Page 27 - PR's - People & Culture

FILPOLYNESIA TEVAKANUI
After ve years of traveling, the Georges
felt it was time to settle down with their family. Upon returning to Hawai’i in 2001, Henry had a heart to share his culture with his three sons, Naenoa, Keahi & Teanu, so he began teaching them how to drum.
His immediate family expanded when he befriended a Tongan family who babysat his kids, including Melelua (a coworker), her mother “Grandma Fua,” and her daughters Heu and Moe. Thus, began the story of what would become Tevakanui. Lessons started at the beach and then interest extended
to beachgoers and local passerbys, who wanted to learn how to dance and drum.
There, the journey of Tevakanui began. Considering to establish a dance group in 2002, Henry asked his father to name the group. He was given Te Vaka Nui which roughly translates to “the grand canoe” - to which Henry combined the words mak-
ing Tevakanui to signify the unity required in a journey to be made by such a grand canoe.
Within a month, the group grew to 50 mem- bers and they found themselves perform- ing at various festivals and performances over the next 12 months. A year later, Henry & Yvette moved to Las Vegas, NV where Tevakanui was reestablished, but this time, Henry’s vision expanded to open a culture center for Polynesian dance, music and drumming. That vision would later be seen through his dance studio.
Practices began in the garage of their Las Vegas home, moved to inside their living room, and then the park. Eventually, they held practices at a glass warehouse to a kung-fu studio, and now their own studio space. Since 2005, Tevakanui has grown to be the largest Polynesian dance group in
Las Vegas, NV and they have expanded to Tevakanui-Hawaii, in Oahu and Tevakanui- Mexico, in Puebla. Their mission remains the same which is to perpetuate the Polynesian culture in alignment with a ministry approach of teaching.
Tahitian and Hawaiian dance are their focused specialties, and they also feature the cultural dances from Samoa, the Cook Islands, Tonga, New Zealand and Fiji. No experience is needed when joining this dance family and unlike most groups in town, enrollment is open all year! They have students of all ages & ethnicities who come from all walks of life.
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