Rotorua: Aronui Indigenous Arts Festival returns in September

Atua Wahine by Rotorua-based Wairea Company will headline the Aronui Arts Festival in September 2025. Photo / Rangipo Ihakara

The Aronui Indigenous Arts Festival is returning to Rotorua next month with live music, contemporary dance, and traditional Māori instruments.

Following the success of Aronui’s Matariki drone show - which drew more than 35,000 people across two nights - the festival has returned with a programme highlighting indigenous storytelling and creativity, an Aronui Arts Festival statement said.

Rotorua-based Wairea Company, in collaboration with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, will headline the festival with their new work Atua Wāhine.

Aronui creative director and founder Cian Elyse White said Atua Wāhine was part of a wider offering from Aronui Arts Festival.

The festival would showcase an inspiring lineup of live music, performance art, and solo works.

White said arts were an “essential service” and it was “stoked” to bring the festival back to the community.

Created and directed by acclaimed artist Rangipo Ihakara, Atua Wāhine “breathes life” into the stories of Māori goddesses through an immersive performance featuring wāhine of all ages.

The production blended contemporary dance, taonga puoro [Māori musical instruments], and the “orchestral power” of the NZ Symphony Orchestra.

Ihakara said Atua Wāhine was “a coming together of wāhine across generations to embody the essence of our ancient Māori goddesses through movement, sound, and spirit”.

“Through Māori contemporary dance, classical music and taonga puoro, we allow the audience to feel and sense their way through the piece.

“To foster a space where they are able to tap into their own consciousness to create, to add their own intentions, to have conversations, to get uncomfortable, and to be comforted.”

Ihakara said in te ao Māori and indigenous cultures, feeling, sensing, and language were “vital forms” of communication and connection.

“Concepts such as mahi a te wairua (spiritual work), te mauri o te tangata (the life force of a person), and te reo me ngā tikanga (language and customs) are foundational to this performance.

“By embracing wairua (spirit) and mauri (life force), we navigate the creative process - crafting an Indigenous musical that resonates with all audiences.”

The Aronui Arts Festival will be held from September 11 to 21 at the Sir Howard Morrison Centre and Thurston Theatre.

Atua Wāhine will run from September 11 to 13 at the Sir Howard Morrison Centre.

For tickets and more information, visit the Aronui website.

- Supplied content - Aronui Arts Festival