The community kapa haka group from last year's event.
The community kapa haka group from last year's event.
Opinion
Performing arts centres worldwide have evolved in recent years, moving from merely hosting community arts organisations and touring groups to actively programming with and for the community.
This is the path the Turner Centre is taking, diversifying audiences and breathing new life into the centre.
In 2022, the centre undertook a research project supported by the Lotteries Community Research Fund and carried out by the Oi Collective.
The project aimed to discover what the community wanted to experience at the Turner Centre and how we could realise our vision “Te Ranga Toi Waka” (to be the waka that weaves together all of the arts).
The research engaged diverse community members, including mana whenua, school principals, elected members, visual artists, musicians (including Northland star Troy Kingi), as well as school students, Turner Centre volunteers, board members, and staff. The project also surveyed 390 respondents from across Northland.
The community generated numerous innovative ideas for programming, which the Turner Centre has been bringing to life.
A kuia from Ngāti Rēhia reminisced about ‘Kanikani Katoa’ (Dance Everyone) events in her youth, where she would sprinkle talcum powder to help kaumātua and kuia glide across the dance floor.
We resurrected the Kanikani Katoa tradition with whānau-friendly events that sold out.
Australia’s 10-piece Hot Potato band and Carnaval Latino, organised in collaboration with the Far North’s Latino community, brought together people of all ages and cultures, uniting them over their shared love of music, dance, and art.
Younger community members asked us to run a beer festival, so we launched ‘Brew of Islands’. The first two festivals attracted over 1800 people a year. Brew of Islands returns on June 28, with support from Northland Inc.
The community expressed a desire to see more local stories on stage. We’re proud to be hosting the world premiere of Flock!, a Kiwi musical comedy crafted entirely in Northland.
Featuring hormonal sheep, hippy goats, and hair-raising aliens, this quirky story promises to get your heart racing and your mind spinning.
A significant theme was the desire for more participatory arts programmes.
Some adults expressed regret for never participating in Kapa Haka. Whaea Rawi Pere, the organiser of Te Hui Ahurei o Ngāti Rēhia — a kapa haka festival for young students — spoke about developing a similar programme at the Turner Centre.
Pere believes in the transformative power of kapa haka, seeing its potential to enrich adults as it does for children and youth.
The 2024 programme attracted 40 participants to the eight-week course, culminating in a final concert. Participants from diverse backgrounds, including Aotearoa, Ireland, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, explored Poi, Haka, Choral, Action Songs, and Entry Waiata.
General Manager of the Turner Centre in Kerikeri Gerry Paul
The final performance, attended by nearly 400 friends and whānau, was an emotional and uplifting experience.
Participants expressed how being part of this kaupapa demonstrated the “unifying power of song, dance, and culture” and allowed them to “fulfil lifelong aspirations”.
The popular programme is returning to the Turner Centre on April 29, led again by Pere and her whānau.
The programme is offered as ‘pay-what-you-can’, thanks to support from the Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community Board.
Engaging in kapa haka extends benefits beyond the stage, deepening appreciation for Māori culture, developing community connections, and enhancing personal growth.
Participants develop confidence, skills, and a sense of belonging, while the physical aspects of kapa haka improve stamina, fitness, and coordination.
The eight-week kapa haka programme will culminate in a Matariki performance on June 22.
The concert will feature a dance performance straight from the Pacific Dance Festival in Auckland, showcasing Dallas Tilo-Faiaoga of Samoan and Ngāpuhi descent.
A string band made up of RSE workers from Vanuatu will also perform, including their version of Tutira Mai Ngā Iwi.
In a world that can feel disconnected at times, community-led arts projects such as the Ngāti Rēhia Community Kapa Haka Programme can be a powerful reminder of our shared heritage and the way music and dance can unite, uplift, connect, and inspire our communities.
In the words of one kapa haka participant, “sharing the stage with so many others from many walks of life has shown how song, dance, and culture unifies us all as one”.
