22 May 2012

Kapa haka in the blood

5/10/2011 11:25:00 a.m.

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HINEMIHIATA Lardelli was doing kapa haka almost before she could walk.
Her father, ta moko artist Derek, started the kapa haka team in the small East Cape village of Whangara in 1993, the year she was born. She was taken to rehearsals as a baby, later joined by her younger brother and a few cousins.
“We were the only kids then,” she says. “Not like today when lots are doing kapa haka, which is great.”
From those early days Lardelli has developed a passion for the Maori art form and is a staunch supporter of the team, Whangara-mai-Tawhiti, begun by her father. Even though she’s been based in Wellington for the past year, studying towards her BA in psychology and BLA in Maori business, she travels back to Whangara with a cousin every second weekend for rehearsals.
The sacrifices though have brought benefits. When Whangara was put on the map by Niki Caro’s 2002 film The Whale Rider, Lardelli played the role of the little girl doing kapa haka. She was a member of Whangara-mai-Tawhiti when the team won the national kapa haka championships in 2007 and in 2010 when Whangara-mai-Tawhiti went to Shanghai to represent New Zealand at the World Expo.
“Kapa haka has made me realise how amazing our culture really is and the beauty of our art forms. It’s given me the confidence to be able to stand in front of a big crowd. It’s shaped me into who I am today.”
For the past five months Lardelli has been a frequent traveller to Auckland attending rehearsals for the Maori stage show Arohanui – The Greatest Love, opening at The Opera House this week. Arohanui  is a showcase of Maori performance blending traditional kapa haka, martial arts, theatre, poi and musical composition with contemporary Maori art forms into a full-length stage show performed by a cast of more than 30. It’s the first time New Zealand’s top kapa haka exponents from different iwi have collaborated for a theatrical production.
“Working alongside other kapa haka performers instead of competing against them has been amazing. We get to see the many styles of all the different roopu and adapting to them. It’s made me appreciate kapa haka is not solely about competition. It’s about keeping the culture strong.”
Written by Helen Pearse-Otene and jointly directed by Annette Wehi, Tanemahuta Gray and Jim Moriarty, Arohanui tells the story of twins Kahu and Mira raised to avenge their father’s death at the hands of mystical people called Patupaiarehe. Kahu falls in love with the Patupaiarehe princess, however, and is forced to choose between his family and the love of his life.
Lardelli says the show will appeal both to New Zealanders who have felt pride at watching a haka on a rugby field and to international rugby visitors looking for a Maori cultural experience.
“It’s the perfect opportunity to showcase our culture to the rest of the world.”
Arohanui: The Greatest Love, The Opera House, October 6-9.
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Cover Story

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