Puppets exploring the circle of life

Dance show centred around larger than life-sized puppets will debut at the Lyttelton Arts Factory...
Dance show centred around larger than life-sized puppets will debut at the Lyttelton Arts Factory next month.
An unusual dance show intertwining two dancers with larger than life-sized puppets will debut next month.

Lyttelton's Fleur de Thier and Little River's Simon Van Der Sluijs have teamed up to explore the pure essence of life - living, loving and dying by intertwining dance with puppets.

Mantra will premiere at the Lyttelton Arts Factory next month before it is showcased as part of the Little Andromeda pop-up festival in November.

The unique concept behind the show is two large puppets which will be controlled by professional dancers Aleasha Seaward and Mariafelix Fuenzalida in the original production on the circle of life.

"The dancers are the only ones that will control them, there are no strings. They represent a man and woman...we are trying to form a love affair," de Their said.

The concept of the show was formed by Van Der Sluijs, a multifaceted artist while de Their, a  dance artist is driving the movement in the show.

The make-up of the show will have repetitive sentences with the concept of a mantra coming through.

"The dancers are the only ones that will control them. There are no strings. They represent a man and a woman...we are trying to form a love affair," de Their said.

But the show strictly is not for children.

"I think it will be hauntingly beautiful, but I think for young children it will be scary," de Their said.

She described the puppets as having a real presence and could understand how people could become "weirded out" by them.
de Their said when she first went out to Van Der Sluijs' studio earlier this year to see the puppets she felt like she had walked into a room with two people.

She said the best part of working on Mantra has been collaborating with an artist from a different genre.

"Normally as a choreographer I am driving things myself so it is lovely to be feeding off someone else's ideas".

Following completing her training with the Auckland Performing Arts (now UNITEC) in the early 1990s, de Their freelanced as a professional dancer before establishing herself in Christchurch as a choreographer.

Inspite of being based at Hagley Theatre Company for about 20 years, de Their has no desire to leave.

"I am working with post-secondary students who have all chosen to do dance and drama as part of their career pathway so they want to be there and are really hungry to learn," she said.
de Their said she loves being able to employ dancers for her work after they have studied at Hagley before going on to tertiary study and becoming professional dancers.

Both Seaward and Fuenzalida are Hagley graduates.

Mantra will be performed at LAF on October 25 and 26 and at Little Andromeda on November 13. To book tickets go to www.laf.co.nz and https://littleandromeda.co.nz/#