The stories of Mau Movement leader Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III, Tuna ma Fata, and Pele, Hawai’i ‘s fire goddess will be brought to life when the Nofoalii Congregational Christian Church of Samoa (C.C.C.S.) Autalavou (Youth Group) take the stage on Friday night at the Tanoa Tusitala Hotel.

Nofoalii has night two of the “Allan Alo Arts Festival” hosted by the Samoa Performing Arts and Creative Excellence (S.P.A.C.E) – to honor the legacy of the late Seuili Allan Alo.

It’s an emotional time for S.P.A.C.E. Choreographer and Nofoalii C.C.C.S. Youth member Seluia Ainuu, 27, who learned the art of contemporary dance from the late Seiuli.

“I began dancing with Allan in 2017. It’s a bit emotional for me because I was there when Allan was alive. I was his student so this brings back a lot of memories of dancing with him. It was a challenge to dance for him. He really challenged us in so many ways,” said Ms. Ainuu.

“He could cuss at me straight in my face if I moved too slow but I praise the Lord that it did me good and I learned from him and I am now part of this big production and I am able to share in the story of his life’s work.” 

She described her dance teacher as very strict, a perfectionist who never accepted laziness from his dancers. 

“He was very strict, a perfectionist. He did not like lazy dancers. When he snapped his fingers, he expected you to know the dance, he expected you to be fast and to pay attention,” said Ms. Ainuu who is from Satupaitea and Vaiusu. 

"This has been a big challenge for us to bring together so many members of our youth group... It’s a big show to honour Allan and I feel very happy to have all our youth members together and to be a choreographer in the show to teach the youth what Allan taught me when I was his student back then. I fell really happy about this.” 

The three-day festival kicks off on Thursday night at the LAVA Hotel; night two takes place at Tanoa and night three will be hosted by Taumeasina Island Resort.

Ms. Ainuu is one of three choreographers in the Nofoali’i production. 

“We are going to tell stories, legends. For example, I am telling the story of Tupua Tamasese and I think our audience is in for a real surprise because a lot of people expect that Tupua’s story is to be told in a drama but we will present the story of Tupua with contemporary dance. The whole story of Tupua will be told through dancing so as the story of Tuna ma Fata and of Pele,” she said. 

Nofoali’i’s participation is part of the Artist Development Project (A.D.P.) provided by S.P.A.C.E., said Co-Director Glenville Christopher Lord. 

“When Allan used to teach dance here in Samoa, he used to work with Nofoalii a lot. So right now we are working with Nofoalii through Reverend Tupou Tanielu. So his dad used to get Allan to come and teach at Nofoalii, his dad was the Faifeau from Nofoalii and then he passed it on to him (Rev. Tupou Tanielu),” said Mr. Lord.

“That is our connection to Nofoalii. In honouring Allan’s memory, we wanted to work with the schools and the youth groups he worked with. He worked with a lot youth groups but Nofoalii was a very special connection because that was his uncle’s village and church. When his uncle passed on, Allan has already been out of the country. We were happy to re-spark this connection with Nofoalii in memory of Allan for the Allan Alo Arts Festival.”

The Nofoalii C.C.C.S. Youth “are really a bunch of talented kids, very hard working,” he said. 

“I am really proud of how far they’ve come in terms of the practices and trying to portray the messages of the mini-productions that the A.D.P. choreographers have put together because it’s one thing to dance. It’s a whole other thing to dance and act while you are dancing – to put in the emotions, the theatre, to bring it to life in terms of body language and facials,” Mr. Lord said. 

“Yes, we can all do a nice hula and the sasa or Fijian meke and smile but when you have to be sad, when you have to be vulnerable or angry we find it a little bit awkward to do that onstage. Pacific islanders, we are always happy when we are dancing, we are always celebrating life so try and get the kids to emote all these different emotions to be able to tell the stories that the A.D.P. choreographers want them to do was a bit difficult at first...they have actually become accustomed and have immersed themselves into these different emotions and scenes that require seriousness and emotions that we are shy to show onstage.”

The choreographers all have their own style and he commended them for their work.

Choreographers and students have come a long way, he added. 

“They  have such unique and different styles and you will witness it when you watch the show. You see that none of them are the same in the way they are telling their stories. They have very different styles, very different interpretations of the story and their creative processes and how the create their stories and where they draw inspiration from is really surprising,” said Mr. Lord. 

“For me, I’ve been in this industry for over 11 years now and it’s amazing to see how these kids pick and choose where in life and what happened in life and what happened to them and use that to influence their choreography. On top of that it’s interesting to see how they’ve grown in terms of being choreographers here at S.P.A.C.E. When they started off they were shy. They have had to pick up scriptwriting, costuming and they also had to pickup lighting, the full works to create a theatrical production and I am nothing but proud of them and how far they’ve come.”

He thanked everyone for the support of their work and the youth members for their commitment to dance rehearsals.

“It’s been very difficult for us especially with the COVID situation and the tourism industry down so we are grateful for the support of those around us who have assisted us and allowed us to do what we do and to be able to cater to and take care of our children who come in to dance rehearsals,” said Mr. Lord. 

Atoa Iupeli, Youth Leader at Nofoalii C.C.C.S., expressed her gratitude to S.P.A.C.E. for the opportunity.

Thirty members of their youth group including Ms. Iupeli will perform in the festival.

“This is a great opportunity for us. Not every youth group has the chance to do a show like this and to learn from the people here at S.P.A.C.E. I’m thankful that they have invited us to be a part of this where we can learn and develop our talents in different types of dance,” she said. 

“We have a total of 30 youth members and they are very happy to be a part of this. It’s quite an experience and they are gaining a whole new experience in this type of dance production. I thank SPACE and I thank Allan Alo. We worked with him for a long time in our youth group. Thank you also to the leaders of S.P.A.C.E. who thought to include our youth group in this show.” 

Ms. Iupeli invites all their family, friends and church members to come out and support them on Thursday, 25 June at the Tanoa Tusitala Hotel. 

“We really need the support of our people especially our family, friends and everyone – please come out and support our show and the dance festival,” she said. 

Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 7:30 p.m. sharp. 

V.I.P. tickets are $1000 per table inclusive of alcoholic beverages, non-alcoholic beverages, finger foods and champagne. 

General Admission is $20 per person.