Pacific show of shining diversity
Measina Festival, Pataka Art & Museum
The annual Measina Festival is a platform for some of Aotearoa’s most-exciting contemporary Pacific artists, featuring theatre, dance and music. It is presented by Jandals Inc and Le Moana and this year’s effort was a cracker.
Five very different works were shown at the festival, which ran from November 30 to December 3. First was the fast-paced Aumaga, choreographed by Andy Tilo. His choreography utilised traditional Samoan movements, at pace.
This exhilarating piece explored the world of the aumaga, or untitled men’s collective and focused on their service and commitment to family and culture in the village. The main role of the aumaga (here referred to as the poor, the powerless and the dispossessed), is to give service to the Matai (chiefs). The cast of five male dancers and three women danced with intense vigour and skill of a high level.
Tupua Tigafua’s delightful contemporary dance work, Shel We? was inspired by American poet/writer Shel Silverstein. His quirky, humorous poems were well echoed here by Tigafua’s imaginative, fluid choreography. He also danced beautifully, and captured a lovely innocence, integral to Silverstein.
The other five male dancers were all excellent practitioners who performed with grace and humour. This very accessible work had great appeal.
Talofa Papa was an amusing, interactive physical theatre piece by Kasiano Mita, who invested the role of Papa with good humour and excellent crowd control!
Choreographer Taofi MoseTuiloma’s Manu focused on Samoan proverbs and utilised bird movements very effectively within contemporary Siva Samoa movement.
Jasmine Leota, Jullie NanaiWilliams, Krystal Clarke, Evan Fuimaono and Joran Fuimaono very effectively conveyed their avian characters.
The makeup and simple costumes with beautiful feather attachments were by Leilani Karati. It was accompanied onstage by the vital singing of Isitolo Alesana, Lameka Nehemia and Dominic Taura.
This professionally produced work had the only programme and cast sheet available. Other choreographers should take note.
Papua New Guinean choreographer Julia Mageau illustrated the division between her Melanesian ancestry and ‘‘the place she calls home – Aotearoa’’, in the haunting Wearing My Map.
The piece combined Melanesian forms of dance with a telling video narrative and memorable images abounded.
Jandals Inc and Le Moana are to be congratulated for creating such an accessible evening of dance that was such a moving bridge between diverse cultures.
– Ann Hunt