Dr Becca Weber is a senior lecturer at the University of Auckland. Her work investigates intersections between dance, science, and somatics. Becca earned a PhD in Dance Psychology from Coventry University while working on the Leverhulme Trust-  funded project, “In the Dancer’s Mind.” She has been published widely, including in Dance and the Quality of Life; Research in Dance Education; Multimodal Perspectives in the Performing Arts; The Journal of Dance and Somatic Practices;  Dance, Movement and Spiritualities; and the anthology Dance, Somatics, and Spiritualities: Contemporary Sacred Narratives, which she co-edited.  

Sidney Sherwood is a third-year dance studies student at The University of Auckland. She is enthusiastic about dance education and its value, influence, and place in the curriculum. Sidney has worked in a myriad of educational contexts, striving to provide her students with more understanding of the world, through dance. 

Mikaela Debela is a creative practitioner in the final year of her Bachelor of Dance Studies at the University of Auckland. Previously based in Wellington, Mikaela holds community and building connections at the centre of her practice. Mikaela is interested in exploring and blurring genre lines in dance through collaboration, as well as investigating different forms of creative practice. She aspires to work in live performance spaces, both onstage and off.

Teuila Hughes is a PhD candidate from the University of Auckland, Dance Studies Programme. Her research is currently exploring the cultural history of Samoan dance and the shifts that have occurred in its practices and aesthetics that have led to its positioning within our globalised present. She is also a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Auckland, Dance Studies Programme where she teaches papers such as Contemporary Pacific Dance Practices and Performance, Dance and Culture, and Creative and Somatic Dance Practices. Her interests lie within the areas of performance aesthetics, education and research both within academic and community contexts. She is passionate about the development of Pacific dance practices, concepts and pedagogies towards supporting both established and emerging Pacific dance practitioners.

Dr. Tia Reihana is a Senior lecturer in Dance Studies at The University of Auckland. She has been well-published in leading arts, performance, and education journals. Her PhD, Te mana Motuhake o te kauri (the authority of the Kauri tree), developed an intercultural praxis through Kaupapa Māori research with Marrugeku  Dance Theatre, Australia’s leading Indigenous performance ensemble. Dr Reihana works extensively in Arts, Education and Health with Indigenous communities in Aotearoa and the wider Pacific. She is the co-director of the newly established Centre for Co-Created Ageing Research (CREATE-AGE) at the University of Auckland.