PASIFIKA ON STAGE
Join us for an inspiring three-day workshop series tailored for Pasifika performers, guided by industry professionals.
These immersive sessions are designed to celebrate and strengthen Pasifika voices in the performing arts, offering advanced training in acting, storytelling, movement, and cultural expression.
Connect with mentors who understand the unique challenges and opportunities of being a Pasifika performer, while gaining valuable tools to enhance your craft, as you prepare to shine on local and international stages. Thanks to generous support from Palmerston North City Council Community-Led Initiatives Fund and Arts Heart Grant, these workshops are FREE.
These workshops are intended for students aged between 13-18 years.
Programme Days
March 15th - Singing
10am-3:30pm. (Bella Kalolo and Lijah Mavaega).
April 5th - Acting, writing, and producing
9am-3pm (Anapela Polataivao, and Vela Manusaute).
May 10th - Dance
9am-3pm (Sau E Siva Creatives).
VENUE
March 15th - Singing
Congregational Christian Church of Samoa.
April 5th - Acting, writing, and producing
Congregational Christian Church of Samoa.
May 10th - Dance
Congregational Christian Church of Samoa.
MEET THE TUTORS
March 15, 2025 - Singing:
Spend a day learning a mixture of songs from the pacific, with a focus on how to care for your voice, how to safely warm your voice up, and to learn the importance of how to sing in a group. We will also touch on how to quickfire song write, with a chance to write a song as a collective. We would love to see the students come together at the end of the day with a showcase for the parents/caregivers of the work accomplished from the day.
Bella Kalolo, a Samoan, Tongan, and Māori (Ngāti Porou) actor and singer, has worked with renowned artists such as Ciara, Mos Def, Chaka Khan, John Mayer, Fat Freddy’s Drop, and Dave Dobbyn. She has performed at international festivals, including Glastonbury, Sydney Festival, and Java Jazz, as well as major local events like Tauranga Jazz Fest and Parachute Festival. Her acclaimed releases Without the Paper (2011) and Time and Space (2013) earned her Best Pacific Female Artist at the Vodafone Pacific Music Awards in 2012 and 2014. She was also named New Zealand Television Personality of the Year. On screen, Bella is currently appearing in Shortland St, and has appeared in Sione’s Wedding, After the Party, and The Orator. Her theatre credits include The Lion King, Hair, Rocky Horror, and Dawn Raids.
Lijah Mavaega is a multi-instrumentalist and composer who has performed on major stages from a young age. He began his performing arts career with Pacific Underground as a musician and actor, later working with Mangere Arts Centre, Black Friars, and Odd Family as a musical director. At just 11, he toured with Pacific Underground in New Caledonia, participating in a week-long music residency and Pasifikana Soundz concert. By 13, he was performing alongside Ladi6, Parks, Mark Vanilau, and Dallas Tamaira at Pacific Underground’s Lifetime Achievement tribute. Lijah won the SUSO (Stand Up Stand Out) Dance Category, the first to accompany dancers with live music, and later joined Dawn Raids with Auckland Theatre Company as Assistant Music Director. A founding member of No.3 Roskill Theatre, he has composed and performed for Love to Say Goodbye, Welcome Home, and Kalapu Friday.
April 5, 2025 - Acting, writing, and producing:
This drama workshop is designed to inspire and support Pasifika creatives in bringing their ideas to life on stage or screen. With over 30 years of experience in the industry—both in New Zealand and on the international stage—Vela Manusaute and Anapela Polataivao are passionate about sharing knowledge and helping others turn their creative dreams into reality. Through a mix of acting, writing, and producing, participants will gain practical skills, industry insights, and the confidence to be able to develop their own original work, in a supportive and encouraging environment
Samoan-born Anapela Polataivao is from the villages of Vailoa ma Vaiusu in Upolu and Fagae’e Safune in Savai’i. Her current works include Red White & Brass (co-director) for the ATC 2024 season and The Savage Coloniser show by Tusiata Avia. Polata’ivao made history as the first Samoan woman to have directed a show off-Broadway when Wild Dogs Under My Skirt made its New York debut and was subsequently named the winner of the Fringe Encore Series at the SoHo Playhouse. In 2019, she staged her first original Samoan opera with opera superstars Sol3 Mio in South Auckland. Her film and TV credits include HBO’s Our Flag Means Death, Tinā, The Rule of Jenny Pen and One Thousand Ropes.
Vela Manusaute, is a Niuean-Samoan multi award winning writer, director, and actor. In 1996, he became the first Niuean to graduate from Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School. In 1997, he won the Best Male Comedy award at the Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards as part of the comedy duo The Brownies. In 2002, he co-founded the Kila Kokonut Krew, a theatre company addressing the lack of Pacific Island representation in performing arts. His debut play, "Taro King," premiered that same year. Vela is the creator and writer of New Zealand's first bilingual English-Tongan television series, "Brutal Lives - Mo'ui Faingata'a" and in 2013 he was the writer and director of the first Pacific Musical, “The Factory”, with the Kila Kokonut Krew for the Auckland Arts Festival and an international tour. In 2014, he received the New Generation Award from the Arts Foundation, alongside Anapela Polataivao with who he co-directed “Red, White & Brass” for ATC in 2024.
May 10, 2025 - Dance with Troy and Ida:
Sau E Siva Creatives is a South-Auckland based Pacific Dance Theatre Company who see the arts as a crucial platform to liberate & inspire our youth from cultural pressures. What was taught to us by our elders, we share through our productions to educate, empower, enrich & maintain our cultural heritage.
Troy Tu’ua and Idalene Ati are two of the five SES creatives who will be attending to work with our youth, exploring creativity through Siva Samoa. Sau E Siva productions are platforms that enable young people to tell their own stories founded on strong Samoan/Pasifika culture values. In line with telling our own stories, this workshop will focus on learning a combined (boys and girls) maulu'ulu. Maulu'ulu is a dance that conveys storytelling through movements, much like the gentle rhythm of light rain. In simple terms, our work is best described as Dance Theatre that blends narrative, multimedia, live music, and performance art.
The Kaupapa never dies because it lives and breathes through the practice and innovation of the art. E Sui Faiga Ae Tumau Fa'avae - Principals may change but foundation remains the same.