The Questionnaire

Malia Johnston

Te Auaha, the New Zealand Institute of Creativity opened in Wellington last month and it offers the world’s first Bachelor of Creativity. It is billed as a world-class facility and a big development for Wellington. Choreographer Malia Johnston was the artistic director of the spectacular opening event and is an ambassador for Te Auaha. She talks to

Mike Alexander. What are you plugging right now?

Creative collisions, collaboration and movement for everyone. Creative collision is where two art forms collide to create something neither could do alone. I like the word collision, as sometimes there’s quite a lot of forward energy when trying new things and it relates to when you have different art forms working in the same architectural space. That’s why I am really excited about the opening of Te Auaha. I love the role it’s going to play in the development and education of the creative industries here in the capital. Having a space like this for creative practices to collide beyond structured practice is where the potential exciting new possibilities can begin.

''Having a space like this [Te Auaha] for creative practices to collide beyond structured practice is where the potential exciting new possibilities can begin.''

What’s your idea of perfect happiness?

A full house every night at the theatre – and at home.

Which living person do you most admire?

I have a lot of admiration for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, but I admire all the fabulous artists I have just had the pleasure of working with on Rushes for the New Zealand Festival and the 70 performers that rocked the Te Auaha opening event.

What’s your most embarrassing moment?

I was daydreaming and I got sucked into a creative personal time-out moment while changing out of my togs and subconsciously found myself naked and dancing in front of all my classmates. It took two weeks to live that one down, even though I was only eight years old – in an attempt to reduce some embarrassment, I came up with a reason as to why it had happened, I lied and told them I wanted to do something outrageous just so I could watch their reaction.

What is your most prized material possession?

A pounamu necklace, which was given to me by my nana Addy Parry in 1977.

What is the most adventurous thing you have done that has taken you out of your comfort zone at the time?

The most exhilarating thing I have ever done would definitely be jumping solo out of a small airplane where they made me hang onto the wing of the plane like Superman before letting go. Dangling there in the wind is a completely unnatural feeling, adrenaline is pumping furiously around your body, your brain is telling you it’s a bad idea, but you can’t help but feel the excitement.

What gets your back up?

Most of the ism’s, eg sexism, racism, ableism etc, and any bureaucratic process that inhibits progress or good old-fashioned conversations and human connection.

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

I’d go back to the raging dance parties of the 1920s. I’d like to see the original Lindy Hop in the flesh and I would go forward to see if we manage to create teleportation.

What life lesson would you pass on to your children?

Don’t sweat the small stuff.

What job would you do other than your own and why?

My instincts go straight to cooking as I adore it, but I am not sure I’d enjoy it under pressure. So I am going to say interior designer, as I believe the way space is shaped has a huge impact on us and the way we operate and feel.

If you were given three wishes that a magic genie could grant, what would they be?

Unlimited wishes – so that there would be an algorithm designed to use the unlimited wishes to solve all the world’s woes and fix all our environment issues. Teleportation.