Projects

Development roopū

In 2022, The Dust Palace and Te Pou Theatre received funding to up-skill 22 emerging and established Māori performing artists in circus arts.

We aim to increase Māori involvement in circus arts to help diversify the sector and open up the realm of expression for Māori performing artists to learn and apply circus skills to their arts practices by drawing on mātauranga Māori. This selected rōpū will participate in wānanga over a 12-month period and be offered regular circus classes through The Dust Palace.

Te Tangi ā te Tūī

A Māori circus theatre work about survival, adaptation and authenticity.  

Te Rēhia Māori Theatre Company and The Dust Palace Circus Theatre Company are collaborating to create a significant theatre work for the first time.

Imagined in 2011 by Te Rēhia and Dust Palace founders, this new work brings together Kaupapa Māori theatre & cirque theatre to create an evocative narrative of love & loss between Māori, Patupairehe & the natural world in the face of colonial impact. The story speaks in parallel to te reo Māori, the voice of the tangata whenua & grave significance of kaitiakitanga of Aotearoa around climate change & the world-wide loss of biodiversity.

Ma te huruhuru te manu ka rere.

Adorn the bird with feathers so it can fly.