PACIFIC DANCE FESTIVAL RETURNS TO SOUTH AUCKLAND THIS JUNE WITH BOLD PAN-MOANA LINEUP

Pacific Dance Festival returns this June with a powerful celebration of contemporary Pacific identity in Aotearoa, bringing together artists from across the Moana in an expanded 2026 programme.

Returning to South Auckland, the cultural heart of the Pacific diaspora, the festival finds home in the Māngere Arts Centre – Ngā Tohu o Uenuku, Te Oro Music and Arts Centre in Glen Innes, Toi Tū – Studio One Toi Tū in Auckland Central and includes a special Matariki season presentation in Kerikeri.

Festival Director Iosefa Enari MNZM says: “Pacific Dance Festival 2026 is a declaration of who we are now - a diverse, global, future-focused Pacific. Our artists are innovators, storytellers and cultural leaders. This year we honour the full Moana, from Micronesia to Polynesia, and we do it from South Auckland-  the home of Pacific creativity.”

The 2026 programme brings together artists from Wallis & Futuna (ʻUvea), Kiribati, Rotuma, Samoa, Aotearoa, and the Indigenous Pacific diaspora of Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Across six performance events and workshops, the festival spans traditional, contemporary and street-based practice, showcasing established, emerging, and youth voices.

A new visual identity by Ōtara designer Jesse Gibson (CocoShakim) anchors the season, reflecting a bold, future-focused Pan-Moana aesthetic.

2026 FESTIVAL PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS

CALL TO WALLIS -  Justin Haiu
5–6 June | Māngere Arts Centre – Ngā Tohu o Uenuku
July (Matariki season presentation) | Turner Centre Te Puawai, Kerikeri

A contemporary work honouring ʻUvean identity and ancestral memory.
Opening the festival, Call to Wallis by acclaimed choreographer Justin Haiu returns with renewed energy. Blending contemporary movement with street and cultural forms, the work traces belonging, ancestry and the pull of home. Produced by Mele Taeiloa, it places a rare spotlight on Wallis and Futuna while speaking to the wider Pacific diaspora.
Featuring: 5 performers and a live musician.

MOANA SHOWCASE
9 June | Māngere Arts Centre - Ngā Tohu o Uenuku

One night only - new works from Aotearoa’s leading dance institutions.
Featuring new choreography from Unitec – Te Pūkenga School of Dance, Ngā Akoranga Kanikani (University of Auckland Dance Studies), and the New Zealand School of Dance, the annual MOANA Showcase highlights the next generation of Pacific choreographers and performers working across contemporary and cultural forms.

KAMATAGA × IN THE FALE × VIGNETTE OF THE FRIGATE [BIRD] - TRIPLE BILL
11 June | Māngere Arts Centre – Ngā Tohu o Uenuku

Three works exploring identity, memory and transformation across the Moana. This triple bill brings together bold new Pacific choreography spanning womanhood, beginnings and diaspora experience.
In the Fale -  a feminist, Melanesian-led work by Julia Mage’au Gray - sits alongside Kamataga (The Beginning) by Kapieri Samisoni and Antonio Matagi, both exploring cultural knowledge, identity and connection through embodied storytelling.

Completing the programme with an ensemble of 10 dancers is Vignette of the Frigate [Bird] by emerging Samoan choreographer Viliamu Yandall, a contemporary reflection on Pacific diaspora, migration and shifting ideas of “home” and success.

MAREWEN KIRIBATI YOUTH GROUP -  FULL SHOW
12 June | Māngere Arts Centre – Ngā Tohu o Uenuku

A celebration of Kiribati culture and youth leadership.
Performed by Marewen, Te Rabakau Kiribati Unit from Finlayson Park School - the only Kiribati unit in Aotearoa. This work is led by educator and cultural leader Erika Taeang and is focused on language, heritage, and intergenerational cultural continuity.

SHIFTING CENTRE - THE CIRCLE
15–16 June | Māngere Arts Centre – Ngā Tohu o Uenuku

Contemporary Indigenous dance from Te Whanganui-a-Tara.
Directed by Sefa Tunupopo and produced by Tamia Filipo, The Circle explores support, celebration, and collective liberation. First premiered at Kia Mau Festival 2025, it blends high-energy choreography with reflective storytelling, examining how communities hold each other through change.

SAMOAN LANGUAGE WEEK WORKSHOPS
Early June | Toi Tū & Te Oro

Community movement workshops celebrating Gagana Samoa.
A series of open workshops during Samoan Language Week inviting participation through movement, language and cultural exchange.

Full programme and bookings: pacificdance.org.nz