Nadiyah Akbar

Nadiyah Akbar is a contemporary dancer and choreographer raised on Eora land with heritage in Pakistan and Bangladesh. She is a graduate of the New Zealand School of Dance (2017-2019) and since then has lived and worked across Aotearoa and Australia.

As a company dancer, Nadiyah spent two years working for Footnote New Zealand Dance, Aotearoa’s longest-running contemporary dance company, touring nationally. As a freelance dancer, she has worked with Joel Bray Dance (Considerable Sexual License and Brolga: Queer Koori Wonderland) and Malia Johnston (Belle: A Performance of Air at the Aotearoa Festival of the Arts). Nadiyah is currently working with Joel Bray and Sue Healey on their new works for 2025.

Nadiyah is interested in collaborative play between different mediums of performance art. She values bold and daring ideas that can clash and create chaos. Nadiyah is inspired by having worked inside the processes of; CONJAH, James O’Hara, Josie Archer & Kosta Bogiesvki and Joel Bray specifically for their choreographic techniques and the safe and sustainable working environment they foster.

For Nadiyah’s full CV, or to get in touch, please reach out to a2companyprojects@gmail.com