# Te Whaea

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{{Short description|New Zealand National Dance and Drama Centre, in Wellington}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=April 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
'''Te Whaea''' in [Newtown](/source/Newtown%2C_New_Zealand), [Wellington](/source/Wellington), [New Zealand](/source/New_Zealand), is the New Zealand National Dance and Drama Centre, the home to the [New Zealand School of Dance](/source/New_Zealand_School_of_Dance) and [Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School](/source/Toi_Whakaari).
thumb|right|200px|Te Whaea, 11 Hutchison Street, Newtown, 2021

The name 'Te Whaea' means 'the mother' in the Māori language.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Chumko |first=Andre |date=2023-03-02 |title=How a dilapidated Wellington building transformed into a national performing arts centre |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/arts/131340811/how-a-dilapidated-wellington-building-transformed-into-a-national-performing-arts-centre |access-date=2023-05-07 |website=Stuff |language=en}}</ref> Te Whaea was opened in 1998 and celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2023.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-02-28 |title=Te Whaea celebrating 25 years |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018879796/te-whaea-celebrating-25-years |access-date=2023-05-07 |website=[RNZ](/source/RNZ) |language=en-nz}}</ref>

The building was constructed by the Wellington Show Association in 1928 and was originally known as the [Winter Show Building](/source/Winter_Show_Building). It was used for the annual Winter Show, fairs and exhibitions.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=O'Neil |first=Andrea |date=2015-07-02 |title=150 Years of News: Wellington's winter show a wonderland in Newtown |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/69904433/150-years-of-news-wellingtons-winter-show-a-wonderland-in-newtown |access-date=2023-05-07 |website=Stuff |language=en}}</ref> The last Winter Show was in 1993;<ref name=":1" /> by 1997 the building was in a state of disrepair. In 1997, Wellington City Council leased the deteriorating building to the national drama school [Toi Whakaari](/source/Toi_Whakaari) and the [New Zealand School of Dance](/source/New_Zealand_School_of_Dance), which had both been looking for new space.<ref name=":0" /> The council also guaranteed a loan of $1 million to the dance and drama schools to renovate the building.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Walsh |first1=Rebecca |date=21 February 1997 |title=Council agrees to guarantee $1m arts loan |work=Evening Post |id={{ProQuest|314487454}}}}</ref>

The two schools came together at the renovated Winter Show Building as a national performing arts centre, named Te Whaea, which opened for classes after a dawn ceremony on 28 April 1998. An official opening ceremony was held on 26 June 1998.<ref>{{cite news |date=29 April 1998|title= Sleeping beauty |work=Dominion |id={{ProQuest|315010636}}}}</ref> Refurbishment of the building included nine large and four small studios, a 200-seat theatre, a library, and areas for set construction, sound, lighting and costume.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Houlahan |first1=Mike |date=27 April 1998 |title=Artists will be flying high in purpose-built facility |work=Evening Post |id={{ProQuest|314525789}}}}</ref>

Te Whaea is used by many cultural groups in the city.<ref name=":0" /> It is the venue for a number of reoccurring events including national dance training for all ages<ref>{{Cite web|title=Upcoming Events – New Zealand School of Dance|url=https://nzschoolofdance.ac.nz/venue/te-whaea-national-dance-drama-centre/|access-date=2021-10-01|language=en-US}}</ref> and the [ETNZ](/source/Entertainment_Technology_New_Zealand_(ETNZ)) conference every two years.<ref>{{Cite web|title=ETNZ Conference|url=https://www.johnherber.co.nz/etnz-conference/|access-date=2021-10-01|website=John Herber Theatre and Cinema Drapes|language=en-NZ}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20210606063457/https://www.tewhaea.org.nz/ Te Whaea]

{{Coord|41|18|29|S|174|46|29|E|type:landmark_region:NZ|display=title}}

Category:Buildings and structures in Wellington City
Category:Entertainment venues in New Zealand
Category:Performing arts venues in New Zealand

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Te Whaea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Te_Whaea) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Te_Whaea?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.