of Creativity. “But she’s seen the hard work I put in.”
Now based in Auckland, he features in the music video for Aaradhna’s recent single, SHE, and co-choreographed the dance sequences. He’s also worked with Kiwi pop band Drax Project and modelled for the World of WearableArt shows.
For Uini-Faiva, dance has been a way to connect with his culture as a New Zealand-born Samoan, after initially being more interested in drama while at school. Former Black Grace performer Leki Jackson-Bourke encouraged him to audition for Company B, which features 10 young dancers with varying degrees of training and experience.
“Azael has this beautiful, natural understanding of his body and how it moves in space,” Ieremia says. “He incorporates information into his body like a sponge and that’s very rare.
“With Phase, I knew he could dance and thought he was a pretty switched-on guy. He’s seen the scene and is still passionate about it. That’s quite rare too.”
The Next Wave is a showcase collection that features eight works, including five by young choreographers and a new piece by Ieremia. He says the whole idea of Company B is to demonstrate that dance can be a viable career pathway – and deserves more respect for the skill and dedication it requires.
Back in the 90s, he remembers cousin Alama turning up with some of his Hurricanes teammates to watch Black Grace perform. “Tana Umaga, Christian Cullen and a few of the other boys came along and their minds were blown by the physicality of the show,” says Ieremia. “They didn’t know how we did it.”
Joanna Wane is an award-winning feature writer on the NZ Herald’s Lifestyle Premium team, with a special focus on social issues and the arts.