Leadership Network members
Chas Mamea
Chas Mamea (Matautu Lefaga; Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine) is a South Auckland-based dance practitioner and researcher currently pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy in Dance at the University of Auckland.
As the business and funding advisor for the Nappyboyz dance crew, Chas also works as a freelance street and contemporary dance artist.
She has presented her work at international conferences in Toronto, Canada; Canberra and Adelaide, Australia; and locally in South Auckland.
Chas’s performance experience spans Egypt, Australia, Macau, and Arizona, USA. Her PhD research aims to highlight the benefits of dance for Mana Moana communities within academic circles and to inform Pasifika/Māori community initiatives for rangatahi.
Chas is also interested in building relationships between Māori and Pacific communities in Aotearoa and Indigenous communities in Taiwan, exploring the historical and cultural ties between these groups.
She believes that there is potential to strengthen cross-cultural Indigenous relationships through artistic exchanges.