Celebrating 25 years, Tempo Dance Festival is Aotearoa's gathering ground for the fearless, the rebellious, the boundary-breaking, bringing the best dance and body-oriented ideas from across the country and beyond to Tāmaki Makaurau.

From 13 to 18 October, venues across the city centre host a programme spanning: a takatāpui rebirth of the Village People, street and screen dance, classes and a club night. Wrestlers collide with dancers. Disability-led meditations on motherhood. Genre-bending Pasifika dance performance with live Metalcore. And there's a free (re)discovery of our newest landmarks, Karanga-a-Hape and Te Waihorotiu Stations.

For dancers, and for anyone who appreciates beauty, artistry and the thrill of the unexpected, Tempo is a platform, a party, a provocation to move you.

Tendrils of Tomorrow

17 OCT | $29 -$49 | Q Theatre

Performed exquisitely by third year cohorts from New Zealand School of Dance and University of Auckland’s Dance Studies, these brazen, visceral and rebellious dance works explore what it means to be watched, to perform and to make your way in this unstable world.

YMCĀ

13 & 14 OCT, 2026 | $35 - $59 | Q Theatre

A bold takatāpui rebirth of the Village People, YMCĀ parallels the pop culture icons through a cast caught between character and confession; a discography of performed identities that interrogate the archetypes, the macho men, and the staging of queerness and indigeneity.

Bloom

16 & 17 OCT | $20 - $40 | Basement Theatre

Compelled by what is most urgent for these makers, this space is for curiosity, searching and pushing forward to reveal tomorrow’s bodies and tomorrow's ideas, interjecting into today. Featuring new and reimagined works from Lily-Mae Solhee Baird, Wiseman Mataiti, and Janina Smolira, that speak to being the body / beyond the body, queerness, indigeneity and who is going to give them their 10s.

The perfect pre-show meal

Curtains down, forks up

A little retail sesh in between

Keep the night alive with drinks & more laughs

Big Wednesday

Every Wednesday at 7.30pm is 'BiG Wednesday' - a fresh comedy night featuring a guest MC introducing up to 12 acts bu

Comedy All-Stars

The main event of the week featuring The Classic Comedy Club's favourite headliners, breakout talent and the freshest face

Live Music at The Fiddler

Join The Fiddler for soulful tunes to foot-stomping beats every Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Bull Rush Improv

No Friday night will ever be the same again.

L8 & Live

Kick off the weekend on Fridays at 10pm with the L8 show featuring an ever-changing line-up of 8 rising stars on the local

With our finger on the pulse for the best parking rates and tips, plus details on public transport, click here to learn more. 

Last updated: 02 September 2026