Aroha Pehi
Performer
Aroha Pehi is a proud Darriebullum, Kuku Yalnji, Nga-Puhi and Ngātiporou woman from Nhulunbuy, Northern Territory, Australia. Aroha has always had a strong connection to her Polynesian heritage and has a dance background in Hula. In 2015 at the age of 18 Aroha was accepted into the National Aboriginal Islander Skills Development association.
Aroha has performed and collaborated in works with choreographers, such as Françoise Angenieux, Raymond D. Blanco, Dennis Nuie, Vicki van Hout, Pamela Williams, Jasmine Gulash, Frances Rings, Sani Townson, Omer Astrachan, Craig Bary, Tairoa Royal, Debra Brown and Louise Potiki-Bryant. While in her second year at NAISDA, she worked with Omer Astrachan on a physical theatre collaboration that was selected to be performed in the 2016 end of year show season, From Sand to Stage. The work was also an opening act before the Royal Ballet Gala, in Cairns, 2017. Aroha has collaborated with international dance company, Atamira Dance Company, that performed a work from the 2017 end of year show, Shape Shift created by Frances Rings for the 2018 Tempo Dance Festival. In 2019, she worked with MANU Collective in New Zealand and toured to Hong Kong, Macao and Hawai’i with choreographed works from international artists Bianca Hyslop (New Zealand), Eddie Elliot (New Zealand) and Xavier Breed (MANU, Former Artistic Director). She also performed in the remount of PHUNKTIONAL Arts Company, Beyond the Wall project, shining light on youth in detention centres.
Aroha co-founded Lost All Sorts Collective (LASC), a contemporary dance theatre collective producing works focused on Indigenous issues, who have undertaken residencies at PACT and Art House, Wyong. Aroha also dances with Jannawi Dance Clan, where she mixes her passion for cultural dance and contemporary. Aroha has started to explore new art expressions, such as writing and dance on film.