Java Dance Theatre in hot demand

A scene from The Creamery by Java Dance Theatre

Harcourts Hawke's Bay Arts Festival fans will recall the amazing performances of Back of the Bus (a dance-theatre performance on a moving bus) which was a sell-out success at the 2015 festival.

This year, there are six performances of this mystery bus tour in Napier and already all six performances have sold out.

However, the 2017 Harcourts Hawke's Bay Arts Festival is hosting three different shows from New Zealand's Java Dance Theatre and the two other shows from Java Dance still have tickets available.

The Creamery was inspired by visits to cheesemakers in Hawke's Bay, Wairarapa and France, The Creamery is a tantalising blend of dance, theatre, live music and cheesemaking. Enter the sumptuous world of cheesemaking where artisans compete to win your favour and create the finest slice of cheese.

Cheese, a "family-friendly farmyard frolic", which was adapted from The Creamery for younger audiences with amazing animals, dancing milkmaids and yodelling goatherds, squirting milk jets and flying hay bales combine with all the bells and whistles to make cheese.

The Creamery is part of the "Artisan" series of dance works which includes The Red Wine Project from the 2015 festival. In creating these dance works, Sacha Copland, choreographer and director says "I was inspired by the ritual around foods we have made for a very long time like wine, bread and cheese.

This inspired the Artisan Series - an investigation into culture and cuisine. "I think dance should be a sensual and delicious experience that feels really live so I love to involve all the senses."

Sacha Copland is Java Dance Theatre's founder and choreographer, creating dance theatre that captures its audiences with visceral dance theatre that clambers into the audience's senses with dance theatre works built on intense physicality, sensory engagement and full audience immersion.

"I love dance and I make dance because I believe it exists to connect people in the most surprising ways. When the space between us dissipates across countries and continents, then the world becomes a softer place with more space for nuance, beauty and curiosity, for complexity and connection. This is why art is so essential. It enables all of us to deal with the beautifully savage complexity of the world."

• The Creamery: 29 September
• Cheese: 30 September
• Venue: Pacific Crystal Palace Spiegeltent