Experience a dance class led by internationally renowned choreographer Tupua Tigafua.
A collaboration between Le Moana Arts and Te Pou Theatre.
An invitation to move and experience Shel We from the inside. Experience a dance class led by internationally renowned choreographer Tupua Tigafua. Following the class, participants will have the opportunity to connect with Tupua’s creative practice and experience the movement language behind his signature work and critically acclaimed show Shel We.
The workshop takes place alongside a free public showing of Shel We at 3pm. Presented for ETENAFEST 2026 by Ta’alili in collaboration with Le Moana Arts and Te Pou.
Āhea | When: Sunday 22 November 2026,
Wātaka | Schedule: 10am-1pm Workshop,
3pm FREE Showing of Shel We
Kei hea | Where: Tāhū, Te Pou Theatre, 2 Mt Lebanon Lane
Mō wai | For who:Open to all ages and people from all walks of life.
Utu | Cost: Free
What to bring: Wear comfortable clothes you can move in & drink bottle
Tupua Tigafua as the youngest of five children and proud father of four, Tupua’s professional career has seen him dance internationally for some of Aotearoa’s creative powerhouses such as Black Grace, MAU and The New Zealand Dance Company. As a choreographer, Tupua received the creative New Zealand emerging artist award at the arts Pasifika awards in 2017. He has created dance works for Footnote Dance Company, UNITEC, Alofagia Le Opera by TAPA (feat Sole Mio) and Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School. Tupua’s first full length dance work Shel We, premiered at the Measina Festival in Wellington, before touring to the Festival of Cultures, Kia Mau festival, Hawkes Bay Arts Festival, Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival, Pacific Dance Festival and the BIBU biennial in Helsingborg, Sweden. His successive work Ciggy Butts In The Sand was created in collaboration with award-winning composer David Long (The Muttonbirds, The Hobbit) and saw Tupua win the Best Choreography award at the Wellington Theatre Awards in 2022. His most recent work 14 Malone Road, premiered at the Measina Festival in 2023 and that same year, he created choreography for theatre works The Savage Coloniser Show by Tusiata Avia and O Le Pepelo, Le Gaoi Ma Le Pala’ai by IKenSo Productions.
Etena Fest, a festival of dance, performance and craft for Titirangi Village, returns in November 2026 for its anticipated second season. Brought to you through the collaboration of Ta’alili and Lopdell House Precinct.
Etena Fest emerges from the centre of an amphitheatre of ngahere and moana, the remarkable Waitakare Ranges. A month of dance, performances and communal arts workshops to activate local spaces, grow connections and share artistic knowledge within the community.
Titirangi’s arable soil, ecosystems of undergrowth and protective canopies are a place of seeding imagination. Imaginings that physicalise into rooted, interconnected arts ecology. Etena Fest arrives on the continuum of performance and artistic history of this special location to tautoko what has been and what still could be.
Etena Fest is born of a kaupapa in supporting the vital continuation of opportunity for local dancers and arts leaders to present, develop and extend their thinking to the wider community around them. Committing to the de-centre of the inner city as the local for experiencing and being moved by powerful live performance. We create in hope, beyond conventional funding systems and the challenges they pose to artists. We enliven the landscape around us.
The Whakapuāwai Programme at Te Pou Theatre is an annual programme offering opportunities for development and connection for the Māori performing arts community.
Need a great headshot but haven’t got one? Come along for 15 mins with photographer Ralph Brown. Ralph will take a few professional pics of you and send the touched up photos to you after the session for your use on your professional profiles.
Intimacy Coordination is about cultivating a safe and professional environment for the crafting of intimate content on screen and stage. This workshop will provide participants with valuable tools and language that will add to your kete & professional practice.
Bringing back our popular Te Pou Awe acting workshops for 2024, we are inviting whānau Māori of the industry to come along and have a play with some acting. Facilitated by Tainui Tukiwaho, covering the many facets of acting and what makes Māori Theatre.
This workshop is proudly presented in partnership with Le Moana Arts, an arts organisation based in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Le Moana is a vessel for the exchange of stories, concepts and ideas through the medium of live performance. The company was established as a pathway for cultural exchange and the development of storytelling by Pacific Artists.
We are grateful to have various organizations, businesses and people supporting many different aspects of Te Pou. We couldn’t achieve what we have without their support. Our Whakapuāwai Programme is sponsored by the following:
