Elei dance (academy)...

Elei dance session at Otara, Te Puke

 Looking forward to attending our 4:8 Elei dance week session this Friday which is held out at the Otara, Te Puke Hall. I'd been waiting to see if there would be a Mangere one but it looks like it's the only one in South Auckland.

What's so neat about it is that it gives young girls the opportunity to learn to siva (dance) Samoa over an 8 week period with some 30+ other girls.

There are 3 groups consisting of different age groups and named after some significant Samoan female heroines i.e. Salamasina (often referred as Queen) was one of the first women to hold all 4 Tafa'ifa paramount kingly titles; Levalasi is a taupou (princess-like) title; Nafanua was a noble female warrior and the first to hold all four Tafa'ifa titles before bequeathing it to Salamasina.

• Salamasina (Juniors): aged 5 -6 years
• Levalasi (Middle): aged 7 - 9 years
• Nafanua (Seniors): aged 10 - 12 years

This is the second year that Elei dance have opened their doors for young girls to learn dance and I'm so glad to have been able to give that opportunity for our youngest to learn together with a group of girls with a performance date in March. 

Another neat opportunity in our communities...