Tiaki Kerei
Co-Founder / Practitioner
Bio- Tiaki Kerei (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu, Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi)
Home base: Tāmaki Makaurau
Since 1999, Tiaki has been a recognized contemporary Māori dancer, choreographer, writer and director. He fostered new global directions for Indigenous contemporary dance - as a Visiting Assistant Professor at University of California Riverside, Artist in Residence at University of California Berkeley, at the Asian/Pacific/American Institute, Regent’s Scholar at University of California Los Angeles, and contributor to Indigenous Choreographer’s at Riverside Project. Tiaki continues to broaden perceptions of Māori contemporary embodied research as Artistic Director of Whakamana Creatives supported by a studio residency at TAPAC. Tiaki uses social media as a platform for writing theatre reviews, sharing glimpses of caregiving, being a gymfluencer and engaging audiences in processes to do with hauora, tikanga Māori and urban, global cultural POV.
Tiaki’s Offering
PŪNGAO - workshops / one on one mentoring sessions
Tiaki Kerei bridges an established contemporary dance practice with extensive global experience in the field of Indigenous dance to arrive in the present moment with a uniquely faceted immersive activation in the form of short or longer Wānanga (curated bespoke gatherings specific to place, people and kaupapa). Central to his practice is embodied intercultural art and community based interventions that unfold the insightful, interpersonal and relational spaces of tikanga Māori and its many interpretive forms of knowing.
PŪNGAO refers to energy and is driven by the revitalisation of connectivity through a range of tools that use voice, body, creative response, physical making and storytelling.
Tiaki can be consulted for a range of outcomes from leading a group of people (ideally 25 max) within time frames of 2-3 hrs or longer as may be required. Tiaki is also available for hourly consultation online or in person if available, about a range of services that bring us into an alignment with cultural needs and personal development.
For our online booking system:
Pūngao one hour time slots (online or in person in Henderson, Auckland, booker to indicate preference)
M-F, 2pm-5pm
Workshops to be arranged on request