Jolt must be just about the busiest dance company in the country at the moment, with live shows in the UK, a biennale featuring all its dancers, and two projects with Chamber Music New Zealand - a tour, and a new music programme called The Big I for people with intellectual disabilities.
The UK trip was actually supposed to happen in 2020. It will include performances and a short film called Sam that'll be presented at the end of this month in London. It's part of the Amici Dance Theatre Company's 40th anniversary production: One World.
It was Amici, which includes disabled and non-disabled performers, that inspired Lyn Cotton to set up Jolt in Aotearoa 21 years ago. Now, well over 100 dancers with intellectual disabilities make up the Christchurch-based company.
Joining Lyn on the UK trip is Carl Te Tone Huia. He'll be performing "Takiwātanga", an autobiographical work that speaks to his whakapapa, wairua and lived experience of autism. He's performing the work at New Zealand House for the Ngātai Rānana London Māori Club Matariki Ball.
Lynn Freeman talks with Lyn Cotton and Carl Te One Huia, as well as Cathy Irons from Chamber Music New Zealand.
To help raise money for the UK trip, Jolt dancers are performing at a fundraising event at 4pm today at the Shirley Boys' and Avonside Girls' High School Auditorium. The Big I will be presented in Dunedin, Nelson, Wellington and Tauranga later this year..
