Dance event honors Tahitian culture

Teriimana Moo grew up dancing to Tahitian music along with the hits of Madonna and Michael Jackson. His dad, who was born in Tahiti, brought his love for music and dance when he immigrated to Hawaii with his parents in 1962.

"My grandparents came to Oahu as missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon church)," Moo said. "They and my dad taught my brothers, sisters and me to be proud of our culture; they encouraged us to sing and dance. I had rhythm, I loved music, I knew I wanted to dance."

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Moo worked as a singer and dancer for a Utah-based company that presented Polynesian shows in Spain, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and other exotic locales. After he left that company in 1992, he and a friend started their own business, producing similar events in Japan, California, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and Utah.

"It was a great experience to continue sharing and perpetuating my culture," Moo said. "Then in 2002, my sister asked me to get involved with Tahiti Nui International, which produces Heiva i Hono­lulu. When I joined the group, I immediately felt like I belonged. I was proud of what they were doing, and I knew I wanted to be a part of the journey."

Today, as TNI’s vice president, Moo plays a key role in organizing Heiva i Honolulu, an international Tahitian dance competition that’s in its 13th year. On Saturday, some 120 dancers divided into nine age categories — 4 to beyond 46 — will compete in the contest. Besides Hawaii, contestants will come from California, Arizona, Mexico and Japan.

Like hula, Tahitian dance uses costumes, lyrics, music, hand motions and body movements to tell a story. "Mehura purotu" is a women’s dance that’s performed to a fluid, slower-paced tempo. Its lyrics usually speak of love — for another person, one’s culture, one’s home.

Translated, "aparima" means "movements of the hands." For this dance, the music is usually fast, and the hands describe legends, daily tasks or the adventures of famous people in Tahitian history.

Performed as a group, the fast-moving "otea" comprises many different parts, like an opera. At Heiva i Honolulu, each group takes 30 to 45 minutes to perform its otea; elements include "oreros" (chants), a synchronized couples’ dance and an "ute" (a comical song related to the story line).

Competitors are judged on poise, stage presence, authenticity of their dances and adherence to traditional Tahitian cultural arts. "Every year, I watch the performances in awe with tears of appreciation in my eyes," Moo said. "I hope the audience experiences what I always do — the beauty and magic of Tahiti."

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.