A dance of wild abandonment _{by Madelaine Empson}

A group of 10 Pōneke dancers at the height of their technical ability will bring Undoing to the BATS Theatre stage from the 6^th to the 14^th of April. A dance manifestation of wild abandonment, Undoing is created, directed, and choreographed by Eliza Sanders, who says the show has evolved enormously since its premiere season at the New Zealand School of Dance as part of the Graduation Season 2021.

“The original work was only 15 minutes long and Undoing will be over an hour so it’s really a whole new beast in many ways”, Sanders explains. “The original work has sort of served as our source material from which to base a massive expansion and explorations. We have also added five new amazing performers to the cast who are all bringing something unique. It’s been great to have some minds in the room who have been with the work the whole time and others who are new to the ideas. It makes for a really dynamic set of creative choices.”

Undoing is brought to you by the award-winning contemporary performance company House of Sand, which has a reputation for creative risk and care for community in their work.

“House of Sand works are always very theatrical and I’m excited to watch the actors and the dancers’ processes informing each other.”

Undoing is a sensory ensemble experience articulated by a visual spectacular of limbs, passion, and theatricality. One of its strengths, Sanders says, will be in the patience of the work.

“We’re aiming to give audiences a chance to really see and spend time with the performers in each moment. There is a lot of repetition and subtle variation which I think will give Undoing a really beautiful sense of spaciousness. I want to allow audiences time to absorb, time to ponder, to get distracted by the poetic tangents of their own minds and uncover personal connections.”

“Then from there, moments of surprise can be even more powerful!”