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The Pacific Dance Festival opened on Wednesday with a gala event on the Auckland waterfront.
It was the festival's programme launch and first venture out of its South Auckland home at the Mangere Arts Centre.
Artistic director Iosefa Enari says the festival showcases some of New Zealand's most exciting contemporary Pacific dance choreographers and it's larger, more diverse and wide-ranging than previous years.
"The programme covers theatre shows, but it also covers workshops, it covers master dance classes and also dance screenings and producers' workshops, so I think everyone was really impressed to see how we grow our offering."
Sefa Enari describes his role as the festival's curator and he gets to schedule the programme and works with the artists on what it is they're going to present, including the premiere of the political dance-theatre piece, Leeches.
"When I was watching the rehearsal I was like, wow! This is something quite different. I don't know if you can call it contemporary any more now because, you know, contemporary has its own code. This is a much more, very Auckland, very Pacific Islands, very rough, very urban tone to the movement language."
Performing his one man show at the festival is Wellington dancer-choreographer Laifa Ta'ala.
A 2018 graduate of the New Zealand School of Dance, Our Shadows is the premiere of Mr Ta'ala's solo choreography and is inspired by the family expectations of his dad.
"It's quite massive. He said, 'I'm shadowing in the footsteps of my father' and that one day he hopes that one day I'll take his place to move over to Samoa with him to look after the village there."
Laifa Ta'ala says Our Shadows is about the conflict between honouring the expectations of family and ancestors while creating his own path by committing to his art.
One who has firmly committed to dance is choreographer and Le Moana Dance company director Tupe Lualua.
"My main practice is siva-Samoa and it's just continuously trying to maintain the essence of what it is and the ideas and principles of what siva-Samoa represents as a contemporary form of story-telling."
Ms Lualua is working with a group of women dancers at this year's Pacific Dance Choreographic Lab to develop her work 'E Au le Ina'ilau A Tama'ita'i'.
The title comes from a proverb about women completing the final details of work.
She hasn't met the dancers, who range from nine years of age to the mid-40's.
"So it's a generational thing. It's very much a village thing. It's about looking at how we are really nurturing our young women growing up in this time and age. We really need to acknowledge that times have changed and it's just how to hold the essence and mana of being a Samoan woman through all those transitions."
It's the 10th year of the Choreographic Lab and 'E Au le Ina'ilau A Tama'ita'i' will be performed at the festival.
Artistic director Iosefa Enari says looking at the young trained, competent and award-winning dancers and choreographers that are shaping the landscape, he knows that Pacific dance has arrived.
"When I'm watching it, I certainly feel like New Zealand art has really matured and 'browned' itself as well."
This year's Pacific Dance Festival runs in Auckland until 23 June.
