Without intermission, we are transported to Patterson’s “Fresh Water.” There is a clear shift in energy—“Fresh Water” is immediately more intense in its offering. Patterson, born near Lake Taupō in New Zealand, describes his sense of home as “a fire inside” that he carries like a “beating heart.” This internal flame evident in his choreography. Patterson’s first vignette acknowledges the Atuatanga, the “Godly state” within Māori consciousness. From here we journey through the Great Whirlpool of Parata to the Lake of One Hundred Winds, where we witness the highlight of the night—a grippingly intense performance of the Haka. It pulsates from the stage, the music a rhythmic beating as the dancers move in unison, the audience spell bound. Then in one of the most unusual and captivating pieces of choreography I have witnessed, Patterson presents Makawe Tapu, “sacred hair,” where four dancers, Emily Flannery, Chantelle Lee Lockhard, Jye Ulren and Daniel Matteo, dance with their heads flipped upside-down, their long hair pulled skywards, while braiding and intertwining their bodies.
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