In February, Amsterdam-based Magpie Music Dance Company is arriving in New Zealand. The company's arrival provides a rare and unprecedented treat for the New Zealand music and dance industries. In February, Amsterdam-based Magpie Music Dance Company is arriving in New Zealand. The company's arrival provides a rare and unprecedented treat for the New Zealand music and dance industries.Magpie is one of the most exciting and innovative dance companies to appear in New Zealand from overseas. An internationally renowned company, Magpie has toured extensively around the world, performing in 21 countries in 2001 and 2002.

As well as performing in several venues in Wellington and Auckland, Magpie will be holding workshops for dancers and performers in Auckland from 18th to 29th February.

Magpie is unique in the way it uses improvisation in performance. Ballet International described the company's methods by saying, "The company has dedicated itself exclusively to improvisation and has attained a high level of mastery in it. Magpie is a perfect example for one to grasp the extent to which the engendering of the magical moment, of the fantastic, coincidental encounter, may, or perhaps must, rest on familiarity, mutual trust and being attuned to one another."

The practical diversity of the dance artists in Magpie ranges from modern dance to ballet to new dance, with music from artists influenced by punk, electronic-based music, jazz, rock and traditional western contemporary performance practices.

Magpie's performers have worked for the Ballet Frankfurt, Twyla Tharp, the Feld Ballet and Pretty Ugly Dance Company. Musician Mary Oliver has premiered works by Richard Barrett, John Cage, Chaya Czernowin, Morton Feldman, Brian Ferneyhough, George Lewis and Iannis Xenakis among others and worked alongside improvising musicians such as Ab Baars, FURT, Tristan Honsinger, Joelle Leandre, George Lewis, Phil Minton and Evan Parker.

Unique to Magpie's real-time creative process is the inclusion of a lighting designer, whereby choices are made through the selection of colour and light density to create an ever-evolving performance space.

"Their performance appears so homogenous that one tends to look for pre-fixed choreographic patterns. The fact that indeed there are none, makes their way to dance astonishing and technically of highest caliber... the beauty of pure movement one can enjoy with Magpie on a high scale. Magpie playfully opens the Art of dance towards life just as the samplings and the casual talk on stage. A memorable evening. Who else could succeed in bridging casualness with such virtuosity?" Badusche Zeitung

Magpie has been invited to New Zealand by Pineapple Productions, with funding from Creative NZ, the Royal Netherlands Embassy of NZ, the NZ Netherlands Foundation and the Netherlands Podiumkunst. Juliet Shelley is the founder of Pineapple, a company which specialises in promoting dance and music improvisation in New Zealand. Juliet draws from her own overseas roots and international connections in bringing the company to New Zealand.

"To me, this company is like a breath of fresh air. They are dazzling in their ability to weave virtuosity with seeming casualness and they move from moments of almost surreal poignancy to humour in an instant. They are simply unforgettable. I really wanted New Zealand audiences to experience their work so I invited them over and they said 'Yes'. We are very lucky to have them here."

Juliet says the company is also offering an amazing opportunity for New Zealand dancers to study with them through workshops in February.

Accompanying Magpie in their performances in Auckland are Libella Fa, a new company of New Zealand dancers and musicians employing improvisation as a primary performance mode. Drawn from some of New Zealand's finest dancers and musicians, the group will workshop and perform with Magpie and before going on to perform in Wellington at Bats theatre in March.

Magpie teaches workshops in Technique, Improvisation and Composition from 18 - 27 February at The Auckland Performing Arts Centre, Motions Rd, Western Springs. Workshop bookings and registrations: Juliet Shelley 04 569 1664 jshell@clear.net.nz

Magpie performs at
* Wellington at Te Whaea on 21 February 8pm
Bookings: 04 384 3840 and

*TAPAC on 26 - 29th February
Bookings: 09 300 3700
Libella Fa (Dragonfly Four)
Bats Theatre 5-7 March 2004

Libella Fa is a new company of NZ dancers and musicians who employ improvisation as a primary mode of performance. Between them, the performers have many years experience in performance art in New Zealand and overseas, and have worked on a number of well known productions such as the BodyCartography Kahurani Project, TouchCompass video works Timeless, Union and The Pacific, and individual performances and contributions for the Wellington Fringe Festival and the IMprovisation Festival in New York.

For this production, the company is directed by the Amsterdam-based Magpie Music Dance Company.

Bookings: (04) 802 4175

Libella Fa performs at
*Bats Theatre, Wellington from 5 - 7 March
Bookings: 04 802 4175

Magpie: www.magpiemusicdance.com