Rekindling indigenous ties was a key motivation for Rotuman dance group Rako Pasefika who wowed audiences at the Pacific Dance Festival in New Zealand.
Rako Pasefika's creative director Litila Mitchell said it was a way for the Pacific cumminity's urban international youth to connect back to the islands
"A lot of our elders have moved internationally and we have a huge base of elders here in Auckland," she said.
"For us it is an opportunity for us to bring our young people to them and reconnect, learn stories because a lot has died out. We have lost our tapa, our tattoos, and a lot of our old dances have gone. "
Litila Mitchell said part of their work is to empower youth and share indigenous knowledge, and they also held fundraisers, workshops and matinee shows for local South Auckland students.
Rako Pasefika's Litila MItchell Photo: RNZ Pacific
The group's latest work explored the impact of ongoing violence in their community and a look at the importance of preserving the environment as well as culture in their performance entitled 'Cloaks of Protection'.
The three-week long Pacific Dance Festival's project leader Cilla Brown said they were a welcome international addition to the line up this month.
She said the festival is continuing to evolve and grow each year as it aims to develop the Pacific dance sector.
This year's festival also featured a range of workshops, film screenings, and costume exhibitions.
"Most of these works are actually new works and they are also developed works by Pacific artists," she said.
"This festival is their chance to come up with their own contemporary works with a Pacific flavour. "
One such show explored Pacific queer identities set in outer space made its dance debut in South Auckland.
The futuristic show entitled Bionica told the stories of a group of brown LGBTQ queer indigenous youth set in a utopia world in the future.
It featured a popular dance move, known as voguing and was the first show for director Jacob Tamata from the Coven Collective.
He said he is so motivated to tell his community's stories, even if it goes against traditional and social expectations.
Photo: Supplied
"I want more work to be in the public sphere that has normalised queer identities and is genuinely inclusive of the community," said Jacob Tamata.
"I am also passionate about invigorating Pacific youth and my show Bionica has a bold look at future possibilities about queer youth in particular, that is the audience I am targeting the most."
"I want us to start making progress for our community by telling stories that enable us to live well and prosper."
The Bionica show was supported by the contemporary queer Pacific arts collective, FAFSWAG.
"The more we share about stories, the more we are capable of changing the narrative of perception," said Jacob Tamata.
"I really want someone to take something vital from this and expand on it, and keep going."
"This is who I am, and there is no turning back now."
Bionica show debuts at the 2018 Pacific Dance Festival. Photo: FAFSWAG
His advice for young people is simple.
"Do not limit yourself, ever, in whatever you do. Keep pushing, keep fighting and always understand and respect yourself first. Dream big," he said.
Other popular dance performances included Moana, a series of short works by students from the New Zealand School of Dance, Goodbye Naughton by Aloali'i Tapu and hiphop choreography featured in Blueprint.
