Celebrated Samoan dance artist Lemi Ponifasio is bringing Stones In Her Mouth to Luminato

Celebrated Samoan dance artist Lemi Ponifasio from New Zealand is bringing Stones In Her Mouth with 10 Maori women to the Luminato Festival, June 12 to June14 at the MacMillan Theatre in Toronto.

    Stones In Her Mouth tells, in dance and song, stories of oppression, abuse of power and of a changing world. Through oratory, choral-work and dance, Stones In Her Mouth gives voice to intense personal emotions and holds a mirror to contemporary life.

    Taking its title from a book of poems by Roma Potiki, Stones In Her Mouth turns a mirror to the social and political turmoil of our times.

    To the Maori, the first human was a woman, Hineahuone. Women are the foundation of humanity and respected as givers of life. Stones In Her Mouth draws upon the powerful moteatea tradition of female-written expressions of protest, prophesy, warning and desire.

    “Lemi takes traditional dance from the Southern Pacific and reinvents it with the tools of the avant-garde. Like Schubert did with folk songs, Lemi takes Indigenous culture and turns it into high art, reviving its traditions while at the same time distilling its essence,” said Luminato Festival Artistic Director Jorn Weisbrodt.

    The Luminato Festival will also feature NORTHERN LIGHTS AND MUSIC with Buffy Sainte-Marie, and Tanya Tagaq, who presents Nanook of the North, on Tuesday, June 10 at 8 p.m. in David Pecault Square in Toronto.