Birds Caught In the Tempest

Lemi Ponifasio is one of the most distinctive voices in dance today, not just because of his ‘fearlessly creative’ choreography, but also because he uses dance as a medium to express his strongly felt views on the politics of race, tradition, mythology, urban consumerism and environmental awareness. Birds with Skymirrors focuses on the latter two issues, drawing inspiration from a scene that Lemi remembers vividly:  

There were seven frigate birds carrying what appeared to be liquid mirrors in their mouths in the sky, and in the evening sun it was just beautiful and frightening. One of these mirrors fell down to the sea and turned out to be a piece of black plastic ribbon from a video tape. I was not certain if this was a comical moment. I felt I had a secret connection with the Earth. The vision was a message to make this work.

So many important, current issues like this one are buzzing around your work and inspiring debate beyond the stage. Did you find these emerged from your work, or did you consciously engage with these themes before starting, finding ways to express them through dance?

Dance is where I find myself. Different things approach me in different times and places in my life. Dance is a process of moving from chaos towards order. A search for beauty and truth. So when we dance about violence, freedom or hurt, we are actually trying to arrive at the condition of a more beautiful life, not death.

Your work does seem to balance between local and universal concerns. Is there a danger that the specifics of the piece - whether it is Skymirrors or the Maori foundation at the heart of Tempest - may be lost in a more general debate, or does the universality help clarify the specific issues?

I am not here in Europe to talk about the problems of a specific people or country. In Tempest I am talking about the condition of the world that we all live in. The human condition of the politics, freedom, democracy and society of contemporary life, especially post 9/11. It is about finding our common genealogy.

In Tempest, the choreography connects Maori and Shakespeare, and transforms dance into a ritual. Do you think that dance is a good medium for both cross-cultural exploration and socially engaged commentary?

For me dance is my life report. Dance is a medium that allows me to have a voice. Perhaps if I was not making dance I would not have this opportunity to talk with you regarding culture, social issues or any other topic Dance is the original ritual. Ritual is not something that is specific to Samoa. Pina Bausch, Alain Platel and other familiar European dance-makers are all ritual makers.

If you'll forgive my ignorance, how does dance fit into the Samoan culture - does it have what we might regard as a "folk" tradition distinct from "performance" (the British analogy I am thinking about is perhaps between Morris Dancing and Ballet)?

Samoan dance is part of ceremony. We do not have a tradition that we might regard as folk. Samoan dancing is just Samoan dancing. It is a timeless event. It can speak about life 2000 years ago, today, or 2000 years from now. It has no distinction between high or low arts. It is neither traditional nor contemporary, for it speaks always on the momentness of our lives. It is a freedom. In this sense, I speak about the same things in my work: ceremony, momentness or the presence-ing of life.