The thrum of the tide delves into the 20th century story of Te Ana Ru cave, known as ‘the ballroom cave’. It has been said that early settlers held Saturday night dances in the cave until the 1920s, on a re-purposed, winchable kauri floor installed by local timber mill workers. The dances are a well-known folklore in Huia and Whatipū and it is thought the floor is still in the cave, buried deep under the sand.
A re-creation of the floor will be presented in the gallery, accompanied by a soundscape of subterranean seismic vibrations and taonga pūoro captured in Te Ana Ru during the artists’ tenure on the Auckland Regional Parks Artist Residency 2019.
This exhibition is presented in association with the 2021 Auckland Arts Festival. The Festival have organised two associated events on afternoon and evening of Saturday 13 March, starting with contemporary dance stalwarts Michael Parmenter and Claire O’Neil and local story tellers to be announced soon. Parmenter and O’Neil will perform four of the most popular partner dances of the 19th century on the dancefloor itself, while storytellers bring the West Coast’s rich history to life. In the evening, the Auckland Arts Festival will present the New moon folk ball.
The thrum of the tide delves into the 20th century story of Te Ana Ru cave, known as ‘the ballroom cave’. It has been said that early settlers held Saturday night dances in the cave until the 1920s, on a re-purposed, winchable kauri floor installed by local timber mill workers. The dances are a well-known folklore in Huia and Whatipū and it is thought the floor is still in the cave, buried deep under the sand.
A re-creation of the floor will be presented in the gallery, accompanied by a soundscape of subterranean seismic vibrations and taonga pūoro captured in Te Ana Ru during the artists’ tenure on the Auckland Regional Parks Artist Residency 2019.
This exhibition is presented in association with the 2021 Auckland Arts Festival. The Festival have organised two associated events on afternoon and evening of Saturday 13 March, starting with contemporary dance stalwarts Michael Parmenter and Claire O’Neil and local story tellers to be announced soon. Parmenter and O’Neil will perform four of the most popular partner dances of the 19th century on the dancefloor itself, while storytellers bring the West Coast’s rich history to life. In the evening, the Auckland Arts Festival will present the New moon folk ball.
