Sacha Copland

Dance isn’t just for adults, and to emphasise that point leading choreographer Sacha Copland has created Dirt And Other Delicious Ingredients. After successful seasons around New Zealand, and internationally, it lands in Auckland for the first time. ‘‘I love creating physical tactile worlds for the dancers and audience to play in,’’ says Copland. ‘‘Everything that we consume and create comes from ingredients found in the earth.’’ Interviewed by

Mike Alexander.

Swimming in the ocean in the middle of nowhere with the love of my life or anything that involves free-falling.

Which living person do you most admire?

Gcina Mhlope (storyteller). I saw her speak in South Africa and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. It was like being wrapped in sunshine and rhythm.

What’s your most embarrassing moment?

There have been a few. Fifteen years of performances definitely bring about a moment or two. We tour our dance show on a moving bus (Back of the Bus) a lot, but once we actually lost our audience. The audience follow the dancer off the bus but in Edinburgh somehow half of them split off in There’s no way I’d ever be a foot model. Sometimes, like when I’m loading wine barrels into the Java van for rehearsal, I wish I was twice as big and strong. Random passersby will often see me and help because I know I look a little comic, kind of like the barrel is carrying me.

If you could time travel, where would you go, and why?

Ancient Greece, to the cradle of All nuclear weapons would disappear without a trace. People would dance on the streets every time they felt joy. Wellington would get some sunshine! (I know that’s a long shot.) Dirt and Other Delicious Ingredients,

Bruce Mason Centre, Auckland, October 11-14, part of Tempo Dance Festival and Auckland Live Kids Play.