Jahra (Arieta) Wasasala is a Fijian/Pakeha world-builder, movement psychopomp and writer of realms.
Within Viti, they hail from the provinces of Macuata and Ba.
Jahra’s practice centres embodied and disembodied phenomena, bridging the phenomena’s breadth of physicality into shared performances. Jahra’s body of work builds into visions of liberation and calls in memories of creature-led language, located in-between one world ending and another world beginning.

Regarded as an ‘unreal within a beyond-body’, Jahra centres the dance and voice of the 'beyond-body' as their tool of transmutation, serving as the beginning and returning point for their world-building and world-bending practice. Jahra’s dance training continues to evolve as they currently train within Krump, Physical Theatre, Body Control techniques and Animation, Butoh study, Waving, Character work, Release technique and ‘Creature-Conditioning’, which comprises of movement mobility and strength training through non-human movement research. Jahra’s approach to their practice is pantheon-based, grounded in belief and speaks into Tagata Moana future-mythos. Intuitive yet deliberate, disciplined yet Spirit-led, Jahra’s public practice is known for it’s other-worldly physicality, belief immersion and transcendent performances.
Highly collaborative, Jahra's practice expands into sound, adornment, poetry, sculpture, costume and digital realms through their collaborations, offering a studied and immersive world-building experience that continues through different works and periods of time. Jahra’s work becomes a consistent partnership with their partner ooshcon through ‘CONJAH’. CONJAH is a performance and facilitation focused entity, creating solo and ensemble works, facilitating workshops for a wide spectrum of communities and producing dance festivals.

Jahra’s solo and company work have toured across festivals and performance seasons across Aotearoa (NZ), Australia, Hawai’i, New York, U.S.A, Germany, Guahån and Canada. Jahra has created commissioned work for institutions such as the Auckland War Memorial Museum in Aotearoa, The Banff Centre in Calgary, the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC., and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. As a specialist performer, Jahra has featured in dance works from companies such as Kaha:Wi Dance Company (Canada), Foster Group (NZ), Ta'alili Company (NZ), Atamira Dance Company (NZ) and MAU Company (NZ) and has worked with Chunky Move Company (AUS) on a commission. Jahra has performed for with internationally acclaimed artists Rosanna Raymond under SaVĀge Klub and MNZM Lisa Reihana as a featured performer in her 2022 works 'GROUNDLOOP' (NSW Art Gallery) and 'Kura Moana' (Aotearoa Festival of the Arts).

Jahra is a trusted facilitator and mentor throughout their communities. Jahra’s facilitation and mentoring skill is an integral part of their practice, working collectives, training institutions and initiatives throughout Aotearoa and overseas such as Rising Voices Slam, Pacific Tongues Poetry Festival (HI), Sailing Solo (Ta’alili Company), Star Jam (NZ), Unitec Performing Arts, NZ School of Dance, University of Auckland, PIPA, XIII WRLD’s Professional Training programme, Action Education Inc and MIXIT Refugee Youth Arts. Most recently, Jahra joined the Faculty at XIII WRLD as a facilitator, artist and creative support role.

In the realm of governance, Jahra was a founding member of the Youth Advisory Board of at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, and temporarily sat on the museum’s Pacific Advisory Board. Jahra is also a featured TEDx Speaker and in 2016 represented Aotearoa in their national delegation of artists as part of the International Pacific Arts Festival (FESTPAC).

Jahra is an award-winning artist, receiving the Prime Minister’s Pacific Youth Award in 2016, and has won various awards throughout Auckland’s Fringe Festival. Through CONJAH, Jahra was awarded the Arts Foundation Tumu Toi 2022 Springboard Award in partnership with Ooshcon. As part of that award, CONJAH was mentored by globally acclaimed artist Lisa Reihana MNZM.