Septem­ber is the month for dance lov­ers – wheth­er obser­va­tion­al or more involved – with the Dance Your Socks Off fest­iv­al run­ning all month.


The fest­iv­al is a cel­eb­ra­tion of con­tem­por­ary dance and dance theatre, and to kick it off there are two inter­act­ive events organ­ised by DANZ. The lead-in is on August 26th from 5:30 – 7pm with a (free) for­um at the Film Archive, fea­tur­ing per­formers and pro­du­cers of fest­iv­al shows talk­ing about their work and shar­ing ideas with inter­ested observ­ers and people with­in the industry alike. It looks like the per­fect intro­duc­tion to the fest­iv­al if you’re unsure where to start after look­ing at the pro­gram here. Then on Septem­ber 6th there’s a con­tem­por­ary dance work­shop at Toi Poneke (aka the Wel­ling­ton Arts Centre at 61 Abel Smith Street), only $5 on the door, with tutor Anita Hutchins. Aimed at begin­ners aged 15 and up, the promo says you should wear non restrict­ive cloth­ing with bare feet or soft dance shoes, and take your lunch! Call (04) 802 0536 for more info about either of these events, or check the Feel­ing Great web­site for the extens­ive line-up of Dance Your Socks Off events and work­shops.