Casey’s face of Polynesia

CLYDE resident Thomas Tusitala and his Samoan dance group ‘Manaia Samoa’ want to become the face of Polynesia in the city of Casey.
Youth case manager at WAYSS Ltd Dandenong, Mr Tusitala decided to start his traditional Polynesian dance group this year and has been rehearsing for the past three months.
“I wanted to start up something cultural for the Casey community,” Mr Tusitala said.
“The uniqueness of eight Samoan men living in Australia for more than ten years all with the same traditional Samoan tattoo inspired the idea.”
“I felt there was no traditional dance group in the eastern suburbs but plenty in the north, we want to be role models for Polynesian children in our area and across Melbourne and teach them traditional dance,” he said.
The all-male group ranges from the age of 20 to 28 and all share a passion for the Polynesian culture.
“Manaia Samoa in English means nice or beautiful, the traditional meaning is a Samoan or Polynesian male dancer,” he said.
The official launch of Manaia Samoa will take place on Saturday 21 March a part of AMES multicultural hub community fair at Drill Hall in Melbourne. The free event will be the group’s first public performance and starts at 11am.
“It’s about getting our group out there and keeping the sense of culture alive in Melbourne, we will be performing a set of three dances,” Mr Tusitala said.
The dance group based in Cranbourne want to provide their entertainment service for any community event and private event in the Casey area and surrounds.
“We can perform at weddings, 21st birthdays, Christmas parties and free community events with schools and churches,” he said.
Mr Tusitala choreographs the high energy routines to traditional island drums and will be establishing workshops to teach youth’s all the moves.
– Georgia Westgarth