Le Tiumasalasala Dance Theatre launched

By Adel Fruean 06 January 2019, 12:00AM

The official launch of the Le Tiumasalasala Dance Theatre was held at the Tanoa Tusitala Hotel last Saturday.

Le Tiumasalasala Dance Theatre director, 32-year-old Eterei Maiava Salele, said the troupe has 14 dancers including herself and was formed in August last year. 

“The launch was to officially introduce Le Tiumasalasala into the community as a dance group and introducing all the programmes and everything that we will be doing this year.

“The production has been planned since last year and I had assistance from my two Fijian choreographers: Glenville Lord and Tulevu Tora. We all met through the late Seiuli Tuilagi Allan Alo Vaai because we were the core dancers for Seiuli.

“I am very blessed to have them come in and help out. The meaning of the show besides our launching was also to portray a lot of social issues that our country faces and also the world,” she said.

The dance group will focus on the celebration of life hence the name of the production, according to Eterei. 

“Alive is a reference of our thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father for life which we have been blessed with.

“But we also looked at some serious issues are and using performing arts to portray the message that this is reality and it is happening. An example of one of the issues we conveyed through one of our performances was domestic violence.

“I believe that putting it in a live show, showcases a different effect because people get to see and witness how it looks like. Another piece we did was climate change and the strongest production we did was injustice,” she added. 

For the dances with a message of injustice, Eterei said it was interpreted through the actions they portrayed.

“I did not want to elaborate more but instead we let the performance speak for itself because it is true that actions speak louder than words. 

“The practice has been ongoing for three weeks but it took a month to choreograph the production.

“This show meant a lot to me and I appreciate the sacrifices my kids made so we could perfect our show. I wanted to make a difference in the lives of our youths that have a passion for dancing.

“We are also opened to the business market as well in terms of performing at functions which is a great start for the year in terms of making sure my dancers earn money from what they do. 

“As I stated earlier that I previously danced for Seiuli and I learned so much, which is why I acknowledge him for that experience.

“The name of our group refers to the full costume of the daughter of a high chief in a village which is known as a ‘taupou’ but the significance of the name is that it holds Samoan culture which is our identity and we intend to carry it with us wherever we go.

“We also acknowledge our sponsors: Tanoa Tusitala Hotel (major sponsor), Farmer Joe, Events, Marketing and Distribution, Samoa Stationery and Books, Laura Le Rose, TV3, and all my dancers’ parents.”

By Adel Fruean 06 January 2019, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

Upgrade to Premium

Subscribe to
Samoa Observer Online

Enjoy unlimited access to all our articles on any device + free trial to e-Edition. You can cancel anytime.

>