NZDFT Leadership
Aaron Huata is a kaitiaki of the New Zealand Dance Festival Trust, working in service to the dance and arts community of Aotearoa. As Executive Director, he holds space for artists, audiences, and the wider creative sector to flourish—guiding NZDFT and Tempo Dance Festival with a focus on legacy, integrity, and collective uplift.
In 2024, Aaron led the successful return of Tempo Dance Festival, delivered in collaboration with guest curator Moss Patterson (New Zealand Dance Company). Centred around Whenua Wāhi—stories of land and place—the programme honoured the deep relationship between people and whenua, offering audiences a moving tribute to identity, connection, and belonging. Under Aaron’s strategic leadership, the festival reclaimed its presence in Aotearoa’s cultural landscape and laid enduring foundations for its 25th anniversary in 2026.
With roots in music composition, film, digital media, and cultural strategy, Aaron blends visionary thinking with grounded leadership. Holding a Master of Technological Futures from AcademyEx, Aaron’s work is anchored in mana motuhake, future‑making, and systems transformation. His stewardship across diverse creative sectors centres on enabling artists and organisations to navigate change with clarity, courage, and care.
In this chapter of NZDFT’s voyage, Aaron stands not just as a director but as a guardian of whakapapa, vision, and possibility—ensuring the Trust remains a living vessel for artistic expression and cultural advancement.
Aaron Huata
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Image Credit: Melissa Banks Photography
Zanetti
TEMPO ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & FESTIVAL PRODUCER
Zanetti comes from a contemporary dance background (FINALLY someone let them roll on the floor) with their dance whakapapa including Unitec’s contemporary dance programme, Tarrant Dance Studios, Footnote Dance Company Choreolabs, Hutt City Dance Centre, DANZ Producing Project, Old Folks Association, Short+Sweet Dance, Basement Theatre, Touch Compass and Tempo Dance Festival.
Since stepping into more of a creative producing focus in 2015, they have led Auckland Fringe (2017-2019), produced hundreds of national and international shows through their company Zanetti Productions (including Michael Parmenter’s Insolent River: A Tango in Tempo 2016), and from 2021-2024 they were the Artistic Director (and Executive for 22-23) of Nelson Arts Festival. They have called Tāmaki Makaurau home since moving here for dance school in 2008, and have been a huge advocate for Tempo since stage managing the many raucous performances in the Loft in the mid-2010s.
“I am so excited to be back on my tūrangawaewae - the incredible and truly world class community that is dance in Aotearoa. I can’t wait to throw all of my excitement and dreaming and commitment behind these artists, to bring them into conversation with beautiful audiences, and to advocate for this extraordinarily varied and innovative artform - truly one of our strongest offerings globally. Tempo Dance Festival has a rich lineage of showcasing the most exciting established and emerging artists in Aotearoa, and I can’t wait to honour and build on the incredible work done by all the Artistic Directors before me,” - Zanetti