By BRIDGET COOK
THE members of Tama Tatau are connected by two things – their traditional tattoo and a passion for Samoan dance.
Those two aspects have brought together a group of men to form a Samoan dance troupe, who are now making their way around the state, sharing and celebrating their culture.
The Casey-based group is quickly becoming a high demand offering for festivals and events with its high-energy dance shows proving popular with audiences across Victoria.
They have been chosen to headline a festival in Box Hill on Monday, the Queen’s Birthday holiday, to celebrate 52 years of Samoan independence.
The group has also been invited to head to Canberra in July to perform at The Sacred Gods of Polynesian exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia.
And it all started in Casey in 2011 after men with Samoan heritage wanted to keep their culture alive in Australia.
Each member of the group has a distinctive traditional Samoan tattoo – Tatau – which spans from the knee to the waist.
Group member Masi Tusitala said coming together to form the dance troupe was a way the men could celebrate and share their culture with others.
“We can now cherish our culture and keep it alive here in Australia,” he said.
“There are a lot of Samoans living outside of Samoa and in Australia so we can keep them in touch with some of our cultural traditions.”
Mr Tusitala said their performances go for more than 45 minutes during which they showcase about 10 different dances.
“There are a lot of traditional dances, but we also incorporate some crowd pleasers with a few contemporary and hip hop type numbers,” he said.
“Our shows have drums and even possible fire knife dance.”
Mr Tusitala said the group was becoming increasingly popular, having been asked to perform at a range of festivals across the state and at birthdays and weddings.
“We’ve performed at the Casey Kids Carnival, Australia Day celebrations, Face of Australia festival in Sale and the Big West festival in Footscray, to name a few,” he said.
“We are hoping that success continues and even to tap into the corporate functions market as well.”
On Monday 9 June, the group is headlining the Samoa independence celebration at the Box Hill Town Hall, running from 11am to 5pm.
Mr Tusitala urged the community to head along and see what they were all about.
For more information about the group email tamatatau@live.com.au.
