Dance Plant Collective is a contemporary dance-theatre company based in Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa ​(Auckland, New Zealand). Our vision is to create politically challenging and transformative performance work and ​the roots of our practice are planted in a desire to nurture community, honour the body as a locus of understanding ​and uphold the interconnectedness of all things.

Co-founded in late 2016, Dance Plant offers a unique collaborative practice inspired by the genius of rhizome ​ecosystems. We embrace both absurdity and authenticity, trusting the spontaneous cross-fertilisation of view-​points to produce startling new material staged in equally surprising spaces. Dance Plant Collective have shared ​our award-winning, sold-out performances throughout New Zealand and Australia.

We regularly offer collaborative opportunities through a community-based approach within our work.

Dance Plant Collective sprouted its roots in Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa in late 2016.

Our artistic relationships began during our undergraduate degree at Unitec Institute of Technology. Bound by a collective vision, we were driven by the desire to craft ​a collaborative, sustainable, nonhierarchical company model that fostered a nurturing environment for our shared passion: the creation of dance-focused art. We ​strive to enrich and engage the wider dance community through choreography and cultivating inclusive space.

Our first show as a collective, Desire Line(s) (2017), was co-choreographed with Anu Khapung, Bella Wilson, Brittany Kohler, Jaz Yahel, Georgia Beechey-Gradwell, ​Natasha Kohler, Rose Tapsell and Tūī Hofmann. Dance Plant Collective and each individual involved have evolved and grown over the years.

We want to acknowledge the incredible mahi of the beautiful artists who helped shape Dance Plant Collective to what it is today. In particular, we acknowledge ​former co-director Jaz Yahel, who was an active member of Dance Plant Collective from its inception in 2016 till 2024, and Zoë Nicholson, who was our producer ​from 2018-22. We would also like to mention Rose Tapsell, Georgie Beechey-Gradewell and Anu Khapung who were a part of our inception, creating our first ​choreographic work together but more importantly helping to form the kaupapa for which we still uphold today.

Our body of work is diverse and reflects the variety of choreographic practices and interests held across our collective. We embrace collaborative methods of art-​making and enjoy working with artists across disciplines. You will find more information about the current co-directors below.

BELLA WILSON

Bella is an independent contemporary dancer, choreographer and teacher, currently based in London, UK. She has ​worked as both a dancer and choreographer on every significant project with Dance Plant Collective since its inception. ​Bella’s practice is diverse and is centred around her love for interdisciplinary collaboration, fostering socio-political ​discourse and building community. Her choreographic work has been presented in theatres, art galleries, digital ​platforms (live-stream performances and dance films), outdoor light festivals, music videos, fashion week shows, and ​motion capture video works. Bella has been an artist-in-residence at Studio One Toi Tū (NZ), Wellesley Studios (NZ), Lucy ​Guerin Inc. (AUS), & Impulstanz (AT). Her first full-length choreographic work ‘STRUCTURE’ featuring 16 dancers was ​supported by Creative New Zealand and the Peacocke Dance Trust. She has also performed for artists including Alexa ​Wilson (with Footnote NZ Dance), Zahra Killeen-Chance, Kit Reilly and Holly Finch. Bella regularly teaches professional ​level classes for Unitec Dance, IndepenDANCE and The New Zealand Dance Company. She is a contemporary dance ​graduate of the New Zealand School of Dance (2013) and Unitec Dance (2016), and completed her postgraduate ​Honours degree in Dance Studies at The University of Auckland in 2023. Her academic research investigated trauma-​informed choreographic leadership. In 2022, Bella was awarded the Arts Foundation’s Springboard Award in ​recognition of her outstanding potential as an emerging artist. In 2023, she was supported by the Todd Trust, Peacocke ​Dance Trust and Dorothy Daniels Dance Foundation to attend the ATLAS choreographic programme at Impulstanz in ​Vienna, Austria.

BRITTANY KOHLER

Brittany is a freelance dance artist and co-director of Dance Plant Collective. Brittany grew up choreographing living ​room performances with her twin sister Tash before beginning dance classes that took her through her school years. ​Now, she holds a Bachelor of Performing and Screen Arts (Contemporary Dance) from Unitec Institute of Technology ​(2016) and is a registered Dance Movement Therapist with the Dance Therapy Association of Australasia (2022). Brittany ​works predominantly with Dance Plant Collective, choreographing and performing full-length theatre works and site-​specific works for events/festivals, as well as connecting with the community through class and workshop facilitation. ​Choreographic highlights include her latest full-length duet with Natasha Kohler, Rituals of Similarity, which premiered in ​Auckland through Q Theatre's MATCHBOX programme, and her first full-length work 'Magnificent Remains', which ​premiered at LOT23 in Auckland, 2021. Her performance highlights include Rituals of Similarity, Bella Wilson and Dance ​Plant Collective's STRUCTURE, Love, Instantly by Neža Jamnikar at Experimental Dance Week Aotearoa 2020, and ​festival and live event performances over the years such as Light Night for Auckland Arts Festival 2023, Lite Moves for ​LUMA Festival 2019, and presenting work at Splore Festival.

NATASHA KOHLER

Natasha is an independent contemporary dancer & choreographer based in Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa (Auckland, New ​Zealand). She began as a co-founder of Dance Plant Collective following her contemporary dance degree in 2016 and ​has been passionate about working collaboratively within both performance and choreographic roles since. Natasha is ​interested in multi-disciplinary dance investigation and is passionate about using movement as a tool for inspiring ​growth, self discovery & reflection and to initiate positive change in our current world climate. ​Natasha loves ​collaboration. Whether that be with like-minded humans or with the natural world around us. Her current fascination is ​exploring how we can move in alignment with the natural world not only in dance but also in the mundanity of our daily ​lives. Natasha has had her choreographic and performance work presented within New Zealand and abroad and ​premiered her most recent work, a dance duet 'Rituals of Similarity' with her twin sister Brittany at Q Theatre's Matchbox ​Season in August 2023.

TUI HOFMANN

Tūī is a movement practitioner and choreographer hailing from the northland region of New Zealand. She obtained her ​BPSA degree in Contemporary Dance in 2016 and has been actively exploring various movement modalities ever since. ​Tūī has a distinct interest in creating site-specific performance works, taking performances out of traditional theater ​settings, and integrating with other art forms to produce innovative and captivating performance-based artwork. Some ​of her most notable performances include "Social Distant Dancing" at the Lunga Arts Festival in Iceland in 2020 which ​was performed inside an abandoned silo, her participation in the Luma Festival in Queenstown from 2019 to 2021, and ​her work "Adrift" at the Shipwrecked Festival in 2021, involving a floating stage on a lake. Tūī's arts practice has been ​enriched by her time spent living in Berlin, Germany, and London, UK, where she has been exposed to new ways of ​working and has had the opportunity to expand her creative influences. One of her significant accomplishments includes ​choreographing a full-length work titled "MEAT" for Dance Plant, which received support from Creative New Zealand. ​The piece toured both New Zealand and Melbourne and was awarded the Best Dance accolade at the Dunedin Fringe ​Festival. Tūī has been an integral part of DPC since its inception in 2016. She continues to thrive in this collaborative and ​supportive collective, which allows her to explore her artistry further and contribute to the growth of the group.

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