Waimea has been working with Tahiti Nui Travel for 12 years.
What is your job?
I check client’s itinerary a few days before their arrival in French Polynesia, then I prepare their travel documents (itinerary, vouchers, ferry tickets, issue of plane tickets if necessary) which will be given to them at their international arrival.
What is your passion?
I have been practicing Marquesan dance for the last 13 years. I started to dance because my husband was part of a Marquesan dance group. So I followed him in this adventure. Thanks to my admittance in this Marquesan dance group, I found out I have Marquesan origins. Indeed, my paternal grandmother on my father’s side was Marquesan. Today, I feel like I am Marquesan by heart, I am attracted by this dance which has become my passion. Marquesan dance is virile, strong and gives off a particular “Mana”. The bird dance for example, which is specific to the Marquesas Islands, is the most sensual dance I know (I do not practice this one but I really enjoy watching it).
With our group, we are used to repeating two hours each Tuesday and Thursday after work. It is my hobby and a good way to relax and escape from the everyday grind.
Each Wednesday, we are performing in one of the biggest hotel in Tahiti. We are also dancing for each cruise ship departing from Tahiti to Marquesas Islands.
We are also often called to appear for birthdays, wedding ceremonies, within schools or centers for persons with disabilities.
The biggest part of our costumes are kept and reused for each show as they are made of reusable materials (copra bags, feathers, more, sculpted coconut wood, pork teeth, seeds) but we also have a vegetal part we have to redo for each show (with Auti leafs which is a plant we use a lot in French Polynesia).
We are lead up to travel in order to represent Marquesan Culture as well. We already went to Hawaii three times, once in New Caledonia and three times in the Marquesas Islands.
It is always with pride when I am going to represent this culture I love outside French Polynesia.
If you are coming to French Polynesia to discover our culture, do not hesitate to venture to the Marquesas Islands where the “Mana” is very powerful. Marquesan culture is singular and very rich, you will not be disappointed.
