Four young fire knife dancers will fly out of Samoa on Saturday to live abroad to pursue further education while plying their trade as fire knife dancers.

Cousins Kalani Perese, Tavita Lusa To’omalatai, Kome Junior Perese and Si’uoa’ana Perese have been fire knife dancers since they were as young as 4. The oldest of the boys is 16 with the youngest two aged 14. Three of the boys will go to Australia with the fourth moving to New Zealand.

According to the boys, they learnt the art in stages with the last part of their training being the use of knives with fire. 

Kome Junior and Kalani’s father, Matagofieoalosina Kome Feagaimaali’i – who is 50-year-old father of eight and a long-time employee to co-owner of Siva Afi and Ailao Club, Leota Lene – spoke of his pride for his children being young and thriving members of the club.

Matagofieoalosina has been helping Mr Lene to teach and organise dancers for the Ailao Club since 2002 and has also traveled to many countries including Hawaii and Korea and was posted to Saipan for five years as a fire knife dancer and performer. 

He also recalled other successful youth dancers of the club who now reside overseas with their families, but had started as fire knife dancers and left Samoa to participate in dance clubs and competitions as fire knife performers, and remembering that the boys used to call him the “godfather”.

Hogan Mose Toomalatai was one of those dancers, who is now living in Hong Kong with his wife and children.

He had been competing in Samoa since he was 7 years of age and internationally at 8 years of age and won titles in the Samoan International Siva Afi Competition in Samoa, The World Fire-Knife Competition at the Pacific Culture Center, Hawaii and The Flaming Sword Competition in American Samoa.

In an interview with the Samoa Observer, Mr  Toomalatai said the four boys’ dreams can be realised and they just need an opportunity to break out, just like he did when he first started.

“With hard work, determination and inspiration, the greatest take I got from it all is just but one thing… opportunity,” he said. 

“The opportunity to represent my family and where I am from, the opportunity to work alongside great talents that make both onstage and backstage work flawlessly and most of all, the opportunity to open up the world to the craft I do. 

“It speaks of tradition and hope for my people back home. The dream is to open up doors for fireknife dancers from Samoa and the Pacific Islanders to showcase their culture and talents to the whole world.”

Mr Lene said he is elated for the four boys and the fact that their families want them to go to Australia and New Zealand to further their education. 

He has challenged the children to excel, especially 16-year-old Kome Junior and assured him that Siva Afi will pay for their flights home when the Ailao Club’a 20th international competition gets underway in November next year.

The Ailao Club will be hosting a sponsors’ night every end of the month next year to promote the international competition and to raise funds for their targeted $40,000 prize money.

Mr Lene said he will miss the four young boys but he knows that they will continue to succeed in life as they have had the right guidance as teenagers. 

The four fire knife dancers performed on Thursday evening to showcase their skills to the Samoa Observer and to farewell Mr Lene with his wife Clare.