Black Grace
Black Grace is a New Zealand contemporary dance company founded by choreographer Neil Ieremia and shaped by Pacific, Māori and New Zealand artistic perspectives.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Black Grace is a contemporary dance company based in Auckland, New Zealand, founded by choreographer Neil Ieremia in 1995. The company emerged from Aotearoa New Zealand’s Pacific and Māori cultural environment and has developed an identifiable performance language combining highly physical movement, theatrical storytelling, contemporary choreography and traditions associated with the South Pacific. Its work is intended to communicate across social, cultural and generational boundaries while retaining a strong connection to the experiences and identities of Pacific peoples and New Zealand communities. The company was initially established at Auckland’s Maidment Theatre with ten male dancers drawn from Pacific, Māori and New Zealand Pākehā backgrounds. For its first several years, Black Grace operated as an all-male ensemble, while women participated in youth projects facilitated by the company. This approach changed in 2002, when Ieremia created the Black Grace & Friends production format. The programme invited guest choreographers and senior company members to create shorter works. After a guest choreographer withdrew, Ieremia completed a work called Human Language, which became the first Black Grace production to include women in its cast. The expanded casting model broadened the company’s choreographic possibilities and became part of its subsequent development. A major turning point came in 2004, when Black Grace was invited to perform at Jacob’s Pillow in Massachusetts. It was the first invitation to that prestigious American dance centre extended to a New Zealand company. The appearance helped introduce Ieremia’s choreography and the Black Grace ensemble to the United States and strengthened the company’s international profile. Later international activity included performances in Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, New Caledonia, South Korea, Switzerland and the United States. Notable engagements included sell-out performances at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, a four-week season on New York’s 42nd Street, the Cervantino Festival in Mexico, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and the 2010 Cultural Olympiad in Vancouver. Black Grace’s repertoire and associated work extend beyond conventional stage seasons. The company has participated in education and youth activity, collaborated with guest artists, and appeared in documentary, music-video and short-film projects. The company’s screen-related work includes the 2005 documentary From Cannon’s Creek to Jacob’s Pillow, the 2013 music video Mother Mother by Fat Freddy’s Drop, and the 2021 short dance film Elephantic, based on a book written by Ieremia and illustrated by Pati Fuiava. In September 2022, Black Grace presented Fatu (Heart), a work inspired by New Zealand Samoan artist Fatu Feu’u, in both the United States and New Zealand. The name Black Grace functions as an artistic statement. Ieremia has explained that “black” was used positively among his school peers to signify daring or impressive behaviour, while “grace” referred to a quality his ballet teacher told him he lacked. Together, the words express a willingness to challenge expectations and transform terms or assumptions that might otherwise carry negative meanings. By 2025, Black Grace had reached its thirtieth anniversary, marking three decades of New Zealand contemporary dance practice, international touring and Pacific-centred artistic storytelling.
History
Neil Ieremia founded Black Grace in 1995 at Auckland’s Maidment Theatre. The original ensemble comprised ten male dancers whose backgrounds included Pacific, Māori and New Zealand Pākehā heritage. From its beginning, the company’s identity was tied to Ieremia’s choreographic interest in physical intensity, Pacific and New Zealand cultural experience, and narrative forms associated with South Pacific traditions. Rather than treating contemporary dance as culturally neutral, Black Grace developed a performance vocabulary that placed those perspectives at the centre of its work. For its initial period, Black Grace remained an all-male company. Women were involved in youth projects facilitated by the organisation, but they were not part of the principal company. In 2002, Ieremia introduced Black Grace & Friends, a production format in which guest choreographers or experienced company members were invited to make shorter works. When a guest choreographer withdrew shortly before a programme was due to be completed, Ieremia took responsibility for producing a replacement work titled Human Language. The project resulted in the first Black Grace work to include women in its cast. Ieremia later described the change as creatively significant because the dancers’ differing training and movement backgrounds expanded the choreographic possibilities available to the company. Black Grace’s international breakthrough came in 2004 with an invitation to Jacob’s Pillow dance centre in the United States. The company was the first New Zealand dance company to receive such an invitation. The engagement helped establish Black Grace and Ieremia as visible participants in the competitive American dance field and created a platform for further international touring. Subsequent performances took place across Australia, Canada, Europe, Asia, North America, Mexico and the Pacific. The company’s international highlights included sold-out appearances at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, a four-week New York season on 42nd Street, the Cervantino Festival in Mexico, performances at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and participation in the 2010 Cultural Olympiad in Vancouver. The organisation’s activities have included staged dance works, collaborations, youth and educational initiatives, and appearances in filmed media. Its screen credits and related projects include From Cannon’s Creek to Jacob’s Pillow, a 2005 documentary by Aileen O’Sullivan and Toby Mills; the 2013 Mother Mother music video by Fat Freddy’s Drop; and Elephantic, a 2021 short dance film based on a book written by Ieremia and illustrated by Pati Fuiava. These projects extended the company’s work beyond the theatre and connected its movement practice with documentary, popular music and children’s storytelling. In September 2022, Black Grace performed Fatu (Heart) in the United States and New Zealand. The work drew inspiration from New Zealand Samoan artist Fatu Feu’u, continuing the company’s engagement with Pacific artistic voices. By 2025, Black Grace had completed thirty years of operation. Across that period, it developed from a small Auckland ensemble into an internationally touring contemporary dance company while maintaining its connection to Aotearoa New Zealand, Pacific identity and physically expressive storytelling.
- 2025
Thirtieth anniversary
[1]Black Grace reached thirty years since its foundation in Auckland.
- 2022
Fatu (Heart)
[1]Black Grace performed Fatu (Heart), inspired by New Zealand Samoan artist Fatu Feu’u, in the United States and New Zealand.
- 2021
Elephantic short dance film
[1]Black Grace was associated with Elephantic, a short dance film based on a book written by Neil Ieremia and illustrated by Pati Fuiava.
- 2010
Vancouver Cultural Olympiad
[1]The company performed as part of the 2010 Cultural Olympiad in Vancouver.
- 2005
From Cannon’s Creek to Jacob’s Pillow
[1]A documentary about Black Grace’s journey from New Zealand to Jacob’s Pillow was released.
- 2004
Jacob’s Pillow invitation
[1]Black Grace became the first New Zealand company invited to perform at Jacob’s Pillow in the United States, an engagement that accelerated its international profile.
- 2002
Black Grace & Friends is introduced
[1]Ieremia introduced a programme format for guest choreographers and senior company members; the resulting Human Language project became the first Black Grace work to include women in the cast.
- 2001
The original all-male company period ends
[1]Black Grace remained a strictly all-male principal company until 2001, although women participated in youth projects before the later casting expansion.
- 1995
Black Grace is founded
[1]Neil Ieremia formed Black Grace at Auckland’s Maidment Theatre with an initial group of ten male dancers of Pacific, Māori and New Zealand Pākehā heritage.
Products and positioning
A Pacific- and New Zealand-rooted contemporary dance company known for physically powerful choreography, ensemble performance and storytelling informed by South Pacific traditions.
Contemporary dance · 1995
Black Grace contemporary dance repertoire
The company’s principal offering is live contemporary dance performance. Its repertoire is choreographed primarily through Neil Ieremia’s practice and is characterised by vigorous ensemble movement, narrative structure and influences from Pacific and New Zealand cultural traditions. The works are presented in New Zealand and through international touring engagements.
Collaborative dance programme · 2002
Black Grace & Friends
Black Grace & Friends is a production format introduced in 2002. It provides a framework for guest choreographers and senior company members to create shorter works with the ensemble. The format expanded the range of artistic voices associated with Black Grace and led to Human Language, the first company work to include women in its cast.
Dance work · 2002
Human Language
Human Language was completed by Neil Ieremia after a guest choreographer withdrew from a Black Grace & Friends programme. It is notable in the company’s history because it was the first Black Grace work to include women in the cast, broadening the ensemble’s movement and choreographic possibilities.
Dance work · 2022
Fatu (Heart)
Fatu (Heart) is a Black Grace work inspired by the practice and artistic identity of New Zealand Samoan artist Fatu Feu’u. The work was performed in the United States and New Zealand in September 2022.
Education programme
Dance education and youth projects
Black Grace has facilitated youth-oriented projects alongside its professional company activity. These initiatives form part of the organisation’s broader role in developing dance participation and connecting its Pacific and New Zealand perspectives with younger audiences.
Brand decisions
2004
Pursue international presentation through Jacob’s PillowStrategyBackground
Black Grace received an invitation to perform at Jacob’s Pillow, a major American dance centre.
Action taken
The company accepted the engagement and presented its work in the United States.
Aftermath
The appearance helped move Black Grace into the international touring arena and supported later performances across North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Pacific.
2002
Expand the company’s casting and commissioning modelStrategyBackground
The Black Grace & Friends programme was created to bring guest choreographers and senior company members into the company’s creative process. A last-minute withdrawal required Ieremia to complete Human Language himself.
Action taken
The resulting work included women in the cast for the first time in Black Grace’s principal company history, ending the earlier strictly all-male model.
Aftermath
The change increased the range of movement and training backgrounds available to the choreographer and became an important development in the company’s artistic history.
Recent events
- 2025
Black Grace marks its thirtieth anniversary[1]
Other
The New Zealand contemporary dance company reached thirty years since its founding by Neil Ieremia in 1995.
- 2022
Black Grace presents Fatu (Heart) in the United States and New Zealand[1]
Other
Black Grace performed Fatu (Heart), a work inspired by New Zealand Samoan artist Fatu Feu’u, in the United States and New Zealand.
Sources2 sources
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