Taki Maori Haka Experience / Salon Mika @ Dance Base

While Dance Base has included some Taiwanese dance as part of its Fringe programme, it also brings some New Zealand performers to the festival.

The Taki Maori family take the audience on a journey to New Zealand, through song, dance and poetry. Their songs are performed in perfect harmony, while their dances involving brutal, Sumo-like stomping and aggressive ululation make the ground shake and the air reverberate with their cries as they wave their spears at the audience. The Taki Maori Haka Experience (***) feels more appropriate for families, especially families with young children, since it is an interactive experience that is designed to bring out the stomping, yelling Maori within. It’s definitely fun to let loose and try to emulate the haka (dance), although its attempts at breaking the fourth wall seem to be most successful with children, and feel out of place in the particular context of the Dance Base studio. It might work better in a different environment, where it's possible to join performers on stage or a gig-style environment.

Providing a stark contrast to the sparse set of the Maori Haka experience, Mika brings cabaret show Salon Mika (****) to the late-night programme at Dance Base. Challenging societal behaviours with cheeky songs, nine-time Fringe veteran Mika struts his stuff with glamour, wit, and the occasional ballad. Sidesplittingly funny, and a great way to wrap up a long day, Salon Mika seems to be the New Zealand version of Dusty Limits, except with less glitter and more cross-dressing – and feathers – involved. There's talk of sex, man-on-man action, an irresistible cabaret host, and plenty of opportunities to sing along.