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Oli Mathiesen

@oli_sen

4K
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4893
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choreographer/dancer
nz
ngāpuhi/ngāti hine/ngāti manu
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Atamira Dance Company are thrilled to announce the world premiere season of YMCĀ by acclaimed choreographer Oli Mathiesen (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Manu) at @tempofestivalnz and @nelson_arts_festival this October. A bold takatāpui rebirth of the Village People, YMCĀ parallels the pop culture icons through a discography of performed identities that interrogate the archetypes, the macho men, and the staging of queerness and indigeneity. 1970s luxe meets 18th-century bloodshed - a disco interior with a cultural inferior.  Alluring, camp-soaked, and unapologetically original, YMCĀ invites audiences into a world where appropriation has never looked so good. Te Rerenga o Tere | Tempo Dance Festival 13 & 14 October | 8pm Rangatira, Q Theatre Nelson Arts Festival 31 October | 7:30pm Theatre Royal Tickets are live, links in our bio 🎟️ Kaikanikani – @abbie_rogers @caleb.heke @madi_tumataroa @sharvon_mortimer @taixhemana @toaleipearl Kaihoahoa, Kaiwhakahaere Hanga Hōtaka | Production Design & Management – @filamenteleven11 Campaign Creative Direction – @kaanivorous Photographer – @sophiemiyasmith by @oli_sen
21
2 months ago
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‘The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave’ world tour continues, with our Australian leg kicking off this week! The rave tyranny spreads as we make our Gold Coast and Brisbane debut, and a third return season to Sydney in Sutherland. Aussies, we know you like to rave x Gold Coast HOTA, BLEACH Festival 2 - 4 October Sutherland Sutherland Pavilion, The Pavilion Arts Centre 17 October Brisbane Brisbane Powerhouse, Melt 23 - 24 October Book now at the link in the bio. ‘The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave’ is supported by Creative New Zealand. @oli_sen @lucyannabellynch @sharvon_mortimer @celiahext @taylagartner @_ginam__ @shanellbielawa @bleachfestival @hotagc @sutherlandpavilion @etonmesspresents @melt.fest @bris_powerhouse @auroranovaorg @shonamccullagh @creativenz taken in Australia by @oli_sen
1
5 days ago
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#BiennaleDanza2026 E se il palcoscenico potesse trasformarsi in un luogo di devozione? In JUST BETWEEN ME AND JESUS, Oli Mathiesen trasforma la scena in uno spazio in cui rito, cultura rave, fede e senso di appartenenza si intrecciano, esplorando il confine sottile tra fede e fanatismo, tra euforia collettiva e abbandono assoluto per dare vita a “un battesimo acido”, a “una celebrazione queer che irrompe nella Chiesa cattolica”. Attraverso un’elettrizzante fusione di ballroom, waacking e vogue fem, immersa nella pulsazione ipnotica della musica techno, il lavoro riunisce rituali condivisi e memorie corporee, interrogandosi su come i sistemi di culto plasmino il modo in cui le comunità si incontrano, celebrano e costruiscono legami. Creata dal coreografo neozelandese di discendenza Māori e vincitore del bando internazionale per una nuova creazione coreografica della Biennale Danza 2026, JUST BETWEEN ME AND JESUS è una performance in cui il corpo diventa luogo di culto, liberazione e appartenenza condivisa. Scopri di più e acquista i biglietti → www.labiennale.org - link in bio --- What if the dancefloor could become a place of devotion? In JUST BETWEEN ME AND JESUS, @oli_sen transforms the stage into a space where ritual, rave culture, faith and belonging converge – exploring the fragile boundaries between devotion and fanaticism, collective euphoria and radical surrender, and giving life to “an acid baptism”, “a queer celebration that ruptures through the Catholic Church”. Through an electrifying fusion of ballroom, waacking and vogue fem, set against the pulsating force of techno music, the work brings together shared rituals and embodied memories, asking how systems of belief shape the way communities gather, worship and find connection. Created by the New Zealand choreographer of Māori descent and winner of the Biennale Danza 2026 international call for a new choreographic creation, JUST BETWEEN ME AND JESUS is a performance where the body becomes a space for worship, liberation and collective belonging. Read more and buy your tickets → www.labiennale.org - link in bio #LaBiennaleDiVenezia #BiennaleDanza #TimeDoesNotExist 📹@roberto.cortazzo by @oli_sen
19
2 months ago
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A carpetbagger is a “special person in anybody’s land”. The script is up for revision as our new Village People endeavour to rewrite their story. Te Rerenga o Tere | Tempo Dance Festival 13 & 14 October | 8pm Rangatira, Q Theatre https://www.tempodancefestival.co.nz/events-2026/ymca Nelson Arts Festival 31 October | 7:30pm Theatre Royal Nelson https://nelsonartsfestival.nz/event/ymca/ Book now Campaign Creative Direction – Kaan Hiini Photographer – Sophie Miya-Smith by @oli_sen
5
10 hours ago
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*FLASHING LIGHTS* Metamorphosis through unravelling movement. After losing yourself in the rave, how will you have changed? Come out of your cocoon and into the light. Witness dance-fueled deconstruction live. Seats selling fast via the link in bio. THE BUTTERFLY WHO FLEW INTO THE RAVE PRODUCED BY BRISBANE POWERHOUSE 23-24 OCT Photography by Georgia Haupt, Lucy Parakhina, and Mark Gambino. by @oli_sen
1
10 days ago
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Welcome to a world where appropriation has never looked so good. @tempofestivalnz @nelson_arts_festival 
 Book now 🎫 Campaign Creative Direction – Kaan Hiini
Videography – Benj Brooking
Editing – Kaan Hiini, Benj Brooking Sound – Ewa Justka by @oli_sen
11
19 days ago
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Meet the choreographer behind YMCĀ
 Oli Mathiesen (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Manu) is creating his first full-length commission for Atamira with YMCĀ. Oli’s relationship with Atamira began in 2020, and since then he has contributed to the company in many ways, as a dancer, choreographer, educator and collaborator. From performing in Te Wheke and Ka Mua Ka Muri, to choreographing for Kaha-Tripleboost and supporting our education programme, Atamira has been a consistent part of his artistic journey. In Oli’s words: “Atamira has been a pou in my artistic development for many years. A place where my Māoritanga and dance practice have grown from the same roots. I feel incredibly lucky to return and create this work with the people who have transformed my existence, who I have danced beside from the beginning, who have witnessed every version of me along the way.” Now, after an extraordinary year of international work, including premiering Just Between Me and Jesus at Venice Biennale Danza 2026 and taking his award-winning The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave around the world, Oli returns to Atamira to create YMCĀ. As a queer Māori choreographer and dancer, Oli’s practice is shaped by his Indigenous, political, queer and gendered perspectives. His work moves between performance, endurance, ritual and rave culture, creating spaces that challenge, connect and invite us to see differently. YMCĀ marks a new chapter in a relationship that has been growing for years and we can’t wait to see where Oli takes us next. Book now to see YMCĀ at @tempofestivalnz and @nelson_arts_festival 📸 @jinkic by @oli_sen
2
a month ago
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Jet lag is temporary. The rave is forever. ‘The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave’ is about embark on a world tour, across Canada, Europe, UK, and UAE, with an unruly Australian leg to be announced soon… We are now chasing the bpm in multiple time zones. Collecting air miles and joint compression. Customs asked if we had anything to declare, and it is just a whole lot of gratitude and excitement to meet more global rave lovers. The consequences have become international. We kick things off this week at SummerWorks in Toronto, Canada! Toronto Winchester Street Theatre, SummerWorks Performance Festival 6 August Kingston Tett Gallery, The Kick & Push Festival 8 August Budapest Le DÔME, Sziget Festival 14 - 15 August Gothenburg Atalanta, Gothenburg Dance and Theatre Festival 26 - 27 August Hull Secret Location, Freedom Festival 3 - 5 September Abu Dhabi The Black Box, NYUAD The Arts Centre 10 - 12 September Australia TBA… Book now at the link in the bio. ‘The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave’ is supported by Creative New Zealand. @oli_sen @lucyannabellynch @sharvon_mortimer @celiahext @taylagartner @_ginam__ @shanellbielawa @summerworksfun @winchesterstreettheatre @thekickandpush @tettcentre @szigetofficial @gdtfestival @atalantegbg @freedomfesthull @nyuadartscenter @auroranovaorg @shonamccullagh @creativenz by @oli_sen
24
2 months ago
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Tonight is the world premiere of ‘Just Between Me and Jesus’ at La Biennale di Venezia in Venice, Italy! A co-production between La Biennale di Venezia, Auckland Live, Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival, Perth Festival, Sydney Opera House, and commissioning partner Teater V, ‘Just Between Me and Jesus’ is a violent collision of beliefs, where ritual and ceremony dissolve in an acid baptism. An electric performance of queer celebration that ruptures through the Catholic church. A work that interrogates the rub of two antonymous worlds, while harmonising on their share of cult and community. ‘Just Between Me and Jesus’ exaggerates and magnifies the inner guttural toilings of Christian-raised queer kids, and paints in lucid colour the catastrophic feelings of entropy and ecstasy as they abandon religion and adopt queer faith. Imagined through a medley of movement styles from ballroom, waacking, and vogue fem, paying homage to the sweaty and rhinestoned havens of the rave. Catholic iconography butts up against booming techno soundtracks of sonic club icons Underworld and LFO. This satirical and campily decorated work invites the latex-adjourned club kid and the virginal saint to pash under cross-fire. Over the past 8 months, this mighty team has been working tirelessly, pouring every ounce of creativity, queerness, and aroha into bringing this vision to life. Tonight, we give birth to something unholy yet divine. A loud queerness that we would die for. A merging of the heavens and hells. I couldn’t be prouder of this team. Venice Teatro alle Tese, Arsenale | Venice Biennale Danza 2026 23 - 24 July | 6:00pm Creator, Direction, and Choreography: @oli_sen Dance Artists and Performers: @sharvon_mortimer @celiahext @toaleipearl @ravenfaasu @sebjohn @penifakaua Creative Producer: @shonamccullagh Set and Costume Design: @dan_williams_design Lighting Design: @filamenteleven11 Rachel Marlow, Brad Gledhill Sound Design and Original Composition: @alistair_deverick Producer: @beebunnies Production Manager: @jokilgour Stage Manager/Mechanist: @jamesthemuss666 Light and Sound Operator: @spooky_pete Rehearsal Director: @torbitor Artistic Advisor: @rossmccormack taken in La Biennale di Venezia by @oli_sen
96
2 months ago
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When Ranginui and Papatūānuku were separated, light entered the world for the first time. Before illumination came Hīnātore - the first flicker, signalling possibility and the promise of what was yet to emerge. As a tuakana platform for Māori contemporary dance, our role is to create space for Māori artists to follow that spark and bring new possibilities into the world. This year, we’re excited for a new Atamira commission that supports one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most exciting new choreographic voices: Oli Mathiesen (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Manu). Oli’s relationship with Atamira began after graduating from Unitec, later creating work through ‘KAHA – Tripleboost’ and touring internationally with ‘Te Wheke’. Fresh from the success of ‘The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave’ at Edinburgh Fringe and across Australia, and recently selected from nearly 700 international applicants for a choreographic commission at the Venice Biennale Danza, Oli is part of an exciting generation of artists shaping the future of contemporary performance. It feels pretty special to continue walking alongside Oli’s artistic journey and to support the next chapter of their work. Watch this space. We’ll be sharing more about this new kaupapa soon 👏🏽 by @oli_sen
8
4 months ago
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Today we are thrilled to announced the major international co-production and commissioning partners of ‘Just Between Me and Jesus’, premiering at the Venice Biennale Danza 2026. Commissioned by La Biennale di Venezia, we are partnering with Auckland Live, Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival, Perth Festival, Sydney Opera House, and Copenhagen-based Teater V, all uniting to back this Aotearoa work on the global stage. Auckland Live will also support the project as a venue partner, hosting technical rehearsals ahead of departure for Italy in mid-July. It is an absolute honour and privilege to be commissioned by this consortium of arts organisations, and it has been a dream of mine to work alongside them in creating this work. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the belief and trust in this opportunity! We cannot wait to share more very soon… Co-Production Partners: La Biennale de Venezia @labiennale Auckland Live @aucklandlive Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival @aucklandartsfestival Perth Festival @perthfest Sydney Opera House @sydneyoperahouse Venue Partner Auckland Live @aucklandlive Commissioning Partner Teater V (Copenhagen) @teaterv_ Find out more and donate to our fundraising campaign at the link in bio! taken in La Biennale di Venezia by @oli_sen
37
5 months ago
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INDance week two opens tonight! @‌christophergurusamy’s ‘5 Arrows’ and @oli_sen’s ‘The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave’ are opening to SOLD OUT audiences! 😱 Three nights only, these are the independent choreographers shaping contemporary dance today. 'The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave’ Creator, Choreographer, and Performer: @oli_sen (Ngāti Manu, Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi) Choreographer and Performer: @lucyannabellynch(Ngāti Kahungunu) & @sharvon_mortimer(Ngāti Porou) Creative Producer: @abbie_rogers (Kāi Tahu, Te Arawa) Music: Suburban Knight Lead Lighting Designer and Operator: Shanell Bielawa (Te Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi) Stage Manager: Gina Heidekruger Performer (2025): Celia Hext Performer (2025): Tayla Gartner Lighting Design Collaborators: Oli Mathiesen, Shanell Bielawa, Bekky Boyce, Jazmin Whittall, Jacobus Engelbrecht (Legit Events) INDance is generously supported by the Neilson Foundation. #SydneyDanceCompany #INDance26 by @oli_sen
2
5 months ago
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