MATA MATA
by Harrison Cook | Part of Pōneke Festival of Contemporary Dance
AWAKENING THE TANIWHA, HONOURING THE RECLAMATION. MATA MATA is an offering through the act of solo dance.
A summoning of the ancestral spirits that reside deep within the awa. As the taniwha stirs just beneath the surface, memory begins to flow from skin into whenua. Awakening the blood memory that is present here. Becoming a sacred ancestral ritual, allow yourself to slip into this journey of returning. Acknowledging the physical body as a vessel to conjure spirit, mana, and memory.
MATA MATA is the honouring of Whakapapa and identity and the holder of space to witness the sacred act of awakening this reclamation.
Harrison Cook is a contemporary dancer, choreographer, and writer of Māori (Kāi Tahu) and Pākehā descent, born and raised on Ngāti Hauā Whenua in the Waikato region of Aotearoa. He is currently based on the lands of the Whadjuk Noongar people in Boorloo (Perth).
Harrison is a graduate of the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, completing his Bachelor of Arts Dance (2023) and Bachelor of Performing Arts Honours (Awarded a First Class Honours) (2024). During his honours research year, working under the mentorship of Jo Pollitt, he developed and produced his thesis work ’Te Wakahuia: Coming to Know Lineage through Dance Improvisation and Archival Poetics’ which included a body of movement and film work under the name ‘HōtokeWynter ~ ComingToKnow.’ This experience of producing this written and movement practice left Harrison feeling pulled to continue this ongoing artistic enquiry into whakapapa, ancestral memory, and the uncovering of the body as a living archive.
His developing choreographic practice centres on research-based improvisation, exploring relationships between land and water, ancestral voice, and embodied lineage. Harrison’s solo work MATA MATA has become a sacred part of his practice and artistic offerings and has been developed and supported through the PILOT Choreographic Program with Enneagon Movement and will premiere as part of The Blue Room Theatre’s 2026 Annual Season through the EVOLVE Program with STRUT Dance. His artistic development has been supported through residencies with The Blue Room Theatre and PICA (Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts), where Harrison was given time and space to continue developing his ongoing practice and project 'THE RETURN'.
Through his evolving practice, Harrison continues to explore and understand the connecting to dance becoming a sacred site for remembering, reconnecting, and embodying the stories of our past.