The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave

Dance / Music
Winchester Street Theatre
Thu Aug 6, 8:00 PM
65 mins
$20 / $35 / $50
Presented with Toronto Dance Theatre, in association with DanceWorks Winchester Street Theatre , 80 Winchester Street (VIEW MAP)

Accessibility Info: Unfortunately the Winchester Street Theatre is not currently wheelchair accessible. There are three steps outside of the front entrance, a small platform, and then three more steps to the lobby (a straight hallway that then leads you to the theatre). To access the private gender-neutral restrooms, there are five additional steps at the end of the lobby. The seats in the theatre are on risers with stairs; please contact info@tdt.org if you have any questions regarding accessing our space.

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Making its Canadian debut, The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave created by the award winning trio Oli Mathiesen with Lucy Lynch and Sharvon Mortimer is in Toronto for one night only all the way from New Zealand.

Condensed into 1 hour, feel the atmosphere, heat and intensity of a 3-day rave set to the adrenaline-pumping techno album ‘Nocturbulous Behaviour’ by Suburban Knight. The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave is an endurance-based dance work with relentless movement detailed down to every beat without pause.

Exploring the movement used in techno and rave culture, witness the destruction of 3 humans. Indulge in the pain, the sweat; a display of pure endurance to achieve a goal. A spectacle of the human body as a victim to music, to passion, to our endless desire to achieve more. To win and win again.

“It’s like firing a machine gun for an hour and remembering the name of every bullet.” reviewed Mark Harding for the Broadway Baby in August 2025.

About the Artists

Oli Mathiesen

Oli Mathiesen (he/they)
Ngāti Manu, Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi
Creator, Choreographer and Performer

Oli (he/they) is a queer indigenous choreographer and dancer based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. He is an emerging artist, working nationally and internationally since graduating from Unitec in 2020 with a Bachelor’s in Performing and Screen Arts – Contemporary Dance. Oli has worked and toured with Aotearoa companies including The New Zealand Dance Company, Atamira Dance Company, and Black Grace, as well as performing Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite’s ‘10 Duets on a Theme of Rescue’ (2023). He has choreographed works for Atamira Dance Company, Black Grace, Tempo Dance Festival, The Performance Arcade, and the award-winning show ‘The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave’ for the Auckland Pride Festival and New Zealand Fringe Festival.

Lucy Lynch

Lucy Lynch (she/her)
Ngāti Kahungunu
Choreographer and Performer

Lucy is an Auckland based contemporary dancer and burlesque performer. After completing her dance training at UNITEC in 2011, Lucy became a founding member of the NZ Dance Company, and went on to perform with them for the following eight years. Lucy danced in the majority of the company’s major seasons throughout Aotearoa and to some of the world’s most prestigious dance festivals.

Sharvon Mortimer

Sharvon Mortimer (she/her)
Ngāti Porou
Choreographer and Performer

Born and raised in Rotorua, Sharvon (she/her) is a Tāmaki Makaurau-based dance artist. Since graduating from Unitec she has had the pleasure of making and collaborating with
independent artists and companies including Footnote New Zealand Dance, Jessie McCall, Oli Mathiesen and The New Zealand Dance Company.

Production Credits

Creator, Choreographer & Performer: Oli Mathiesen (Ngāti Manu, Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi)
Choreographer & Performer: Lucy Lynch (Ngāti Kahungunu) & Sharvon Mortimer (Ngāti Porou)
Producer & Stage Manager: Gina Heidekruger
Music: Suburban Knight
Lighting Designer, Production Manager & Technical Operator: Shanell Bielawa (Te Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi)
Lighting Design Collaborators (2024): Oli Mathiesen, Shanell Bielawa, Bekky Boyce, Jazmin Whittall, Jacobus Engelbrecht (Legit Events)
Creative Producer (2024 – 2026): Abbie Rogers (Kāi Tahu, Te Arawa)
Production Designer and Technical Operator (2024 – 2025): Bekky Boyce
Artistic Advisor (2024): Lulu Qiu 邱詩露