On stage at GBHS before heading to Polyfest

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Samoan fire dance, known as siva afi, will feature in a Pasifika performance showcase at Gisborne Boys' High School tomorrow night.

Along with the siva afi group, students who make up the Boys' High and Gisborne Girls' High Pasifika group will take the opportunity to hone their skills before the siva afi group heads for Auckland to perform in the Pasifika Festival and first Schools Siva Afi competition on Saturday.

The Pasifika group will perform at the ASB Polyfest next week.

“For some of them this will be the first time they will have performed in front of hundreds, even thousands, of people,” says teacher in charge, Maanaima Ulu.

“Last year we went to watch. This year we applied to perform.”

The Pasifika students will perform on the Tonga stage at the Polyfest but they will not be part of the competition. Their performance will contribute to their NCEA qualifications though.

Twelve competitors from Gisborne and Auckland will perform traditional items from Samoa, Tahiti and Hawaii at the Mangere Arts Centre in New Zealand's first schools Siva Afi competition on Saturday. The four-day ASB Polyfest starts next Wednesday, March 18. The event features traditional music, dance, costume and cultural speech competitions. Students compete on five stages where they perform traditional items from the Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa and Tonga, as well as Maori, cultures. There is also a diversity stage that features performances from cultural groups that include Fijian, Tokelau, Chinese, Korean and Indian performers.

■ Gisborne Boys' High School and Girls' High Pasifika group, and Boys' High's siva afi group perform at Boys' High school hall tomorrow, 6pm. Entry $5 and $5 plates of island food will also be available.