Tapu wrings cheers, love and respect from audience
Goodbye Naughton Aloali’i Tapu's dance theatre work, Goodbye Naughton, ended week one of Pacific Dance Festival 2018 with rousing cheers from its audience.
He paid tribute to the friends and family who had helped him reach this point in his life, while his old friends Chris Taito and Uati Tui enriched a number of scenes. Pacific
Known locally as #SonofOtara, Tapu is much in demand as a dance artist, here and in Berlin, his second base. He is also valued here as an educator and mentor for local youth.
His dancing included an array of the astonishing virtuoso sequences of dense micro-movements, very much his signature style, a fusion of hip hop, cultural and contemporary dance. These sequences were intercut with stories and songs marking his life journey, each incident illustrated by representative movement.
The openness and honesty with which he shared the highs and lows of his life earned him the love and respect of the audience. exercise. On the positive side there is an amusing surrealistic jolt in seeing Chekhov’s wildly eccentric characters gliding through the backblocks of rural New Zealand and the play’s penetrating psychological insights provide meaty fodder for a stellar cast.
What is missing is Chekhov’s scintillating clash of ideas as an urgent desire for revolutionary change collides with an equally heartfelt yearning for traditional values. But ATC’s trademark commitment to production values sets aside reservations and as entertainment the show delivers handsomely.
The 14-member cast present an impressive display of Kiwi talent including Te Kohe Tuhaka’s confident display of entrepreneurial energy, Rawiri Paratene’s engaging optimism, Ian Mune as a crotchety old bugger and Pipi the Jack Russell delivers a master-class in method acting.