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