Oli Mathiesen

Today we are thrilled to announced the major international co-production and commissioning partners of ‘Just Between Me and Jesus’, premiering at the Venice Biennale Danza 2026. Commissioned by La Biennale di Venezia, we are partnering with Auckland Live, Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival, Perth Festival, Sydney Opera House, and Copenhagen-based Teater V, all uniting to back this Aotearoa work on the global stage. Auckland Live will also support the project as a venue partner, hosting technical rehearsals ahead of departure for Italy in mid-July. It is an absolute honour and privilege to be commissioned by this consortium of arts organisations, and it has been a dream of mine to work alongside them in creating this work. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the belief and trust in this opportunity! We cannot wait to share more very soon… Co-Production Partners: La Biennale de Venezia @labiennale Auckland Live @aucklandlive Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival @aucklandartsfestival Perth Festival @perthfest Sydney Opera House @sydneyoperahouse Venue Partner Auckland Live @aucklandlive Commissioning Partner Teater V (Copenhagen) @teaterv_ Find out more and donate to our fundraising campaign at the link in bio!

Big stage. Global platform. Our own. Oli Mathiesen @oli_sen , 2024 Pride Elevates alum, has been selected as the sole international artist for Venice Biennale Danza 2026, from 695 applicants overall. From The Butterfly Who Flew Into the Rave to RISING Melbourne, Edinburgh Fringe, Auckland Arts Festival, and now Venice. This is Olympic-level. A Takatāpui toa from Aotearoa, stepping onto one of the most prestigious stages in the world. Unlike sport, there’s no high-performance system supporting them. So together we must back Oli. Properly. Rehearsal time. Dancers. Creative development. The full team it takes to meet this moment. If Oli’s work has ever moved you — this is the call. Donate or share: olimathiesen.com/biennale (Link also in bio) Mana Tangata. Mana Tuakiri. Mana Takatāpui e. #VeniceBiennaleDanza #NZDance #PrideElevates #Fundraising

I am beyond shocked and honoured to have my new work ‘Just Between Me and Jesus’ commissioned to premiere at the Venice Biennale Danza 2026. The biggest thank you to @studiowaynemcgregor and @labiennale for your selection from the international call for a new choreographic project. A dream of a dream of a dream! This work has been living loudly inside of me for a long time. Thank you to everyone who has nurtured it, coaxed it, and entertained it with me. This past and upcoming year all feel a bit surreal. It wouldn’t have happened without all the love I’ve been shown. ‘Just Between Me and Jesus’ will premiere at the La Biennale di Venezia – Biennale Danza 2026 17 July - 1 August @labiennale Photo by @jinkic for @atamiradancecompany

INDance week two opens tonight! @‌christophergurusamy’s ‘5 Arrows’ and @oli_sen ’s ‘The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave’ are opening to SOLD OUT audiences! 😱 Three nights only, these are the independent choreographers shaping contemporary dance today. 'The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave’ Creator, Choreographer, and Performer: @oli_sen (Ngāti Manu, Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi) Choreographer and Performer: @lucyannabellynch (Ngāti Kahungunu) & @sharvon_mortimer (Ngāti Porou) Creative Producer: @abbie_rogers (Kāi Tahu, Te Arawa) Music: Suburban Knight Lead Lighting Designer and Operator: Shanell Bielawa (Te Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi) Stage Manager: Gina Heidekruger Performer (2025): Celia Hext Performer (2025): Tayla Gartner Lighting Design Collaborators: Oli Mathiesen, Shanell Bielawa, Bekky Boyce, Jazmin Whittall, Jacobus Engelbrecht (Legit Events) INDance is generously supported by the Neilson Foundation. #SydneyDanceCompany #INDance26

rad start to the year 💫 @aucklandartsfestival @qtheatre @splorefestival @performingartsnetworknz @yourex_is_gay @thespinofftv @sbrookbrooks @lucyannabellynch @sharvon_mortimer @abbie_rogers @shanellbielawa

This Saturday, directly after the show, is the night you’ve been waiting for, RAVING OVATION. ‘The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave’ is hosting the rave itself, featuring @katayanagitwins and @blush.mp3 . From 10pm - midnight, on the Q Theatre’s Rangatira Stage, join these Auckland club icons with 2 bars open, our steroid-injected lighting design, and the reminisce of our drenched dance moves. Free for all who attended one of the season’s performances - your show ticket is your entry. This is the ‘standing’ ovation you deserve. Auckland Q Theatre, Rangatira | Auckland Arts Festival 12 - 14 March | 9:00pm RAVING OVATION Q Theatre, Rangatira | Auckland Arts Festival 14 March | 10:00pm - Midnight Book now at the link in the bio. @oli_sen @lucyannabellynch @sharvon_mortimer @abbie_rogers @shanellbielawa @bekky.boyce @katayanagitwins @blush.mp3 @aucklandartsfestival @qtheatre

You asked for it. You begged for it. So we’re bringing it back! ‘The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave’ returns to Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland from the 12th - 14th March for a victory lap season at the Auckland Arts Festival! After 2 years of touring and globe stomping, we are gnawing at the chance to bring it home for you all, reimagined in the biggest, most audacious way yet. We are transforming Q Theatre’s Rangatira stage, across the carpark from the place that incubated this baby raver in 2024. Auckland, you ready to see our shiny moves and fancy new lights? VOYER TICKETS - we heard you like to dance, so gear up and party alongside us. Exclusive standing/raving/grooving tickets on the balcony right above the stage. Or take a seat in the balcony and let the music yank you into the dancing box. And because we love our d-floor freaks, you get it at a special price x RAVING OVATION - the curtain never calls at this rave. At the conclusion of our Saturday night show, we are pumped as fuck to be hosting a rave on stage! From 10pm - midnight, get ready for an all night encore as we invite you to inhibit the stage, slide on our sweat, and bury yourself in the beat. It is the rave itself. Crawl out of your seats and join us as we dance to local DJ icons the Katayanagi Twins and BLUSH.MP3. With a bar on stage and our descending lights, we are turning the show into the beginning of your bender. Auckland Q Theatre, Rangatira | Auckland Arts Festival 12 - 14 March | 9:00pm RAVING OVATION Q Theatre, Rangatira | Auckland Arts Festival 14 March | 10:00pm - Midnight We are already nearly sold out! Book now at the link in the bio. @oli_sen @lucyannabellynch @sharvon_mortimer @abbie_rogers @shanellbielawa @bekky.boyce @katayanagitwins @blush.mp3 @aucklandartsfestival @qtheatre Photographer: Matt Hurley @matt.hurley

💫🪽🍒 @maticevskitoniimages

As we depart 2025 it is about time to make a post about Edinburgh. Where does one even start with what felt like an absolute fever dream of reaching the peaks of human ecstasy and pits of crippling fatigue within the space of 5 minutes, everyday. Holy fuck I had the best time ever, and through the grueling months of preparation, the marathon of a 23-show season, 28 degree theatre temps, looking like a vacuum sealed bag of bones by the end, and shaving 10 years off my life span, I am so so soooo incredibly proud of what we achieved. We broke through into an ecosystem that favours contemporary dance the least, got published in major media outlets, welcomed over 2,200+ audience members through the rave doors, and sold out our final week of shows. But through all of that, we fucking banded together as a team. And when all of our bodies screamed at us to stop, and our artistry struggled to outweigh the mental tolls, and we saw a flyer get instantly binned after handing it out, it was our joy, skill, and deep deep love for dance that got us through. Okay so now my highlights was watching the 3 mana wāhine perform the show for the first time, watching Bekky get invested into people’s personal lives just to hand them a flyer, our accom pet rat, Celia eating a ball of mozzarella on the street to get her protein in take in before watching Crystal Pite, hearing Pink Pony Club blast a 500 decibels every night, the sexy secret drummerssss oh my gosh, the BBC attending, and all the hunnies I had too many beers with in the Pleasance courtyard. Literally a lifetime was lived in the space of a month. All of this couldn’t have been possible without the biggest village of people. But at the helm of it, @lucyannabellynch @sharvon_mortimer @celiahext @abbie_rogers @bekky.boyce . Thank you for your patience, absolute love, and so much care. I feel so incredibly lucky to get to work with you all. You have stuck by me through all of my fumbles and mistakes, and to be able to have people around you that say yes to go on the wildest ride; you all are truly the best. This month welded our bonds together for life…

‘yes but also no, subject to xyz, fine print applies’ by @hollyfinch__ opens tonight at @basementspace from the 13th - 15th! It has been glorious getting to bring Holly’s masterful storytelling to life alongside @teganjr and @tashkohler to the iconic soundtrack of Pink Floyd. This little gang is gonna hit the stage! 13th - 15th | 6:30pm Basement Theatre, Studio See y’all there x Photos @drexshoots

📢📢 Excited to announce the first Bragi Award winner - The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave The panel said 'it was a fantastic show that delivered a continuous pulse of adrenaline from start to finish... the energy the performers deliver is astounding'. You can see The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave until the 25th August at 18:05 in the Main Hall at Summerhall - tickets available from our website! The Bragi Awards are a new award, presented by Shepherd and Wedderburn & Summerhall Arts, to shows at the Fringe Festival that embody creativity, experimentation and excellence within new writing and contemporary performance. #daretodiscover #edfringe #edfringe2025 #edinburghfringe #summerhallartsfestival

Stars, stars, stars across the board! Ed Fringe week 1 review round-up! ★★★★★ “An astonishing feat of endurance” @theatre_weekly ★★★★★ “Utterly flawless in its visual and sonic execution” @mervspick ★★★★ “This is dance theatre as pure ecstasy” @the.scotsman ★★★★ “Hypnotically intense” @festmag “Truly something to behold” @thelistuk Wow wow wow! Thank you to all the incredibly generous, electric, and bold audiences who have walked through the Main Hall doors, welcoming us to our first Fringe while we welcome you to our rave. The review and audience response have made our hearts doof doof a little louder; thank you! 8 shows done with 15 to go, as we continue to stomp our way across these high-lands. Shows are starting to sell quickly, so make sure you get your tickets in early! See you there, Scotland x Edinburgh Summerhall, Main Hall | Edinburgh Festival Fringe 31 July - 25 August | 6.05pm Book now at the link in the bio. ‘The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave’ is supported by PANNZ, Summerhall, and Aurora Nova through the ‘PANNZ - Summerhall Edinburgh Festival Fringe Award’, and Creative New Zealand. @oli_sen @lucyannabellynch @sharvon_mortimer @celiahext @abbie_rogers @bekky.boyce @shanellbielawa @edfringe @summerhallarts @performingartsnetworknz @auroranovaorg @mobiustheatre @creativenz Photographers: @lucyparakhina @markgambino_ @melissabanksphotographer