Open Access
Published: March 2025
Licence: CC BY-NC-4.0
Issue: Vol.20, No.1
Word count: 161
About the creators

e:merge re:form

Amelia Yiakmis and Amanda Levey

Creative arts therapist statement 

e:merge re:form is a video assemblage of movement-based profound performance practices developed for the Performance Studies International Conference 2024. As two creative arts therapists living in Aotearoa New Zealand with common ancestral journeys from Eastern Europe, we engaged in a duo ethnographic inquiry of shared threads in the natural environment. We explored our connections and the concept of disassembly within the context of Indigenous knowledge systems, with te ao Māori cultural guidance. We engaged in both duets and solos and reflected on the insights that were offered up by the arts-based explorations. As the project came to rest, we found ourselves settling into new/old relation with te taiao | nature, and found comfort and affirmation in the notion that, “it is strangely liberating to realise your true status as a node in a single network. There is honour to be found in this role, and a certain dignified agency”. (Yunkaporta, 2020)

Reference

Yunkaporta, T. (2020). Sandtalk: How indigenous thinking can save the world. HarperCollins.

Cite this videoYiakmis, A-J. & Levey, A.J. (2025). e:merge re:form [video]. JoCAT. https://www.jocat-online.org/v-25-yiakmis-levey

Creators

Amelia Yiakmis

MA CAT(Clin), PGDip (Expressive Therapies), BCom, AThR
Amelia completed her Master of Arts in Creative Arts Therapy (Clinical) in 2023 and is part of the academic team at Whitecliffe College in Aotearoa New Zealand. She is a registered creative arts therapist, predominately working alongside young clients, allowing a gentle playfulness to scaffold the therapeutic journey. Amelia has over 20 years of experience working with vulnerable and marginalised communities, utilising the power of theatre to promote social justice where possible and to disrupt as often as she can.

Amanda Levey

MAAT, BA(Hons), AThR
Amanda is a psychologist and professional creative arts therapist, and trained extensively in the Halprin Method in the USA. This model is an integration of movement/dance, visual arts, nature-connected therapy, performance techniques, and therapeutic practices. She gained her MA in Arts Therapy at Whitecliffe College in Aotearoa New Zealand. She has worked extensively in movement-based creative arts therapy for over 30 years and has taught at postgraduate level for many years. Amanda specialises in the relationship between body feelings, emotions and well-being, and works in private practice and is an ANZACATA-approved supervisor.