Katherine Mansfield, the ballet

Katherine Mansfield had intimate relationships with men and women but her close friendship with Maata Mahupuku continues to intrigue. 
Royal New Zealand Ballet choreographer Loughlan Prior features this connection in his  ballet  Woman of Words.
Prior says he would love to hang out with Mansfield. His idea of a good time would be a night out with her. 
His composition for RNZ Ballet features Mansfield’s friendship with Mahupuku, Ngāti Kahungunu, after they met at school in Wellington. 
Prior choreographs an unusual pas de deux… one with two women: Kirby Selchow as Katherine and Mayu Tanigaito as Maata. 
In this episode, one of Maata’s great grandsons, Paul Ransfield, watches a rehearsal and we speak to acclaimed writer Witi Ihimaera who believes that before her death Mansfield may have been writing a novel featuring Maata.