Receiving the 2026 Springboard Award for Dance gifted by Julian & Lizanne Knights – Mentored by 2019 Laureate Sima Urale

Lyncia Muller is a Tongan choreographer, dancer, and actor whose work celebrates Pacific storytelling, movement, and identity. Hailing from Nuku’nuku, Lakepa, Puke, and Lakepa, she trained at the Pacific Institute of Performing Arts (PIPA) and Unitec’s contemporary dance program in Aotearoa.

Lyncia co‑founded TULOU, a wāhine‑led Pacific dance collective, and created Fala Muncher, a groundbreaking theatre piece exploring queer Pacific experiences. Her work blends contemporary performance with ancestral knowledge, engaging with Pacific language, protocols, and storytelling traditions. She has performed for works with the likes of Lisa Reihana, Black Grace, Auckland Theatre Company, Fine Fatale, Le Moana, Pacific Dance Festival and Tupua Tufuga, contributing to the evolution of Pacific dance and theatre. Expanding into screen performance, Lyncia has appeared in Madam, Inky Pinky Ponky, and Fresh Skitz. As a 2022 Q Theatre Resident, she continues to develop work that amplifies Pacific voices, championing a future where Pacific stories are centered and embodied in bold new ways. 

Panel Statement: “Through her commanding performance presence and innovative artistry, it is a pleasure to announce Lyncia as the 2026 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Springboard recipient in dance. With a strong fusion of contemporary dance, her Tongan heritage and the dynamic ballroom scene, Lyncia is paving a unique way for herself, and for other Pasifika women to follow in her footsteps.”