Movement of the Human is gearing up to present an autobiography performance on the well-known Māori contemporary dancer, Rodney Bell. The story revolves around his triumphs and challenges he experienced over the 12 years on the international stage.
A dancer from Te Kuiti is about to present his unique story through dance.
Bell told Te Kāea, “I am very honoured to be working with this amazing team of arts and I just want to be able to do my best.”
His autobiography performance talks about his journey on his wheelchair.
“This wheelchair is brand new. This is my new girl. I went through a lot with that chair and that chair is about 10 to 11-years old. I did some amazing dance on that chair. That chair took me to some heights I had won the Duncan award with that chair in the States. That baby, oh my gosh.”
Bell moved to America in 2007 to pursue his dancing career, a year before Barack Obama was elected president.
“I was fortunate to be there when Barack Obama was elected in so there was a big hype so I felt privileged to be there at that time.”
But in 2012 his journey in the States turned upside down after losing his job and resorting to the streets for security.
“There's a lot of homeless now in Aotearoa. And we're in a situation where we need to address that in big ways. For me, that brings up a lot for me because I was homeless in San Francisco for three years. In the dance performance, I’m hoping to the audience come and get a little bit of a taste of what it is like to come out of homelessness.”
Bell will present his story next week in West Auckland.