Returning for its 23rd year, Footnote’s yearly summer professional development series Choreolab is a staple in the Aotearoa dance calendar.

Movement artists from across the country and beyond come together for two weeks in the capital to deepen their movement practice and connect as a community.

Applications for the full Choreolab programme are now closed.

For other ways to participate, see the Pōneke Artists Series below.

Intensive Workshop with Eliza Sanders & Footnote New Zealand Dance

This intensive offers a rare opportunity to dive deep into the practical tools and nuanced territories of Contact Improvisation. Fresh from three weeks of intensive CI training in Thailand, Eliza Sanders returns with new wisdom and embodied understanding to share with our community, alongside Footnote’s company dancers.

With options to book 2 days, 3 days, or the full 5 days, there are options for everyone.

The Journey: Progressive Deepening Throughout the workshop

Through structured explorations and guided improvisation, we'll delve into the physical practice while also discovering the connections between how we move together and how we navigate life with greater ease and joy. As is Eliza’s style, we'll explore both the practical tools of the craft and uncover how this embodied practice offers insights for moving through the world with more presence and connection.

We'll venture into advanced techniques and principles of Contact Improvisation. Each day will build organically on the last, allowing for genuine integration and discovery. The specific focus will evolve from the insights and practices Eliza brings back from the Inspiral intensive in Thailand.

Who This Workshop Is For

This intensive brings together diverse perspectives and experience levels. We welcome:

• Graduates of Contact Improvisation foundations workshops ready to deepen their practice

• Experienced movers curious about the broader applications of CI principles

• Proffesional dancers eager to nuance and expand their practice

• Community dancers eager to learn alongside professional practitioners

• Anyone interested in exploring movement as a pathway to more effective communication and compassionate action

• Those drawn to embodied practices for personal and social transformation

Prior Contact Improvisation experience recommended but not essential—our kaupapa embraces the wisdom that emerges when professional and community dancers share the learning space.

When: 26th - 30th November

Time: 9am - 5pm daily

Where: Footnote Dance Studios, 1/80 Cuba St, Wellington NZ

What to Bring: Comfortable clothes for dancing, long sleeves and socks recommended

Included: Tea & cofee and snacks throughout each day (lunch not included)

Pricing

5 days $350

3 days $250

2 days $200 

About Your Facilitator

Eliza brings years of dedicated Contact Improvisation practice and teaching, known for creating environments where technical skill development and personal discovery flourish together. Her recent intensive training in Thailand with internationally renowned teachers adds fresh depth to her already rich understanding of CI as both movement practice and life practice. Former participants consistently highlight her ability to create space where everyone—from newcomers to experienced dancers—can access new layers of understanding and embodied wisdom.

Come As You Are

The most profound discoveries in Contact Improvisation emerge from the unexpected—from the intersection of different bodies, experiences, and ways of moving through the world. Your unique perspective and embodied wisdom are exactly what this learning community needs. Come ready to explore, to be surprised, and to discover how the dance floor becomes a training ground for creating the more compassionate, connected world we all long for.

No perfection required. Just openness to the movement.

The Pōneke Festival of Contemporary Dance is a new initiative from Te Auaha and Footnote New Zealand Dance.

We aim to increase the visibility and vibrancy of contemporary dance in Pōneke. We want to support and bring together those who make and move, to strengthen the community and create a new platform for dance in Wellington.

The Pōneke Festival of Contemporary Dance is here to ensure a vibrant future for Pōneke's dance scene, fostering a passionate community around this captivating art form.

It's CubaDupa time, and this weekend we're teaming up with our friends at McLeavey Gallery to provide festival goers a reprieve from the bustle of Cuba St. Come up the stairs to the quiet of McLeavey Gallery, where company dancers will be performing a durational response to the artworks by Richard Killeen.

Richard Killeen is a renowned New Zealand artist known for his innovative and thought-provoking works. His piece titled "Birdfigurecatcat" reflects his signature style of exploring themes like identity, culture, and the natural environment . Ambiguous shapes and forms collide on the picture plane, influences from the Eastern philosophy infuse with digital technology. The show will run at McLeavey gallery till 6 April 2025.

CubaDupa Performance

1pm - 4pm Saturday & Sunday

McLeavey Gallery - Level 1, 147 Cuba Street

Stunts will be attempted. Records broken. Memes made. Content consumed. Advertising sold. Lives ruined. Heroes formed.

This high-powered show, straddling the realms of contemporary dance and physical theatre, delves into the intricate web of global internet culture and the evolving complexity of the virtual world. It's a unique opportunity to dissect our interactions with the internet, from its absurdity and speed to its utility and potential dangers.

Presented by Aotearoa’s trailblazing contemporary dance company Footnote New Zealand Dance, created by visionary choreographer Jeremy Beck and AV design team RDYSTDY.

“breathtaking tour de force of artistry” The Post

Thin Paper, Autonomous Synapses, Nomads, Tokyo(ing) 薄い紙、自律のシナプス、遊牧民、トーキョー(する) reveals a new sense of space and time - intersecting people, cultures, landscapes, and moments. With choreography as poetic as its title, this work evokes deep emotion through attention to detail.

Kota Yamazaki and Footnote explore the changing and fluid nature of human identity, freeing it from socially preconditioned notions of self. Throughout the work, words float and scatter, collected from the scenery of Wellington and young people’s hang-out spots in Tokyo. Japanese choreographer Kota Yamazaki returns to Footnote New Zealand Dance, drawing on his previous 2020 piece Fog, Nerves, Future, Ocean, Hello (Echoes) to develop this striking new work. Footnote New Zealand Dance bring this global collaboration to Tempo after premiering in Nagoya and Tokyo in October.

For the Aotearoa presentation of Thin Paper, Autonomous Synapses, Nomads, Tokyo(ing), Footnote welcomes guest artist Sean MacDonald to dance Kota Yamazaki’s role in the work.

Show Information

Tempo Dance Festival, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland

Q Theatre Loft
Saturday 19 October 9pm
Sunday 20 October 4pm

Photos by Naoshi Hatori

Footnote New Zealand Dance are thrilled to be invited to perform the new work by Kota Yamazaki 山崎広太 in Japan this October.

Thin Paper, Autonomous Synapses, Nomads, Tokyo(ing)  薄い紙、自律のシナプス、遊牧民、トーキョー（する） reveals a new sense of space and time - intersecting people, cultures, landscapes, and moments. With choreography as poetic as its title, this work evokes deep emotion through attention to detail.

Kota Yamazaki 山崎広太 and Footnote explore the changing and fluid nature of human identity, freeing it from socially preconditioned notions of self. Throughout the work, words float and scatter, collected from the scenery of Wellington and young people’s hang-out spots in Tokyo. 

Japanese choreographer Kota Yamazaki returns to Footnote New Zealand Dance, drawing on his previous 2020 piece Fog, Nerves, Future, Ocean, Hello (Echoes) 霧、神経、未来、オーシャン、ハロー(木霊する) to develop this striking new work. Footnote New Zealand Dance bring this global collaboration to Nagoya and Tokyo in October.

Tour Information

Nagoya, Japan

Aichi Prefectural Arts Center Small Hall
October 5 - 6

Tokyo, Japan
Theater Tram
12 - 13 October

Footnote New Zealand Dance presents IYKYK (If You Know You Know), a double-bill of contemporary dance works by choreographers Holly Newsome and Forest Kapo. These two works present a game-like lens of viewing the human condition - How do you win at the game of life? What are the rules of the end of the world?

Taranaki born Holly Newsome returns to the company to present the dance of life in Advance to Go. Queer, Indigenous performance artist Forest V Kapo (Te Atiawa, Ngāti Raukawa) explores how to save the world in Premonition, returning to Aotearoa after 10 years based in Dja Dja Wurrung Country- Bendigo Victoria Australia.  

Both choreographers are creating their works alongside lighting designer Elekis Poblete Teirney, and with an immersive sound design by Emi Pogoni. 

“As always, Footnote New Zealand Dance must be congratulated … audiences can be confident of performances to admire, to ponder and to discuss.” - Mona Williams, DANZ

With this latest offering, Footnote are bringing some colour and joy into people’s lives. 

“We are excited to share a zinging, popping, pumping energy with our audiences with this show.” says Artistic Manager Anita Hunziker.

Tour Information

Pōneke | Wellington
Hannah Playhouse
20 - 22 July

Ngāmotu | New Plymouth
TSB Theatre Royal
27 July

Kerikeri
Turner Centre
2 August