Once again, Whāingaroa Youth Movement delivers a wonderful prose on life’s lessons, with this year’s performance titled The Woz.
Read more: The WOZ, presented by Whaingaroa Youth MovementAptly set in the Bush Park, The Woz follows the story of the character Dot, who is swept away in a flowing dance to a foreign land and sets off on a journey to find home. Through subsequent dances, the audience is confronted by characters who also believe themselves in need of help from the all-powerful entity, The Wiz, and join Dot on their uncertain but hopeful journey.
Initially, the choreography highlights the limitations these characters have imposed on themselves—things they believe only The Wiz can grant to them. Timid lions, heartless robots, and straw-brained scarecrows take to the stage, the dances reflecting their self-doubt. The choreography conveys the characters’ emotions with clarity, supported by tracks such as The Doors’ People Are Strange and Imogen Heap’s Headlock, which immerse the viewer in this strange world.
Dancers dressed in ties and blazers, representing The Wiz, gave insight into the true nature of the entity. Supported by Sub Urban’s UH OH! and Double Life by Pharrell Williams, the sequences set the tone for a sneaky, strict, and punishing figure. The Wiz was, in fact, a scam—not a life-saving entity, but a con artist dressed in a suit selling lies. Yet this revelation becomes more of a turning point than a cause for despair.
As not all those who wander are lost!
The timid lions find their bravery and strength, the scarecrows their brains, the robots their hearts. Dot, at the end of the journey, realises—as cliché as it may sound—that the journey itself is just as important as the destination. That maybe what we search for is, in fact, already in our hearts. To say the least, the show is a beautiful synonym for how we find ourselves and who we are. Each dancer finds themselves on a path of change during the journey toward their own destination, encouraging the audience to reflect on the messages and where they may fit in this unfolding story.
But to limit the show to the message conveyed through the dances would be to sell Whāingaroa Youth Movement short. Led by Patti Mitchley and her talented team, the group allows a rare kind of creative leeway for the dancers. Each performer participates actively in their part of the show, fully immersed in their character and encouraged to express themselves through movement. There is a heterogeneous fluidity in the performance that allows both the viewer and the dancer to sink into another world entirely.
All in all, The Woz was once again a beautifully presented allegory on some of life’s timeless lessons.
