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Kia Ora,Mālō e lelei, Talofa lava, Taloha ni, Kia orana,Fakaalofa lahi atu, Namaste, Ni sa bula and warm Pacific greetings. The Pacific Dance New Zealand Digital Festival 2022 featured a combination of digital, virtual, and in-person shows and workshops. Our programme was packed with options, giving audiences the freedom to pick-n-choose what they would like to see and do in 2022. The safety of our audiences was of utmost importance, as was ensuring that artists were maximising opportunities to perform and share their creative works while utilising immersive technologies during the pandemic. Our very own dedicated festival channel operated as both as
Who is Sisi’uno Helu? – Cultural, Choreographer Extraordinaire
Sisi'uno Helu is the choreographer and director of the piece 'New Dawn - Aho'eitu'. Sisi'uno shares with us a little about who she is…. I went back to Tonga, after graduating from the Conservatorium of Music, Brisbane, in Australia. At 22 years old, I was made Director for ‘Atenisi Foundation for Performing Arts, (AFPA) at my father’s school, ‘Atenisi Institute. AFPA performed classical anthems, European opera and Tongan music and dance. At the end of 1996, AFPA started touring continuously until 2002. The tours were to New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii, California and Utah in the US and also to Fiji, Samoa and
MOANA Showcase – Tala Tupu’a
Tapa Tupu'a by Losaline Tupou features in our MOANA Showcase 2022. The piece was inspired by Losaline's grandparents, especially her grandma. She used to share bedtime stories to teach her the Tongan culture, networks, connections and why we do what we do. Losaline's grandmother made stories entertaining to target her grandchildren so they would be engaged. I chose the story of Hikule’o to create an opportunity to share the stage with all my sisters. We asked Losaline to use 5 power words to describe her short piece that features classics from the late HM Queen Salote (Loka Siliva) and Tuimalo Kalo
WATCH ‘SHIFTING CENTRE’ by young creatives Sefa & Oto
'Shifting Centre' is an exploration of what Aotearoa would look like if Pacific Peoples were at the centre of the narrative in all facets of society. First developed in Le Moana's Measina Makers LAB 2021, the dance film merges street and contemporary dance to highlight the intrinsic excellence imbued within our Pasifika communities. A collaboration between Sefa Tunupopo & Oto Lupo, Shifting Centre highlights the intrinsic excellence imbued within our Polynesian people. Moulding street and contemporary dance, this piece presents an insight into a world of possibilities and what Aotearoa may look like if our Polynesian People were shifted from the margins to the centre. In
Watch MOANA featuring ‘WOUNDS OF THE WOMB’ – by Desiree Soo-Choon
CHOREOGRAPHED & PERFORMED BY: DESIREE SOO-CHOON SPECIAL THANKS: JADYN SOO-CHOON MUSIC: RUNNING ON E BY BRENT FAIYAZ FILMED & EDITED BY: TRISTAN PETUELI WATCH HERE Wounds of the Womb is a story of exploring the inter-generational trauma passed through the womb. As a mother, I acknowledge the hurt the mothers before me have had to encounter and how this has influenced my style of parenting. Sometimes the hurt we harbour is not of our own but of our ancestors that were not given the chance to heal from them properly. And thus forms another cycle through the next wom(b)an. The importance of this message is to generate talanoa between the
NOW STREAMING: ‘Concrete Bloom’ – The Film by Ta’alili & Manurewa High School
Concrete Bloom, brings together performing artists from Manurewa High School and friends of Ta’alili for an evening of shared dreamscapes and dystopian revolutions.
Daniel Mateo – from ‘A New Dawn – ‘Aho’eitu’
Radio New Zealand Interview with Daniel Mateo Recording courtesy of Radio New Zealand. Daniel Mateo is a 20 year old Gamilaraay descendant from Northern NSW, Australia as well as a descendant from Ma’ufanga, Tonga. Daniel studied at NAISDA Dance College and is now a contemporary dancer, performing with Bangarra Dance Theatre. Daniel dances in Sisi'uno Helu's 'A New Dawn' a dance depiction of the story of 'Aho'eitu, the son of Tangaloa. The work explores the preparation of a journey into the unknown of a young Tongan prince named 'Aho'eitu to meet his Father - the ancient God Tangaloa who lived in