Schools compete to Pasifika beat

Students from six Hawke's Bay schools took to the stage in an explosion of colour, costume, music and dance at the 2010 Hawke's Bay Secondary Schools Pasifika Cultural Competition.
The Hastings Boys' High School hall was filled with 550 spirited supporters who thundered with proud voices, a conch shell and drums pounding Pasifika beats.
Co-organiser Talalelei Taufale said Hastings Boys' High School, which usually dominated the annual competition, "lifted the bar again" with its winning performance. The other schools rose to the challenge, especially Flaxmere College which came in second.
Each performance on Friday night embraced a theme told through indigenous action songs and dances from Samoa, Tonga and the Cook Islands.
Mr Taufale said the competition was about building the cultural identity at schools and in the school community.
Other schools in the competition included William Colenso College, Hastings Girls' High School and St John's College. Sacred Heart College also performed but did not compete.