ARTISTRY

Pāitaita turu’i ora (the alchemy of life), was performed by Nāpua Mexico Australia at the Hura Tapairu Manihini competition 2024. This dance challenges the traditional notions of romantic love and instead emphasises the importance of self-love.

This beautiful Hawaiian hula dance honours a long-lasting and deep love. This song and dance were composed, sung and choreographed by Kumu Kawika Alfiche. Leah first fell in love with this dance at a hula retreat with Kumu Kawika and with her hālau (school), Nāpua Australia.

ILE ILU, an all-women’s percussion and empowerment collective, takes you on journey of Afro-Brazilian rhythms and beyond! This performance with percussion, vocals, horns and full band featured at the Bare Necessities Festival as part of VIVID Sydney 2024. Video filmed and edited by Flor Ciriacci.

This Tahitian dance ‘aparima tells the story of the mermaid, her mesmerising beauty, and shining brown skin and blue eyes - meherio e, purotu ho’i ‘oe no te moana (mermaid, beauty of the ocean). Danced by Leah Subijano in Muri Lagoon, Rarotonga (Cook Islands) and choreographed by Jocelyn Magos.

Fantasy Box is a commercial dance number comprising is a mix of tunes by Black Box, the popular 80s and 90s house music group. The dance was choreographed by Mathew Mizyed and performed by students as part of the DUTI student showcase in 2023.

In this piece, Leah depicts the story of Te Ta’iha’a, a Tahitian mourning ritual, with an explosion of intense emotions – pain, suffering, sadness and raw grief. To honour the death of a chief, women cut their hair and skin with shark teeth and offer their blood on the tapa.

A fun dance project by choreographed and performed by friends, Marina Da Silva, Jes Subba and Leah Subijano, showcasing elements of Jamaican dancehall, hip hop and body percussion. This dance was originally performed at Bad Girl Garden. Video filmed and edited by Aaron Liu.

Amazing, inspired, fulfilled, and transformed are just some of the feelings after finishing the DUTI dance training program. The exhausting yet invigorating three months flew by before our eyes. The experience both expanded and challenged us, in more ways than we anticipated.

It’s been a positive first six weeks – with shared sentiment of joy and excitement being able to wake up each day and dance. While the course has undoubtedly been an amazing experience so far, it’s been met with some intense challenges, to which we have persevered and grown through.

At the beginning of 2021, a group of ten strangers from diverse backgrounds and dance experiences embarked on our DUTI three-month training program. We were from different walks of life with varying levels of dance experience. Here’s the start of our journey…

This dance is in honour of our mothers and expresses the evolving relationship between a mother and child. It is also a tribute to Mother Earth, our wise mother, compelling us to take action to protect nature.

Heiva San Diego was my very first international Tahitian Dance competition experience. It was the first time that dancers from opposite ends of the earth, from Mexico City and Sydney from the Nāpua dance school, came together to compete in Heiva San Diego 2019.