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Manukau's first Pacific dance artist-in-residence is bigger than one man. As Joanna Davies learns, it will be a collaborative reflection of culture.

Inside an old gym at the back of Unitec's Mt Albert campus, a group of dance students finish their class and go on their lunch break.

The gym, big enough for large dance rehearsals, is one of those old, high school-style halls that have court markings on the floor and a stage at the front.

"It's always really cold in here," says Justin Haiu, 29, who teaches classes at the Pacific Institute of Performing Arts. "But the other studios aren't big enough for what we're doing."

For eight weeks from the end of this month, Mr Haiu, Manukau's first Pacific dance artist-in-residence, will work with teenagers to devise a dance.

"I was very surprised when I was picked," he says. "I was the second person to hand in my application so, at that point, I had a 50-50 chance, but I think a lot more people applied for it after that."

The Mangere Bridge resident will spend eight weeks in a Mangere studio preparing a  routine for the opening of the new Mangere Arts Centre in September. "My dance background is in hip-hop and cultural dance. It's a bit of a mix of everything. I want to work with a group of young people and collaborate with them to make a dance that reflects their culture."

Mr Haiu has his own influences to bring, coming from the Wallis and Futuna Islands. "I have a few ideas that I want to include, but what I really want to see is where everyone else is at and chuck in a few different styles and ideas to tell their stories. It's a great opportunity and being able to express ourselves with hip-hop and cultural dances is important."

Mr Haiu says dance is a major aspect of Pacific culture, and the residency will allow more people to focus on their cultural backgrounds and to learn about their traditional dances.

"If I just did hip-hop I think this residency would be like any other, so I want to put in some Samoan and Tongan moves as well as some of my own from Wallis and Futuna."

The residency is organised by Pacific Dance New Zealand with Manukau City Council and Dance Aotearoa New Zealand. Pacific Dance director Sefa Enari says Mr Haiu was a clear winner for the first residency.

"He really wants to make this a collaboration, rather than something he is doing by himself," says Mr Enari. "It is risky, but he has a lot of teaching experience."

Mr Enari says more and more Pacific dancers are coming into the industry, but there are few avenues for them after dance school that focus on Pacific dance styles.

"We want to make this residency a vehicle for artists to express their culture, and I think Justin has that tension in him, and he wants to get back to his heritage."

Mr Enari hopes to make the residency an annual opportunity. "We're going to see the benefits for the Pacific community through this."

Setting the stage

The Mangere Arts Centre - Nga Tohu o Uenuku, will be opened on September 3 by Manukau Mayor Len Brown.

Building started in 2009 and should be completed at the end of this month. The new centre will have 390sq m of performing arts space, 217sq m of gallery space and 56sq m of studio space, plus dressing rooms, a kitchen, offices and a cafe.