I was reminded recently about a memo we found in a back-stage dressing room we once shared with another Tahitian dance group. In a nut-shell, it stated the physical requirements necessary for inclusion in that group:
"Height: between 5'5" and 5'8"
Slender build
Hair: must be dark brown or black and no shorter than waist-length
Complexion: tan, but not too dark..............."
It brought me back to those days when I was trying to fit in to the dance world as a tall (5'11 1/2") dark complected African-American girl with frizzy hair, who in many ways was raised in a bubble.
I came along during the era of true heroes in our country, the Civil Rights Movement of the early 1960's. For a time as a youngster, I really did believe that we had all embraced the philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King when he so eloquently stated that; "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
I was raised with this as our family mantra, along with the notion that I could achieve absolutely anything I set my mind to if I was willing to work hard for it.
It wasn't until much later did I realize that this didn't necessarily apply in the dance world, where outward appearance is so important. It didn't matter how hard I worked, how fast I learned, or how nicely I danced. My character had nothing to do with how little I matched the "ideal look".
This is all fine and good if dance is approached as a hobby or pastime activity. Unfornately for me at that time (very fortunately now as it turns out) dance is not only a way of life for me, but also a large part of my Spiritual Path......
The Heiva International dance competition was just winding up as we began our tour to Tahiti. This is an event which attracted dance companies from all over the world to compete in Tahitian dance on Tahitian soil. A number of people asked if we would be participating, and were suprised to find out that we were not.
Competing would have meant that we would not have had the opportunity to stay for an extended time in Tahiti with our family there, as a halau. We would probably have had to focus all of our resources on the main competition event. Instead, we had the time to perform in many community Heiva (we did seven shows all together, including two command performances for the mayors of Mataiea and Mahina). We would have missed the whole point of being in Tahiti, experiencing the sweetness and beauty of Tahitian culture - taking it into our souls.
The last performance at Vaiete was very sweet, (and bittersweet)! Knowing that this was the site of the first time I experienced Tahitian dance in Tahiti as a college student in the 70's was amazing. After the show, we stood in a prayer circle to thank Spirit for bringing us all together in dance and music and for such and amazing experience. There were no dry eyes.
A couple of days after returning, we were saddened to hear about the crash of the Air Mo'orea plane. It barely raised a mention on the local newscasts. We were just there, and experienced first hand how true is the sense of community there. I too grieve the loss, knowing how acutely it is being felt there.
In class I reminded my students of the poem by Alice Walker;
"Choose
one country
other
than
your
own
to love.
Keep a finger
on
its
pulse."
My finger is on the pulse of Tahiti.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Friday, August 3, 2007
Mo'orea
Being here in Tahiti feels very much like a homecoming for me. For one thing, our family here has done an incredible job of welcoming us. But also, unlike so many other places I have visited, I have never been made to feel unwelcome here. For example, my son and I both were stared at regularly in New Zealand as if some of the people there had never before seen Black people. And unlike Hawai'i, no one here has ever told me that I am pretty, graceful and intelligent "for a colored girl".
This is indeed part of the reason why I am so in love with this place and its people.
Yesterday, we went for a day trip to Mo'orea. This beautiful little island is off the Western coast of Tahiti. It takes only about half an hour by ferry to go there. Once there, we took a drive around the island stopping at points of interest along the way.
One of our stops was at a hotel which had built for itself an artificial lagoon around which were little thatched roof bungaloes. This fronted a very beautiful, (but now very private - guests only) beach.
I couldn't quite understand why one would want to come here to such a beautiful place, only to stay at an artificial (but fully controlled) environment which seemed to exclude any chance of exposure to the local culture.
At any rate, we spent much of the afternoon at Tema'e Beach with an barbeque cooked by one of our hosts and with swimming after. As soon as we arrived at the beach, I went into the water with an offering to Yemonja. It felt so good to stand at waters edge with vastness of the deep ocean before me and offer my prayers.
I keep at least one of my mbira with me wherever I go, and it felt as if this was a good time to bring it out. The mbira is a way of connecting to Spirit, and with my family and friends all around in such a beautiful place I was really feeling the need to say thanks.
We have one more performance tomorrow night, this time at Vaiete Place.
Love and blessings to all,
Mahealani
This is indeed part of the reason why I am so in love with this place and its people.
Yesterday, we went for a day trip to Mo'orea. This beautiful little island is off the Western coast of Tahiti. It takes only about half an hour by ferry to go there. Once there, we took a drive around the island stopping at points of interest along the way.
One of our stops was at a hotel which had built for itself an artificial lagoon around which were little thatched roof bungaloes. This fronted a very beautiful, (but now very private - guests only) beach.
I couldn't quite understand why one would want to come here to such a beautiful place, only to stay at an artificial (but fully controlled) environment which seemed to exclude any chance of exposure to the local culture.
At any rate, we spent much of the afternoon at Tema'e Beach with an barbeque cooked by one of our hosts and with swimming after. As soon as we arrived at the beach, I went into the water with an offering to Yemonja. It felt so good to stand at waters edge with vastness of the deep ocean before me and offer my prayers.
I keep at least one of my mbira with me wherever I go, and it felt as if this was a good time to bring it out. The mbira is a way of connecting to Spirit, and with my family and friends all around in such a beautiful place I was really feeling the need to say thanks.
We have one more performance tomorrow night, this time at Vaiete Place.
Love and blessings to all,
Mahealani
Monday, July 30, 2007
Tahiti, 2007
Tahiti has always felt like home to me since the very first time I journeyed here some 29 years ago. The weather is very much to my liking, of course. Being in constant sight of the both the mountains and the sea seems to keep me in balance. But most importantly, there is a sense of community and acceptance here that I have not experienced anywhere else.
This is the third time I have taken KaUaTuahine Polynesian Dance Company on a tour here, and this will be our busiest one thus far. We have five performances scheduled, plus an intensive multi-day workshop with master choreographer Hirohiti Tematahotoa. Most exciting for me however, will be the baptisim of baby Hoku on our last day here.
Baby Hoku is named after my son, and I am his Godmother!
We are here not just to represent ourselves as a halau, or even ourselves as Americans, but more so to represent an idea; that it shouldn't matter what color you are, how tall you are, or what your ethnicity is. What does matter is what is inside the heart, and what I want to instill in my students - a deep respect for the culture of these islands, a commitment to community, and an awarenes of our place in the environment both here and at home.
When we arrived and cleared customs into the main part of the airport, our Tahitian family and friends were all waiting for us. After showering us with beautiful fragrant leis, hugs and kisses, they pulled out the guitars and started singing. One of them danced a beautiful ahuroa for us. They then herded us into waiting cars and buses and got us to our destinations. My son and I are staying with Hiro in Pape'ete.
On our first full day here we had a rehearsal at the Pa'ea house that many of the halau are staying in. The following night, we performed at the Radisson Hotel.
Hiro had everything ready for us. Our te-leaf hip heis and flower crowns had already been made! Our performance area was on a grassy mound between the restaurant and the ocean. The moon was almost full, and when we turn away from the audience in our dance we could see our shadows projected on the water.
The following day we had a barbeque lunch and another rehearsal to tighten the show up even more.
There were two shows that night at two different Heiva, first at Mataiea (where it rained a little bit, right up until we started to dance) and then up the road a bit at Papara.
One of the songs we are performing for this tour is Na Hoku 'Elua. (This is the premier performance of that song here in Tahiti. The title means "the two Hokus). I composed this song over a year ago while I was here for baby Hoku's first birthday. It speaks of the love I have for both my son and my Godson, and it also will appear on the new CD "A Walk By The Sea". At the performance of this song in Papara, I kept looking up at the moon during the verse which says "Tu rama te ava'e i te po inia i te moana, no te here no Hoku!" which means "the moon is clear and beautiful in the sky and shines down on the ocean, all for the love of Hoku".
The moon that night was at its fullest (Mahealani moon!), and the was a rainbow encircling it. At the end of the song, Hiro brought on Hoku nui (my son) and Hoku 'iti (the baby). The crowd was so sweet as they cheered for them!
Tahitian audiences are so appreciative and supportive! They applauded often, many times within a dance. We were enthusiastically received by the crowd, and the town leaders in each venue made a speech at the end of our performance thanking us for coming so far to show our love of their culture.
Well, time to get to rehearsal. I wish everyone at home a blessed day!
I'll be back on this blog again soon.
(Shout out to Kahana'olu in Honolulu! We didn't pass directly over Hawai'i, but the islands were to the far right of us as we passed your latitude. I sent you a big wave!)
Kumu Mahealani Uchiyama
This is the third time I have taken KaUaTuahine Polynesian Dance Company on a tour here, and this will be our busiest one thus far. We have five performances scheduled, plus an intensive multi-day workshop with master choreographer Hirohiti Tematahotoa. Most exciting for me however, will be the baptisim of baby Hoku on our last day here.
Baby Hoku is named after my son, and I am his Godmother!
We are here not just to represent ourselves as a halau, or even ourselves as Americans, but more so to represent an idea; that it shouldn't matter what color you are, how tall you are, or what your ethnicity is. What does matter is what is inside the heart, and what I want to instill in my students - a deep respect for the culture of these islands, a commitment to community, and an awarenes of our place in the environment both here and at home.
When we arrived and cleared customs into the main part of the airport, our Tahitian family and friends were all waiting for us. After showering us with beautiful fragrant leis, hugs and kisses, they pulled out the guitars and started singing. One of them danced a beautiful ahuroa for us. They then herded us into waiting cars and buses and got us to our destinations. My son and I are staying with Hiro in Pape'ete.
On our first full day here we had a rehearsal at the Pa'ea house that many of the halau are staying in. The following night, we performed at the Radisson Hotel.
Hiro had everything ready for us. Our te-leaf hip heis and flower crowns had already been made! Our performance area was on a grassy mound between the restaurant and the ocean. The moon was almost full, and when we turn away from the audience in our dance we could see our shadows projected on the water.
The following day we had a barbeque lunch and another rehearsal to tighten the show up even more.
There were two shows that night at two different Heiva, first at Mataiea (where it rained a little bit, right up until we started to dance) and then up the road a bit at Papara.
One of the songs we are performing for this tour is Na Hoku 'Elua. (This is the premier performance of that song here in Tahiti. The title means "the two Hokus). I composed this song over a year ago while I was here for baby Hoku's first birthday. It speaks of the love I have for both my son and my Godson, and it also will appear on the new CD "A Walk By The Sea". At the performance of this song in Papara, I kept looking up at the moon during the verse which says "Tu rama te ava'e i te po inia i te moana, no te here no Hoku!" which means "the moon is clear and beautiful in the sky and shines down on the ocean, all for the love of Hoku".
The moon that night was at its fullest (Mahealani moon!), and the was a rainbow encircling it. At the end of the song, Hiro brought on Hoku nui (my son) and Hoku 'iti (the baby). The crowd was so sweet as they cheered for them!
Tahitian audiences are so appreciative and supportive! They applauded often, many times within a dance. We were enthusiastically received by the crowd, and the town leaders in each venue made a speech at the end of our performance thanking us for coming so far to show our love of their culture.
Well, time to get to rehearsal. I wish everyone at home a blessed day!
I'll be back on this blog again soon.
(Shout out to Kahana'olu in Honolulu! We didn't pass directly over Hawai'i, but the islands were to the far right of us as we passed your latitude. I sent you a big wave!)
Kumu Mahealani Uchiyama
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