26 Feb 2026

Dance show using a robot to explore how tech shapes our agency

From Nine To Noon, 10:30 am on 26 February 2026
Dancers and robot in action in Abilitopia

Photo: Jinki Cambronero

As artificial intelligence continues to advance, it's been incorporated into a dance show that seeks to highlight how technology is shaping our agency and identity. 

Abilitopia is part of a double bill with another show, White Noise, that will premiere tonight in Auckland.

It's from the disability-led arts company Touch Compass and explores how AI - which is commonly used to support disabled people - may end up shaping the rules all of us live by.

The show's director is Dr Suzanne Cowan, she's also the artistic director of Touch Compass and a teaching fellow and Convenor of the Master of Disability, Diversity and Inclusion at the University of Waikato.

Dancers and robot in action in Abilitopia

Photo: Jinki Cambronero