Rarotonga's Te Maeva Nui 2013 - Tongareva Ura Pau

Here's another video from the 2013 Maeva Nui dance competition - the drum dance (ura pau) from the Tongareva (Penrhyn island) team.

Netball in Paradise another sporting success

Long time since my last posting but I've been busy, was in New Zealand for a couple of weeks and, well, time goes fast when you're having fun.

It's a while ago now but the second Netball in Paradise tournament, from 1 - 7 December 2013, was another Cook Islands sporting success.

Six divisions, 13U, 15U, 17U, Open Competitive, Open Social and Mixed, meant Rarotonga was host to large numbers of netball enthusiasts - about six hundred I believe. Over the four days of play the TCI sports arena saw plenty of exciting action as well as lots of fun.

According to Cook Islands News (here) 32 teams took part in this fantastic week of netball.

Results:
Under 13: Cook Islands Griffins Cookies national team
Under 15: Visiting New Zealand Maori team Tuwharetoa
Under 17: Cook Islands Powerade Blasters under 17 national netball team
Open Competitive: Cook Islands Pearls national netball team
Open Social: Team Kaipara
Mixed: Family Ties took out the highly contested mixed division.

Plans are already underway for the 2014 competition. More details here.

For phot0s of the tournament check the Netball Cook Islands Facebook page here.

New Year beach concert on Rarotonga

Motone Productions are the people who brought Opera in Rarotonga and Divas in Paradise (among others) to the Cook Islands and they also arrange workshops and teaching sessions for young Cook Islanders whenver overseas musicians visit the rock.
Recently they produced a month-long creative residency here for Murray Hickman, an internationally renowned percussionist. As well as developing a composition to be performed at the opening ceremony of the New Zealand Festival of the Arts in Wellington in February, Murray also worked with local drummers and children and as a result of this ten children from Aitutaki and Rarotonga as well as two local composers, Katu Teiti and Mark Short, have been chosen to travel to Wellington to be part of 'the big bang'.
They will join 200 young Nw Zealanders from Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland in a mighty group led by Hickman and Strike Percussion.
Alongside them in Civic Square, Wellington will be hundreds of singers from across the region.
Getting everyone to Wellington is an expensive business so Motone kicked off fundraising on New Year's Day with a beach concert featuring local artists as well as two groups of the young drummers.
It was a great success with over $1500 raised in door takings plus more donations from the floor.
Anyone in Wellington on Friday 21 February should head along to Civic Square at 8.30pm for The Big Bang, the spectacular free opening event.
(http://www.wellingtonnz.com/event/big-bang-nz-festival-2014)