Most elementary school students don\u2019t wear a \u201cpuletasi\u201d or \u201clavalava\u201d to school, but a group of Kent Elementary School students don the traditional Samoan clothes every year to teach their classmates about their culture.<\/p>\n
Pacific Islanders \u2014 mostly American Samoans \u2014 make up the second largest ethnic group at diverse Kent Elementary, and they have brought their culture to the school\u2019s Multicultural Fair in the form of dance for the last four years.<\/p>\n
The group started when Kent Elementary administrators were organizing the school\u2019s first Multicultural Fair. They recognized the need to represent the school\u2019s relatively large population of Pacific Islanders and were pleased to find several parents who wanted to help reach the same goal.<\/p>\n
Coordinated by those parents and Kent Elementary teacher Michelle Kelly, the group has now grown to more than 30 students who annually perform traditional dances for the school community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat began as the promise of a few kids doing a few dances turned into a spectacular production,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cI think my favorite part about this is that it gets them really excited each year. This is a great way for them to share their culture.\u201d<\/p>\n
The teacher said the Samoan group is a favorite at the annual fair. This year they were even asked to dance at Neely-O\u2019Brien Elementary School\u2019s multicultural event May 29.<\/p>\n
Each year, the students wear Samoan clothes, the girls in \u201cpuletasi\u201d dresses and the boys in headbands and \u201clavalava\u201d cloths around their waists. The boys go shirtless to show off tattoos usually drawn onto their arms and chests by parents.<\/p>\n
The group of students ages 6-12 perform about five different dances, each with its own story. Dances like the \u201cHaka\u201d \u2014 a dance to scare away enemies and frighten evil spirits \u2014 and the \u201cSasa\u201d \u2014 a welcoming dance of happiness \u2014 are among the regular routine.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I like about these dances is that I get to show the audience who we are and what we do and show our culture,\u201d said fifth-grader Sai Ta\u2019amu, 11.<\/p>\n
Ta\u2019amu\u2019s grandparents were born in Samoa, and he has grown up with a healthy dose of his heritage, he said. He has been participating in traditional Samoan has danced at his church since the age of 5, but last year he learned about the opportunity to show his culture at school.<\/p>\n
He said he jumped at the chance to join the group.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s very important,\u201d Ta\u2019amu said. \u201cI think people should learn about more cultures than just their own.\u201d<\/p>\n
The student now acts as the \u201cFaluma\u201d in the \u201cHaka\u201d and \u201cSasa\u201d dances, the leader who calls out orders and directs the group\u2019s movements. His uncle and father are among those parents who sometimes join in to sing or play instruments.<\/p>\n
Fifth-grader Ana Molia\u2019s father also joins in the performances, often playing the drums while the students dance. She said her favorite dance is the \u201cSiva,\u201d an all-girls dance that the \u201cTaupou,\u201d the princess, leads.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just the girls showing what they can do,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Molia has been dancing with the group for four years, and she said it makes her proud of her culture.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like to do this because now everyone from our school knows that we\u2019re Samoans,\u201d the student said. \u201cEvery year that I\u2019ve been here, people thought our dance was the best. That\u2019s why they save us for last.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Most elementary school students don\u2019t wear a \u201cpuletasi\u201d or \u201clavalava\u201d to school, but a group of Kent Elementary School students don the traditional Samoan clothes every year to teach their classmates about their culture.
\nPacific Islanders \u2014 mostly American Samoans \u2014 make up the second largest ethnic group at diverse Kent Elementary, and they have brought their culture to the school\u2019s Multicultural Fair in the form of dance for the last four years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":11395,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11394"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11394\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11394"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=11394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}