Beyond the Bars

In the last five years, our female prison population has almost quadrupled - from 200 to nearly 800 women inside.

The new Minister for Corrections Kelvin Davis has pledged to reduce the prison population by 30 percent in the next 15 years with the help of some new skill-building initiatives for inmates.

One - a joint venture between Corrections and the Royal New Zealand Ballet -  is bringing dance into Arohata Women’s Prison for the first time.

The inmates involved have been busy preparing for their Christmas performances and Upbeat producer Zoe George went behind the bars to take a look.

Beyond the bars, it’s the final rehearsal for the 14 dancers at Arohata Women’s Prison.

The inmates are learning important life skills while pirouetting, plieing and jeteing under the guidance of the Royal New Zealand Ballet.

The choreography was created especially for the women and has a salsa vibe.

RNZB’s Pascale Parenteau says it’s important to reach all parts of the community, including those in prison.

“This [initiative] is, I think, a necessity. To be confined into four walls … but to have the freedom of expression of your soul, your body, your mind, your heart. I think this will be a long association between the RNZB and Corrections,” she says.

Participation in the classes is not seen as a reward for the women, who all volunteered to take part.

Dancing teaches the inmates important life skills, Arohata Deputy Prison Director Matire Kupenga-Wanoa says.

“This is just seen as part of their rehabilitation. Part of this program is they learn how to count, how to co-ordinate themselves, how to interact and relate to others in a positive way … There’s a whole lot of learning that comes with this medium. And it makes you happy and builds your self-esteem and self-confidence.”

A group of inmates worked together to create the paua-shell inspired tutus, with fabrics, patterns and guidance coming from the costume department at the Royal New Zealand Ballet.

One woman enjoyed creating the tutus so much she’s enquired about gaining work experience with the ballet once she is released.

Learning dance is a humbling experience that has helped her embrace her femininity, she says.

“You’re in a structured environment and any possibility of channeling energy in a positive manner is going to have a positive outcome … Being able to tap into femininity in such a hard-core environment is just a gift, really.”

All the women come from different wings, so they have to work with others they may not have met before.

The same participant says she has learnt to collaborate, be tolerant and respectful of “other people’s journeys”.

That respect has flowed in different ways.

“The women from the RNZB have been incredible. We don’t feel like prisoners, we feel like women when we stand here … and the teachers look at us as women. It’s nice to be reminded of that.

“I don’t think many of us have had anything to be passionate about for a long time, but it’s nice to be passionate about this. I love the way I feel I am when I’m here … it feels good.”

Everyone is having an opportunity to explore something within, she says.

“A lot of women in here haven’t been able to embrace themselves as women, to actually allow themselves to be feminine. This gives them the avenue … Every woman has the right to feel like a little girl sooner or later.

“A lot of girls in here never really had childhoods. I think the more you can identify with your feminine self the more you’re going to understand yourself.

“It’s important that we see ourselves as women rather than hardened criminals.”

Another is regaining her confidence - something she lost a long time ago, she says.

“It’s like mindfulness… When you’re in a sad moment you can release it with your dance and just be in a happier place.”

Prison can be a very challenging place, but it depends on how “you deal with it”, she says.

For her, the ballet has been a good outlet for self-discovery and reclamation.

“[It’s about] escaping a wee bit of prison life. There are lighter things and better things in this dark environment that we don’t how to release our emotions properly.”

For others, the dance classes brings meaning.

“It … helps us get up every morning. We look forward to this day everyday … every Thursday we come and we do it and we love it,” another inmate says.

Jacqui Moyes from Arts Access Aotearoa says having access to the arts should be a basic right and a core part of education, rather than a privilege.

“If you can imagine living without music or a book, how would you do that?

“When we look at prison … the punishment is to be incarcerated, [but] doesn’t mean you need to be continually punished, day in day out. Access [to the arts] is a necessity.”

A range of art forms being practiced in prisons - from soap carving to matchstick building to the growing popularity of kapa haka – give inmates a voice, she says.

But not a lot of companies are willing to fund arts initiatives in prisons.

Some groups, including the Royal New Zealand Ballet, are delivering programs as part of their education arm, but as a whole, we need to change our thinking towards access in the arts, Moyes says.

She says we also need to look at the women behind bars and the statistics linked to them - 75 percent of prisoners have a mental illness.

“There’s a view that prisoners are all bad people who have done bad things … This is very much an acknowledgement that women are equal parts victim and offender. Three-quarters of the female population have experienced family violence, sexual assault, over half have PTSD and three-quarters have lived experience of mental health.”

It’s heartening to see the women smiling and enjoying the experience.

They’ve only had six one-hour rehearsals before their big nights – two Christmas concerts that will raise money for Zonta community projects and Women’s Refuge.

After preparing their costumes, warming up and doing their makeup, it’s time to take to the stage for the first time.

Watching in the crowd is RNZB educator Pagan Dorgan, who has been putting the women through their paces.

She is thrilled to see the progress the women have made and dance having such a positive impact on their lives.

“If people could actually see what happens with the change in people … that’s probably the biggest thing you can say,” she says.

“But for me … it’s quite apparent for some of them they’ve never had this opportunity … maybe if they had had this opportunity in some point in their life they may not be where they are now.”

In Janurary 2018, Pagan Dorgan will return to Arohata Women’s Prison to teach the women choreography from the RNZB’s upcoming production of The Piano.