Opening the concert will be a performance by Kenny Endo’s students from the Taiko Center of the Pacific, one of the premier taiko drumming ensembles in Hawaii. This will be followed by traditional and contemporary music and dance from some of the top dance groups (halaus) within the Polynesian Triangle, including Tonga, Samoa, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Tahiti (French Polynesia) and of course, Hawaii in this first-of-its-kind annual concert event.
In sharing the story of their origins and travels in their wa’a, the halaus who perform in 2008 will set the stage for the performances in 2009. Imagine if the halau from Aotearoa performed a story of their origins from Asia, perhaps Indonesia. Then, for the 2009 concert, a dance group from Indonesia would be invited to perform a story of their own origin. Thus, we set the stage in this concert, for stories to possibly span the entire globe, eventually involving all of the land masses as well as possibly the oceans and stars. When asked about the accuracy of the language for the phrase on the cover of the We Are Polynesia CD, “From the stars we arrived, to the stars we return”, Uncle Kawika suggested instead, “Mai na hotu i ho ea mai matou, Mai na hotu ho’i matou” – “From the stars we arrived, from the stars we return” and when asked what he meant by this, Uncle said in his own spirited way, “mull over it”. It is indeed an interesting thought to mull over!
Those who join us to enjoy the concert will definitely be in for a memorable experience. Whenever the concept for the concert is shared with people, the inevitable response is “it’s about time someone does something like this” so it is a much anticipated event. For those who may not be on Oahu on the day of the concert, there is also a plan to do a live web-casting of the entire program. So, be sure to check back this website periodically to learn the latest about this great opportunity to be a part of this evening…even if you live many miles away.
It takes many hearts and many hands to put an event of this magnitude together and so we gratefully extend our sincere mahalo (thank you) to the following sponsors who share our vision of supporting education in Hawaii and particularly in the area of honoring and preserving the traditions, languages and culture of our multi-ethnic people:
WE ARE POLYNESIA – OUR STORY
The cultural concert event of the year
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Early evening
Waikiki Shell
2805 Monsarrat Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii