Justin Haiu will work with youth dance practitioners from the community and develop a dance work during his eight week Manukau Pacific Dance Artist Residency.

Pacific Dance New Zealand in association with Manukau City Council, DANZ (Dance Aotearoa New Zealand) and Creative New Zealand launched the inaugural Manukau Pacific Dance Artist Residency on July 31.

The residency will be carried out in Manukau for eight weeks and will culminate in a performance at the new Mangere Arts Centre – NgAA Tohu o Uenuku in September.

Applications were sought from established New Zealand based dancers, dance choreographers and directors of Pacific Island descent with a proven track record of working in a community and/or professional theatre context.

Mr Haiu, from the islands of Wallis and Futuna and now based in Mangere Bridge, is an established Pacific Island dancer with significant performance, instruction and choreographic experience.

Mr Haiu has appeared as a performer in a number of professional theatrical and television productions including the Australian stage production of Lion King (Melbourne and Shanghai), The Arrival (Red Leap Theatre, presented at the NZ International Arts Festival as well as in Hong Kong and Sydney) and Tent by esteemed choreographer Michael Parmenter.

He was a finalist in ‘So You Think You Can Dance’, a nominee for Best New Work at the Tempo NZ Festival of Dance in 2009, and chosen as one of four choreographers who created a new dance work for the Pacific Dance Fono at the 2009 Manukau Festival of Arts.

Mr Haiu is currently choreographing the upcoming Pacific dance theatre production My Penina at The Edge showing from 2-7 August.

Pacific Dance New Zealand director Iosefa Enari is thrilled with the selection of this year’s artist.

“Justin will bring to this residency a clear sense of community involvement and the youth of Manukau will benefit significantly from his residency. We are proud to be involved in Justin’s development as a choreographer and dance artist.”