Wellesley Studios

Pictured above: Līga Ūbele teaching a written score of her Untitled Movement Lecture in our Series 10 Friday Features.

Join Wellesley Studios as we continue our commitment to fostering connection, collaboration, and creative expression within the dance sector through our beloved ‘Friday Features’ series.

‘Friday Features - Series 11’ invites proposals for an immersive experience across 4 Fridays, beginning November 1st and finishing on November 22nd from 6pm to 8pm.

The series will continue in the same format as before, providing a safe and inclusive platform for artists to showcase their works in progress, engage in improvised choreographic sessions, or delve into discussions surrounding their artistic journeys. However, the scope is boundless, and we welcome all innovative proposals. This is an opportunity for individual or group presentation!

If you’re eager to share your ideas with our community, we invite you to submit a brief proposal to [email protected] by 5pm Monday 7th October 2024.

To help with curation, please state if there are any Fridays you are not available. We aim to have a line up finalised by Monday 21st October 2024.

For any further queries, please contact [email protected] or 09 373 4336

We are SPOILT for choice over the next few months with so many events happening around Tāmaki! Pinch to zoom on the posts to read all the juicy details!

COMPANY B - THE NEXT WAVE
Set to deliver an electrifying performance brimming with passion, energy and innovation. Don’t miss your chance to catch The Next Wave 18-22 September, Herald Theatre, Aotea Centre

HOW TO ART - BOOSTED
Katie Burson and Georgie Llewellyn have been working on a new production How To Art premiering at Basement Theatre from 12-16 November and need your help to get things across the line! Any support is hugely appreciated.

2025 WS SUMMER RESIDENCY
Applications close in 12 days! Get in touch at [email protected] for more application info!

BASEMENT THEATRE - SUMMER/PRIDE FESTIVAL 2025
Submissions close in 9 days so all of you incredible artists and makers who want to be part of the 2025 SZN get your submissions in by 27/9 11.59PM!

THE BUTTERFLY WHO FLEW INTO THE RAVE - BOOSTED
Oli Mathiesen, Lucy Lynch and Sharvon Mortimer are taking TBWFITR to Australia and the South Island and need your help to get this across the line! Any level of support or donation is an investment into the artists, kaupapa and belief in creating genre redefining theatre!

TOUCH COMPASS
Get involved in Dance Collab, a new fortnightly class that runs on Fridays, 7pm - 8.30pm at Sunderland Hall Hobsonville Point. Get in touch with [email protected] for more info.

TEMPO DANCE FESTIVAL - TE RERENGA O TERE 2024
This years festival will explore the profound connection between tangata and their whenua through the universal language of movement. Tickets available via 🔗 in bio!

ALBERTA BALLET SCHOOL
Located in Calgary, Canada, Alberta Ballet School returns to Wellesley Studios to hold auditions for their 2025 Summer Intensive! Head to 🔗 in bio for registration info ✨

Liv Tennet joins us in studios next week as a Short-Term Resident!

Liv Tennet is a multi-disciplinary artist born and raised in Tāmaki Makaurau. After many years of training in tap, ballet, jazz, contemporary and hip hop, Liv now choreographs for TV, Film and Theatre, as well as choreographing and appearing in music videos for NZ and international artists. Liv is currently recording season 4 of the BAFTA nominated kids show ‘Kiri and Lou’, in which she voices the role of Kiri opposite Jemaine Clement as Lou.

During Liv’s Residency she will develop her solo dance show, For You to Know and Me to Find Out which she is performing as part of the Winter season at The Basement Theatre. The performance will delve into matrescence, transformation, and the existential quest of one woman grappling with the possibility of having it all…and the question of what “all” actually is. Liv’s show explores the all-familiar juggle of the working mother through movement. Drawing on her own experience of trying to keep a small human alive, whilst also keeping her own artistic identity alive, we get a glimpse of the joyous, maddening, exhausting and ultimately fortifying experience of being a “cool mom”.

📸 Crystal Chen .chen

🥁 🥁 S.O.G. WEEK(s) IS BACK! 🥁 🥁

Calling all independent artists! S.O.G. Week is back for round 3 this year with ten days of FREE studio space available!

From the 10th - 14th June and 17th - 21st June we would like to offer studio space to the independent arts community for research and development.

You can apply for a few hours or days to a maximum of one week between 9am - 5pm, Monday - Friday. Send us a short summary of what you’re doing and how much time you’d like to [email protected]. We will try to accomodate your preferred time but please note, this will be subject to availability depending on other requests.

Get in quick if this is something that would be of benefit to you! Requests will be taken until 5pm, Wednesday 5th June.

📸

In awe of 🧡

📸 .unfiltered

Eddie Elliott has just finished up his Short-Term Residency with us but will stay in studios over the next two weeks to continue working on an exciting new stage show ‘SUARA / Oro Rua’ which is part of a cultural exchange and collaboration with Malay composer Safuan Johari.

The performance will explore the fragmented remnants of fossilised voices and movements in an Anthropocene future (ideology of an era where the human impact on the planet could be reduced to zero), diving into the concepts of Te Kore - the nothingness, to unlock new movement and awaken the ‘void’ that exists beyond the world of everyday experience.

This stage show will premiere within the 2024 Singapore Festival of Arts later this year.

The touring party consists of:
🧡 Sean MacDonald
🧡 Bianca Hyslop
🧡 Hannah Tasker-Poland
🧡 Tupua Tigafua
🧡 Brydie Colquhoun
🧡 Toalei Pearl Roycroft
🧡 Matiu Hamuera

To learn more on this unique, cross cultural collaborative live stage experience go to SIFA’s event web-page: sifa.sg/2024-programmes/programme-details/festival-commission/suara-or-oro-rua

Holly Finch joins us in studios this week and next as a Short-Term Resident 🧡

Holly will use this residency to work on her first full length work entitled ’Nuance’ for which she received funding from Peacocke Dance Trust to develop.

“Nuance is the working title for a choreographic project I have felt called to create. It is largely informed by observations and conversations around the human desire to resolve things in ‘absolutes’. Broadly speaking, I wonder whether we are pushing each other further into our ‘corners’; by failing to listen, and acknowledge the ‘Nuances’ that exist in everything, everywhere, always.”

WHENUA

The New Zealand Dance Company continue their NZ tour of Whenua with performances in Tauranga and Tāmaki Makaurau this month!
Whenua has captivated audiences in Europe and is not to be missed for lovers of dance in Aotearoa.

SHOWING

🤍 Thurs 4th April | Baycourt Community & Arts Centre, Tauranga

🤍 Thurs 11th - Fri 12th April | Rangatira, Q Theatre, Auckland

Get your 🎟️ via the link in bio

A big congratulations to Hannah Scholten who is the successful recipient of the Wellesley Studios 2024 Nee Graduate Residency!

Hannah Scholten is a contemporary dance artist, born and raised in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington and a recent graduate of . She is excited to jump into the deep end of collaboration, creation and investigation of what the arts industry looks like in Aotearoa and beyond.

“We all have the innate ability to dream; falling deep into the unknown realm of the unconscious. But where do we really go? Ever wondered why you can’t quite remember where you travelled to when you closed your eyes? All these ideas and more are yet to be unveiled in a physical exploration of a new choreographic work. Visceral, immersive and other-worldly. Two individuals race through the blurring snapshots of time, attempting to find reality amongst the dream, is there even a difference?”

Wellesley Studios would like to thank everyone in the community for their continued interest in the Residency programme and congratulate our recipient for 2024.

📸 Peter Blaxter

🧡 RITUALS OF SIMILARITY TĀMAKI MAKAURAU FUNDRAISING SHOW 🧡

Brittany & Natasha Kohler have just finished their season of ROS at the NZ Fringe Festival in Wellington and will be travelling to Whangārei soon for an independent season at ✨

Between the two seasons there will be an Auckland showing at with the intention of fundraising for the tour. This is a must see and your last chance to see .k and perform a contemporary duet for in Tāmaki before they head off to Whangārei!

Tickets can be found in link in bio 💛

📸 + assistance

Last year Wellesley Studios was thrilled to be able to offer a scholarship to Georgia Beechey for Perth Moves 2024, presented by STRUT Dance as part of Perth Festival.

Centred on access to training, leading figures of the dance world, and peer to peer exchange - the bursary and scholarship helped to support Georgia to attend the full 3 week workshop programme for free.
The series of workshops and classes provided professional development and training for early career artists through meeting many different dance artists and practices from around the 🌏

We can’t wait to hear all about Georgias time once she lands back in Aotearoa!

We’ve had another great season of Summer workshops with .international ✨

So many talented and hard working young dancers coming through 🧡

📸

Brittany and Natasha Kohler are back in studios redeveloping Rituals of Similarity, a contemporary dance duet for Dance Plant Collective, which unravels the intricate layers of twin-hood.
The show will be making its way to Wellington and Whangārei with a fundraising show in Auckland to help bring the tour to life!

FUNDRAISING SHOW
Tāmaki Makaurau -
Saturday 9th March 7pm

SHOW DATES
Wellington -
Wednesday 28th Feb - 2nd March 6pm

Whangārei -
Friday 22nd March - 23rd March 6pm

All 🎟️ links in bio!

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Katie Burson is an actor, theatre-maker and director based in Tāmaki Makaurau. Her work draws from traditions of clowning and physical theatre, using collaborative play as a starting point for embodied story telling.

Katie has just finished her short-term residency with us, working to develop a new theatre work called ‘How to Art’ , in collaboration with actor and theatre maker Georgie Shead. Together, they are channelling their burnout rage to playfully interrogate the price of their art-making practice, exploring hierarchy, scarcity, and commodification within the arts.

This residency formed the second development period for this work, supporting progress towards future production.

“We set an intention to explode ideas outwards, resisting the urge to shape them towards narrative conclusions in the early stages. We played for hours, in all directions, and hardly ever turned the camera off. Our one rule was if it wasn’t fun, we didn’t want to do it.”

This Friday from 9.30am - 11am Chris Clegg will be in studios holding an IndepenDANCE Contemporary class. Class is koha and all money goes directly to the teacher.

Chris started dancing in high school before studying Contemporary Dance with NZSD. He danced with with NZDC for a year before transitioning to self-taught HipHop and Freestyle. His favourite styles are Breakdancing, Popping, Krump, Animation and Waving 🌊

In Chris’ class you will move through movements of release, floor work, turns and pathways as well as the techniques for moving your body freely! Learn to express yourself through this beautiful movement style and come to an AM class this Friday!

📸 John McDermott

There are just 8 days left to donate to NZDC’s Boosted campaign which will help get the Company to Europe in 2024 for the Holland Dance Festival!🇳🇱

Help make goal of representing Aotearoa on the global stage a reality and get the Company past the finish line with this campaign!
If you can’t donate, please consider sharing this with your community and encouraging friends and whānau to donate.

No donation is too small and every little bit helps! We’ve made it easy to contribute by adding the 🔗 to Boosted in our bio ✨

📢APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN!📢

If you want to obtain information on the application process and requirements, or any further queries, please contact: [email protected] or 09 373 4336

🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

Wellesley Studios would like to congratulate Georgia Beechey on her successful application for the Wellesley Studios Scholarship for Perth Moves 2024 presented by STRUT Dance!

Georgia is a dance artist predominantly based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington. After graduating from Unitec (2016) she went on to dance for from 2017-2019.
As a freelance artist she works with friends/collaborators at , and , as well as teaching, creating community movement sessions and choreographing work under her production company .

Georgia says “I am thrilled to receive this bursary as this is my first time heading to Australia for anything dance-related and I’m excited for what this opportunity will bring!”

As part of its vision to provide connection, collaboration and creation within the dance sector, Wellesley Studios is thrilled to invite you to our Friday Features – Series 10 evening #2 facilitated by Kimberly Prosa.

6pm - 8pm // Friday 17th November // Studio 2 // FREE EVENT

Presented as an 8–10-minute solo work in progress, “Contradicting Identities” (working title) is an examination of the confluence of the various, often compelling, identities within ourselves and the battle that can ensue to determine which ones are presented and validated externally, and which ones remain in the shadows yet impact our sense of self. The work seeks to address questions of how we prioritise and validate our roles and identities and the impact this prioritisation and presentation has on our wellbeing and sense of self.

“The piece is being constructed through the engagement of a process of choreographic thinking to construct an individual road map of the various forms of identities specific to myself as the performer.”

Following this will be a 30-minute workshop to engage in the process of mapping identities in order to engage the audience in their processes and exploration of identity hierarchies.

To attend this showing and workshop please register via the link in our bio ✨

Spaces are capped so please make sure to register ☺️

📸

Wellesley Studios is offering a Christmas edition of S.O.G. Week for those of you who want to work on or be physical before the season of indulgence.

From 4 - 14 December we would like to offer studio space to the independent arts community for research and development.

You can apply for a few hours or days (to a maximum of three days) between the hours 9am - 5pm, Mon-Fri ✨

Please get in touch at [email protected] if this sounds like a bit of you!

Highly recommended!!!!

Short-Term Resident Tessa Redman performs her last season of LOVE/LOVE/LOVE/LOVE/LOVE at from 7-11 NOV, 6.30pm 💥

Ticket link is in .anne.artist bio. Invite your friends and whānau, this is something everyone will enjoy 🫶🏼

Poster design by .gordon
Supported by CNZ

As part of its vision to provide connection, collaboration and creation within the dance sector, Wellesley Studios is thrilled to invite you to our Friday Features – Series 10 evening where we have two exciting pieces to watch/take part in!

Presented as a double-bill we have Katherine Avery presenting "The same, but different" and Līga Ūbele showing "Untitled Movement Lecture"

6pm - 8pm // Friday 10th November // Studio 2 // FREE EVENT

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"The same, but different" is a classical piece of choreography in development to be performed in Auckland later this year.

“Our lives have all be impacted by the Covid 19 Pandemic, for many this has been a challenging period. Performed to Chopin Nocturne Op.27 No 1 and danced by a group of 9, this classical piece has a sense of foreboding, building to drama, despair and then hope. This is punctuated by chaos and a touch of despair from which there is an opening of the mind - people emerge the same, but different - more open in outlook.”

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"Untitled Movement Lecture" is a combination of physical activities and conversations.

“The evening will consist of three parts. You will start with a warm up and physical exercises that I use in my practice. We will focus on inviting ourselves to expand our physical capabilities and challenge our movement habits. You will then try out improvisation tasks that use body, space and imagination to expand your stage presence. In the third part, I will give you a written score of my performance "Untitled Movement Lecture" and you will have a chance to try out a small part of the piece. To finish the evening I will open up a circle for conversation.”

To attend this showing please register via the link in our bio✨

Spaces are limited so please make sure to register your spot!