Seven Days: Vermont's Independent Voice

There and Back Again

Anyone who witnessed Frodo’s travels in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy has probably been aching to visit New Zealand’s vast, mountainous landscape ever since. If sky miles and limited pocket change are holding you back from your dream vacay, why not catch a taste of the island country in nearby Barre? Kicking off its fall season, the Opera House presents the 26-year-old Kahurangi Maori Dance Theatre — a professional troupe that travels the globe spreading New Zealand’s indigenous culture through song and dance. With genealogical chants, martial arts techniques and exotic costumes, the 20-member group stages scenes of early Maori life, including a “taonga” performance honoring their treasures — such as mountains, rivers and canoes. That certainly gives new meaning to “my precious.”