Black Grace to Perform at University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo March 4

New Zealand contemporary dance company Black Grace is performing at 7 p.m. tonight, Wednesday, March 4, at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Performing Arts Center (listed by the company as UH Hilo Arts Center), bringing a Mixed Rep program to Hilo audiences as part of a multi‑stop Hawaiʻi tour.

Box office and ticketing for the Hilo performance follow the prices listed by the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo performing arts office: $30 general admission, $25 discount, and $15 for UH Hilo and Hawaiʻi Community College students with valid ID and children 17 and under; all tickets are $5 more the night of the performance. Tickets are available through the UH Hilo Performing Arts Center box office and online ticketing for the PAC.

Black Grace was founded in 1995 by Neil Ieremia (ONZM) and began with 10 male dancers of Pacific, Māori and New Zealand heritage. Elsie Management’s company biography notes Ieremia was born in Wellington and is of Samoan heritage; he left a banking job at age 19 to enroll in full‑time dance training with no prior formal instruction. Company press materials reproduced in promotional copy call Ieremia’s influence transformative: “Ieremia has changed the face of contemporary dance in New Zealand and turned Black Grace into one of the most recognizable and iconic cultural brands,” the press release states.

Artistic notes supplied by the company and presenters describe Black Grace as a “bold fusion of Samoan and Māori cultural traditions with modern dance, athleticism, and storytelling.” Elsie Management lists the Hilo date as a Mixed Rep performance; company repertoire frequently includes works such as Paradise Rumour - a piece framed by the provocation “how far have we really come since then?” - as well as O Le Olaga – Life (set to Antonio Vivaldi’s Gloria in D Major), Fatu (inspired by Samoan artist Fatu Akelei Feu’u), and the high‑energy virtuosic Minoi.

Critical response cited in company and festival materials highlights the troupe’s athleticism and stamina. Brian Seibert of The New York Times observed that “the dancers break into motion, and once they start, they barely ever stop. The distinguishing spirit of this troupe is incredible speed and stamina, an exhilarating, seemingly inexhaustible energy.” The New Zealand Herald has praised the company for its “phenomenal strength, stamina and spirit.” Black Grace made its U.S. debut with a sold‑out season at Jacob’s Pillow in 2004, returned in 2005, and was filmed live there in 2022.

The Hilo stop is the first of several Hawaiʻi Island and statewide dates listed by Elsie Management: The Kahilu Theatre in Waimea hosts Black Grace on Friday, March 6; the Maui Arts & Cultural Center (Castle Theater) presents shows on Sunday and Monday, March 8 and 9 (BroadwayWorld lists the March 8 performance at 7:30 p.m. and notes MACC member and general on‑sale dates in late February); the tour closes in the islands at Leeward Theatre in Pearl City on March 13. Promotional copy on Kahilu and BroadwayWorld describes the company as returning to Hawai‘i Island “for the very first time in over a decade,” a claim appearing in marketing materials rather than independently verified tour archives.

Tonight’s Hilo performance offers residents a direct opportunity to see Neil Ieremia’s company—founded in 1995 and internationally toured across Australia, Canada, Europe and Asia—present the high‑energy, story‑driven choreography that has underpinned Black Grace’s North American profile since its Jacob’s Pillow debut. The company continues to Waimea, Maui and Pearl City after the Hilo engagement.