Turner Centre aims to revitalise the arts with community-led programmes
A kuia from Ngāti Rēhia reminisced about 'Kanikani Katoa' (Dance Everyone) events in her youth, where she would sprinkle talcum powder to help kaumātua and kuia glide across the dance floor.
We resurrected the Kanikani Katoa tradition with whānau-friendly events that sold out.
Australia's 10-piece Hot Potato band and Carnaval Latino, organised in collaboration with the Far North's Latino community, brought together people of all ages and cultures, uniting them over their shared love of music, dance, and art.
Younger community members asked us to run a beer festival, so we launched 'Brew of Islands'. The first two festivals attracted over 1800 people a year. Brew of Islands returns on June 28, with support from Northland Inc.
The community expressed a desire to see more local stories on stage. We're proud to be hosting the world premiere of Flock!, a Kiwi musical comedy crafted entirely in Northland.
Featuring hormonal sheep, hippy goats, and hair-raising aliens, this quirky story promises to get your heart racing and your mind spinning.
A significant theme was the desire for more participatory arts programmes.
Some adults expressed regret for never participating in Kapa Haka. Whaea Rawi Pere, the organiser of Te Hui Ahurei o Ngāti Rēhia — a kapa haka festival for young students — spoke about developing a similar programme at the Turner Centre.
Pere believes in the transformative power of kapa haka, seeing its potential to enrich adults as it does for children and youth.
The 2024 programme attracted 40 participants to the eight-week course, culminating in a final concert. Participants from diverse backgrounds, including Aotearoa, Ireland, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, explored Poi, Haka, Choral, Action Songs, and Entry Waiata.
The final performance, attended by nearly 400 friends and whānau, was an emotional and uplifting experience.
Participants expressed how being part of this kaupapa demonstrated the 'unifying power of song, dance, and culture' and allowed them to 'fulfil lifelong aspirations'.
Advertise with NZME.
The popular programme is returning to the Turner Centre on April 29, led again by Pere and her whānau.
The programme is offered as 'pay-what-you-can', thanks to support from the Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community Board.
Engaging in kapa haka extends benefits beyond the stage, deepening appreciation for Māori culture, developing community connections, and enhancing personal growth.
Participants develop confidence, skills, and a sense of belonging, while the physical aspects of kapa haka improve stamina, fitness, and coordination.
The eight-week kapa haka programme will culminate in a Matariki performance on June 22.
The concert will feature a dance performance straight from the Pacific Dance Festival in Auckland, showcasing Dallas Tilo-Faiaoga of Samoan and Ngāpuhi descent.
A string band made up of RSE workers from Vanuatu will also perform, including their version of Tutira Mai Ngā Iwi.
In a world that can feel disconnected at times, community-led arts projects such as the Ngāti Rēhia Community Kapa Haka Programme can be a powerful reminder of our shared heritage and the way music and dance can unite, uplift, connect, and inspire our communities.
In the words of one kapa haka participant, 'sharing the stage with so many others from many walks of life has shown how song, dance, and culture unifies us all as one'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
11-08-2025
- NZ Herald
In The Heights a ‘lively, action-packed' performance by Hamilton Musical Theatre
Tickets: Online via iTicket Reviewed by Cate Prestidge The latest show from Hamilton Musical Theatre is a lively, action-packed performance that takes the audience through a few days in the life of a close-knit Latino community in Washington Heights, New York City. Written by award-winning composer Lin Manuel Miranda (best known for stage sensation Hamilton), it won two Tony awards and a Grammy in 2008. With over 170 ethnicities in Kirikiriroa, there are relatable themes for audiences. These include the challenges of establishing yourself in a new country, ambition, the pull of home and the importance of community and culture. There are also some classic romance plots. One of the many lively dance numbers from In The Heights. Photo / Kerry Blakeney-Williams Mel Martin-Booker's director's statement in the programme gives a clear overview of the importance of diversity in casting this show and is worth a read. The show opens with a spray-filled and energetic entrance by Iosia Tofilau as Graffiti Pete. Tofilau is such a fun performer, and his moves instantly get applause and cheers from the lively audience. Usnavi de la Vega (Sekonaia Faletau) is the owner of a small bodega (store) on one side of the street. Faletau is a terrific, likeable lead and introduces us to matriarch of the community Abuela Claudia (Bobbi Mihi Howard) and de la Vega's cousin Sonny (Brooklyn Lee). Jessica Ruck Nu'u as Vanessa, who dreams of leaving The Heights. Photo / Kerry Blakeney-Williams We also meet his best friend Benny (Marangai Wainohu-Savage) and his bosses Kevin Rosario (Robert Epiha) and Camila Rosario (Julieta Covelli), and their daughter Nina (Kyla Greening). Lively salon owner Daniela (Kalesita Latu), along with Carla (Kyra-Mae Wilson) and budding fashion designer Vanessa (Jessica Ruck-Nu'u), hold court on the other side of the street. In between, Pirague Ro (Michael Kerei) wheels his ice cream trolley touting for sales. A haze over the stage and effective lighting communicates that the weather is stiflingly hot. The strong, grungy set with its walls of billstickers, roller doors over shops and a distant city skyline makes good use of the compact Riverlea stage. There are many highlights of the show, and the musical storytelling contains a lot of well-executed rap as well as solo and ensemble singing. I think vocal director Dan Ieremia has achieved the aim of vitality and connection. There are very strong performances from Faletau as Usnavi and glorious vocals from Howard in Abuela's soulful song, Paciencia y Fe. Greening was excellent as Nina, with strong emotion in her delivery, as was Ruck Nu'u as the restless, ambitious Vanessa. Sekonaia Faletau (centre) in the lead role of Usnavi. Photo / Kerry Blakeney-Williams Wainohu-Savage played the sincere Benny with a lot of focus and skill, including an excellent duet with Greening, and Latu was terrific and full of personality as Daniela, ably supported by Wilson as the more naive Carla. The entire group was strong vocally and especially rousing in the group numbers. The choreography by Shanelle Borlase features a mix of urban dance and more traditional musical theatre styles, and I liked seeing that both Tofilau and Latu were co-creators as captains. The whole show feels dynamic, supportive and fun. There are some very experienced performers on stage, as well as some relative newcomers. A few times the difference in stagecraft shows, but this is minor as the overall energy and heart of this show is a delight. The actors have had to master a lot of Spanish language, and the rapid-fire mix with English can sometimes gallop – but just go with it. As the guy in front of me said, 'I can't understand some of it, but it's great!' I recommend reading the synopsis to help (if you don't mind a spoiler). The preview audience didn't seem to need this, though, and responded to all the reveals in the show fulsomely and appreciatively. The well-executed programme has heaps of info and shows the huge team effort behind the scenes. The audience mingling before the show reflected the cultural diversity on stage, a cool crowd of people and languages from across Kirikiriroa, one of whom I overheard saying 'I've never been here before, this is cool'. Cate Prestidge is a principal academic and co-ordinator of journalism and communication programmes at Wintec. She has been writing theatre reviews for NZME since 2021.
RNZ News
31-07-2025
- RNZ News
Kerikeri's world-class events facility, the Turner Centre, turns 20
Turner Centre general manager Gerry Paul. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf Twenty years ago a dream of building a world-class performing arts centre became reality in a small Far North town. But how did Kerikeri end up with a venue the envy of cities many times its size? Gerry Paul, the current general manager, recalled his surprise when he first saw the Turner Centre. It was 2017 and he was a travelling musician on tour with singer-songwriter Mel Parsons. "I remember driving into Kerikeri, what I thought was a reasonably small town, and seeing this massive events centre. And I was like, 'Wow, these guys are lucky'. Little did I know a few years later I'd be up here running the place. Careful what you wish for, eh?" While that initial surprise may have worn off after three years in the job - following a stint running Wellington's popular CubaDupa festival - Paul said he still found it remarkable. "For a town under 10,000 people, to have a 400-seat theatre and an event centre that can accommodate 1000 people is just amazing. It's probably one of the very few towns around the world that [has] a facility of this size for the population." With the Turner Centre widely regarded as the best performing arts venue north of Auckland , many touring groups bypassed Whangārei and headed straight for little Kerikeri instead. "It's meant that we've had access to performances that you would never otherwise get in a small town. The capability of the stage and the capacity of the fly tower and the rigging system means we can bring up the likes of the Royal New Zealand Ballet or the Symphony Orchestra." The Kerikeri-based Northern Dance Academy performs The Nutcracker in 2015. Photo: Peter de Graaf The other thing that made the Turner Centre unusual was that it was planned and paid for by locals, not by the council or government. "That's a big part of the Turner Centre story. The whole building was built and fundraised by the community. So there's a real investment in the place, and that's why we see it so well attended." The dream began in the 1970s when arts enthusiasts John Dalton and Doug Turner were putting on shows in the Memorial Hall, a possum-infested former fruit-packing shed. As the population, and interest in the arts, grew in the 1980s, they decided something bigger and better was needed. Doug Turner in 2011. Photo: Peter de Graaf Aided by fellow volunteers they spent the next two decades planning, lobbying, cajoling and fundraising. What was initially known as The Centre at Kerikeri was opened on 5 August, 2005, by then-Prime Minister Helen Clark. Its bold design, by local architect Martyn Evans, included a distinctive swooping roof to create space for stage machinery. The roof also gave the centre its early nickname, 'the ski ramp'. John Dalton died in 2012 followed by Doug Turner just late last year. The venue was renamed the Turner Centre in 2011; the main auditorium had already been named after Dalton. The centre's distinctive roof led to its nickname, 'the ski ramp'. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf Turner's daughter, Susan Corbett, said he father would have loved to see this weekend's 20th anniversary show. "He would have thought it was absolutely wonderful. And he'd be very pleased to see that everything that he and John dreamt about all those years ago has come to fruition, and is still happening - and in very exciting ways with Gerry keeping things moving on." Corbett said her parents owned Kerikeri's Cathay Cinema for 35 years. They would host art exhibitions and plays at the cinema before joining Dalton organising shows in the Memorial Hall. Corbett said their legacy showed the value of dreaming big. "Why not dream big? And it's just as well they did, because we probably wouldn't be able to afford it today. Their dream has happened, and the community has got this wonderful asset because of it." Scene from Kerikeri Theatre Company's The Sound of Music in 2021. Photo: Peter de Graaf In total, building the two stages of the Turner Centre - The Plaza event centre was completed in 2012 - cost around $20 million. Gerry Paul said a commercial building expert had told him building the same venue today would cost more than $100m. Operating a large venue in a small town was not without its problems, however. In 2024, with rising maintenance costs and the after-effects of the Covid pandemic threatening to overwhelm the Kerikeri Civic Trust, the Far North District Council took over ownership of the building. The trust was still responsible for equipment, staff and programming. In the past year Paul said the centre had been used by 43,000 people, had 558 bookings, and given away 5000 free event tickets to youth. A shift since 2022 towards greater inclusion had included a series of "pay what you can" events and initiatives such as community kapa haka . Bay of Islands College cultural group Te Roopu o Pewhairangi performs at the Turner Centre's 10th anniversary celebration in 2015. Photo: Peter de Graaf John Oszajca, a US-born actor and singer-songwriter who now lived in Kerikeri, said the town was "incredible lucky" to have a venue like the Turner Centre. Now the president of Kerikeri Theatre Company, Oszajca said he had performed at the centre as a musician and actor, as well as bringing plays to life on the stage. One of his personal highlights was co-producing the musical Little Shop of Horrors in 2024. He said the venue had become a second home to him. "I think having high-calibre performing arts, which you couldn't have without a venue like this, makes the quality of life notably better. It's one thing to live in a beautiful town. It's another thing to live in a beautiful town that has amenities, and it's another thing again to live in a town that offers inspiration to the people that live there, both as artists and as patrons." The centre had also served as a springboard for young performers who had gone on to forge careers in the arts. One of those hoping to follow in their footsteps is 17-year-old Jack Laird, a Year 13 student at Kerikeri High. Laird had just played the part of Scuttle the Seagull in the Little Mermaid; this Saturday he would be one of more than 100 performers taking part in the centre's 20th anniversary show. On this occasion he would be playing drums for hard rock band Bandwidth Riot, winners of the recent Far North Smokefreerockquest. Having a venue like the Turner Centre meant a lot to Kerikeri youth, he said. "It's so nice to have that venue, that outlet, to be creative and just give us a voice. I don't know what we'd do without the Turner Centre." Also performing in Saturday night's anniversary show would be the Bay of Islands Singers, Kerikeri Theatre Company, Taylah Barker from Fly My Pretties, a duo from Americana folk band T Bone, local rocker Merv Pinny and Ngāti Rehia Community Kapa Haka, with local legend Troy Kingi the headline act. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
24-07-2025
- Scoop
‘Whiro' Rises As Kōkōuri Releases Second EP In Three-Part Series
Today, as Whiro rises in the sky, Kōkōuri releases 'Whiro', the second instalment in its bold, three-part waiata series showcasing powerful Māori storytelling. Recorded over three days at Roundhead Studios, 'Whiro' introduces five new tracks, continuing the mix of established and emerging voices including Pere, HAAMI, Rei and the returning voices of Chey Milne and Whirimako Black. In continuation of the alignment with Maramataka Māori, following on from the first EP 'Hoata' in June, ringarehe of Kōkōuri, Hana Mereraiha says 'Whiro' explores the themes of the new moon phase from vulnerability, resilience, transmuting, healing and the fertile ground of new beginnings 'According to Professor Rangi Mātāmua, the Whiro moon phase represents darkness, introspection, and potential. It is a time for planting intentions, acknowledging uncertainty, and sitting with the unseen forces that stir within us.' says Mereraiha. The established and emerging Māori artists producers and mātanga reo Māori on 'Kōkōuri' drew inspiration from the maramataka in a powerful celebration of Māori storytelling through waiata. 'Each track is a sonic offering to the unseen world, woven with reo, memory, and emotion, guiding listeners through the layers of darkness toward transformation,' says Mereraiha. WHIRO - EP Two Released 25.07.25 1. Tōku Hiatō – Pere | Produced by Kings 2. Good Friday – HAAMI | Produced by Seth Haapu & Rei 3. Te Wehenga – Chey Milne | Produced by Kings 5. Kēkerewai (Say That Thing) – Whirimako Black | Produced by Noema Te Hau III Visually, 'Whiro' features the second piece of art by taiao inspired ringatoi Shannon Te Rangihaeata Clamp, and ties the EP back to 'Hoata' and Kōkōuri.
