Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
See below for English translation
E ngā karangatanga maha o te waiariki, he whakapāohotanga tēnei ki a tātou katoa kua rewa anō te mātanga kanikani o te ao Rātini kua whakapiatangia ōna hū kanikani, e tīpatapata kau ana ōna rekereke, kua hoki mai te mātanga kanikani a Liza Kerr-Kohunui ki te papa whakatutū pūehu, tahuri mai, whakatata mai.
Nō Ngai Te Arawa, nō Ngai Tūoe me Te Whakatōhea a Liza, hai tāna ko te tikanga o tana hokinga mai ki te ao kanikani ehara kau i te mea he aroha nui nōna ki te ao Rātini engari ko ōna hoa tata.
" Kāore he ao i tua atu i te ao kanikani Rātini ki a hau e hoa mā. Nōku e itiiti ai e kūare nui ana ki te ao Rātini, he pōhē nōku he kanikani noa. He mātanga kanikani taku wahine kaokaoroa nōnā i Hawaii, nānā te ao lambada i kawe mai ki taku aroaro, he momo kanikani nō te whenua o Parahī. He kotahi tekau mā rua noa taku pakeke, nā reira i tūponongia e au ki te ao Rātini’.
Nā wai rā ka torotoro haere ia ki ngā moutere o Rarotonga me ngā Kuki Airani, nā tona hokinga mai ki Hawaiki Tahutahu nei ka whakataetae ia nōnā e tauira ana i te whare wānanga o Waikato. Nō te tau e rua mano mā rima ka hua ake tōna arohanui ki te kanikani Salsa.
Nō te tau e rua mano mā iwa nōna e kōrero tahi ana me tōna hoa a June Jospeh ka whānau a hulacise me salsacise. He kaupapa whakapakari ēnei kauppa tokorua, he waka kawe hoki i te ahurea nō te whenua o Parahī.
" Nā i reira māua e kōrero noa ana, ka hua ake te whakaaro ko tōna hiahia ake kia whakaatungia e ia te mana o tōna ahurea ki te motu. Nō te tau e rua mano mā iwa ka hua ake ko Zumba’.
Nō te tau e rua mano, kotahi ngāhuru ka whakarewangia e ia tana pākihi ko Dance to Inspire e aro pū ana ki te kanikani Rātini, ina rawa tōna whakapono ki te kaupapa ka rere atu ia ki te whenua o Kupa ki reira ia ako kanikani ai.
“Ko Greydis tō mātou Pouako nōku i te whenua o Kupa, nānā i kawe i a mātou ki tētehi atu rangatira kanikani, kua roa tēnei Pouako e awhina ana i ngā tamariki kore kāinga, ko ngā tamariki e noho pouri ana. Ka rua wiki te roa mātou e kanikani ana he ahakoa te kino o te wera o Tamaterākura, ko te momo o te kanikani he āhua Awherika me te uaua hoki’, hai tāna.
Wheoi anō, nō te tau e rua mano kotahi ngāhuru mā toru ka toko ake te whakaaro i a Greydis pai kē atu te noho ki Hawaiki Tahutahu tēnā i tōna ake whenua tupu. Ka heke iho ia ki Hawaiki Tahutahu hai kāinga mōna. ' Ka kī atu ahau ki a ia, e hoa kai te kawea e ahau tāuna kaupapa kanikani , māu ake te kaupapa Dance to Inspire, ae, kāore rānei ?Koina tana kaupapa ki kōnei nā wai ka hua ake ko Greydis Dance. He kanikani rangatira nō Kupa ake. Nō tātou te maringi nui kua whai kāinga mai ia ki tēnei whenua o tātou. Kia tika hoki, kua tau he rangatira nui whakaharahara ki tō tātou tāone pakupaku, auahi ana e hoa mā. He ahakoa kua roa tana noho i kōnei ka whai wāhi tonu ai mātou ki a ia kia pakari ake o mātou ake pūkenga. Rite kaha nei ki te kapa haka, me tēnei mea te ako, he ake ake, wheoi anō e taea ai te kī he kiriwhanaunga nō tātou tēnei wahine rangatira’.
Nā te kaha o Liza me tona aroha nui ki te kanikani Rātini kua whai take ai te ahurei o NZ Kupa ki Rotorua, nā wai rā ka whakahuringia te ingoa ki a Aotearoa Cuban Festival. I kaha arahina ia e tōna hoa tata a Iwi Te Whau, nā reira i pakari ai tēnei kaupapa mīharo. ' E tika ana tana tapangia ki te ingoa o Iwi, he tangata kaha ki te whakakotahi i a tātou katoa me i kore a Iwi kua paremo noa te kaupapa. Katahi nā ka pāngia a Iwi te māuiuitanga toimaha rukiruki, ka whakatārewangia te kaupapa ka aro kē atu a Liza ki tana reo taketake. Ka nui ki mua, ka iti ki muri ka tae ki a ia te whakaaro kia kanikani ai a Iwi, katahi ka hua ake te kaupapa, Ngā Whetū Tūhono.
' Ka nui taku hiahia kia whakamatika anō tō tātou rangatira a Iwi Te Whau, ka rua kia whakarewangia te waka kanikani e pakari ai ahau. Ka nanao atu ahau ki ōku hoa kanikani Zumba , ka noho mātou, ka kai tahi mātou ka kōrerongia tēnei whakaaro nui ko te whakarewa i tō tātou waka , nā wai rā ka whakaae katoa mai ēnei rangatira ki aku whakaaro’.
‘Ko te mea nui whakaharahara ki ahau, ko te kauawhiawhi me te whikoi ngātahi me Iwi i tana haerenga nei, he haerenga waiata, he haerenga kanikani, kātahi nā ka kuhu atu ai i ōna hū whakatutū puehu, ka kanikani ai, nā reira te timatatanga mai o Ngā Whetū Tuhono, he kaupapa whakaora, he kaupapa whakahikihiki i te wairua o tō tātou rangatira a Iwi Te Whau. Ko te whakaaro mātua kia whakaturia e mātou he wāhi haumaru, he wāhi pai, he wāhi tika e ngāwari ai ngā wairua o ngā rangatira. Mātua hoki, e rongo ai i te mana o tō tātou ahurea, he ahakoa ko te orokohanga o tēnei whare kai ngā taketake o te kanikani Awherika me te kanikani Kupa, kai te rangona tonutia te wairua o tātou te Māori’.
Liza Kerr-Kohunui, a well-known Latin dance instructor in Rotorua, has made a triumphant return to the dance scene after a brief hiatus.
Liza (Te Arawa, Ngāi Tūhoe, Whakatōhea) says her comeback is not just about her passion for dance but also a testament to the power of friendship and a deep connection to culture.
“I’ve always liked Latin, although when I was younger, I didn’t know it was called Latin. My aunty used to dance professionally in Hawaii, and she introduced me to Lambada which originates from Brazil. She brought lambada back here when I was 12 years old. That was really my introduction to Latin dance,” she says.
Her dance journey continued as she explored Cook Island hula and even danced competitively with the University of Waikato. However, it was in 2005 that she discovered her true passion – salsa.
In 2008, a conversation with her friend June Joseph led to the birth of hulacise and salsacise. These fitness and dance fusion classes became a way to share their culture and passion with others.
“We were having a bit of a yarn one day, and the whakaaro came up around her wanting to share her culture and us both wanting to share our passion. In 2009, salsacise turned into Zumba,” Kerr-Kohunui explained.
In 2010, with the encouragement of friends, Kerr-Kohunui established her own business, Dance 2 Inspire, which primarily focused on Latin dance. She invested considerable time and effort in honing her skills, even training in Cuba.
“I was in Cuba with Cuban professional dancer, Greydis. She took us to another renowned and internationally recognised dance teacher whose kaupapa was providing dance to street kids or kids who had no place to be. For two weeks, we trained under his regime in 40-degree heat. It was pure Afro-dance and a very intense programme,” says Liza.
However, life took an unexpected turn in 2013 when Greydis, the Cuban professional dancer, decided to relocate to Rotorua.
“I said, Look, I’m going to move into my other space. Can you carry on with Dance 2 Inspire? Eventually she started up her own school called Greydis Dance.
“Greydis is an internationally recognised dancer straight from Cuba. So, to have a person of her calibre here in Rotorua and the Bay of Plenty was just an O.M.G. moment for all of us dancers. Imagine having your idol or someone you’ve always followed in your presence. She’s now a part of the whānau and one of the sisters of our dance community.
“Our training continued with Greydis now living in Rotorua. It never stops. It’s exactly like haka. It’s always in you. When you take a break and come back, you need to sharpen up,” she says.
Liza’s involvement as a board member in the Cuban Festival Trust allowed her to bring the NZ Cuban Festival to Rotorua, later renamed the Aotearoa Cuban Festival. Her friend and whanaunga, Iwi Te Whau, was an advisor on the board and played a crucial role in the festival’s success.
“Iwi truly represents his name. He was able to get us into all sorts of venues and helped immensely,” says Liza.
Unfortunately, years later Iwi became mauiui, and Liza’s dancing took a back seat while she focused on mahi and upskilling her te reo Māori.
Last year, Liza and her friends Tina and Roimata decided they wanted their friend Iwi to dance again, so they joined his Rongoā Journey, from there the idea of Ngā Whetu Tuhono was created.
In 2023 “We wanted our mate to continue his dance journey. I also wanted to get fit and look good, so I rallied about a dozen of our Zumba instructors.
“We had a kai together, and I put it to the team to see if they were keen and they said, ‘let’s do it’.
“The best thing about joining Iwi’s rongoā journey was just supporting him through music, dance on the regular in the hope we’d see him dance again. That’s how Ngā Whetu Tuhono and Kanikani Mai started. It was a rongoā journey inspired and created by Iwi Te Whau,” she says.
“I wanted to create a space where we could feel sensual, where there are etiquettes of dance, and where people felt safe. And of course, being Māori, I wanted people to feel a part of our culture.
“Even though it was through the movement of Afro and Cuban dance, they still felt our culture in that space,” Liza shared.
Kemp died at home, aged 50, after battling aggressive kidney disease.