Matariki 2026: TIGER · DRAGON · HORSES

This Matariki, two star-watching cultures meet.

In te ao Māori, the Matariki constellation becomes visible once more in the winter sky, signalling the new year. In Japanese cosmology, the same star cluster carries the name Subaru 昴. For both cultures: reverence, remembrance, renewal. This July, Good Company Arts and electronic-jazz trail-blazer Mark de Clive-Lowe bring their award-winning Asia-Pacific Trilogy to Te Matatiki Toi Ora The Arts Centre — projected dance cinema livesets fusing taonga pūoro from Mahina-Ina Kingi-Kaui and grand piano with electronics from Mark de Clive-Lowe into one immersive event.

A trilogy of world-class dance films featuring Māori, Pacific, and Asian creatives by the internationally acclaimed dancer, choreographer and filmmaker Daniel Belton.

TIGER (2022) — solo dance artist Airu Matsuda in a high-energy, fluid response to the great cat: courage, the drive to achieve, the harmony of opposites. Taonga pūoro: Alistair Fraser — Mark's first encounter with taonga pūoro, introduced through GCA to Alistair. The film makes a bow to the sister peaks, Mount Fuji and Mount Taranaki.

DRAGON (2024) — IDIOT SAVANT Theater Company of Tōkyō, with company director and dramaturg Koh-Toh-Shi supporting Belton's vision; movement artists Nao Akao, Chikako Arai, and Yasuhiro Kondo embodying Air, Water, Earth, Fire, and Void alongside Airu Matsuda and Samara Reweti. Taonga pūoro: Mahina-Ina Kingi-Kaui enters the creative circle. The hexagon as sacred geometric baton — from the celestial dragon to the human.

HORSES (2026) — the Fire Horse year, and a world premiere as a live performance. HORSES received its cinema premiere at Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, in February 2026. Tonight it comes to life for the first time with the full live ensemble. Tsukushi-Mai dance artist Nao Kamei carries 1200 years of tradition into the digital space; urban dance artists Ririka Takizawa, Joshua Faleatua, Tyler Carney-Faleatua, and Karim Araoka bring their own distinct movement languages; Airu Matsuda and Chikako Arai return, completing the Trilogy's arc of continuity. Taonga pūoro: Mahina-Ina Kingi-Kaui and Ariana Tikao.

 This event is part of Matariki 2026, where we're celebrating Matariki with talented artists from Ōtautahi and beyond. Bring your friends and whānau to Te Matatiki Toi Ora The Arts Centre (4-12 Hōngongoi July) for music, exhibitions, kapa haka, wānanga (workshops), night mākete and much more.