KEY POINTS:
It's a kapa haka class where Maori are in the minority.
Running since 2000, the University of Auckland's introductory course on the performance art has consistently attracted more non-Maori, than Maori. In a class of 87 this year, the bulk of students were international, hailing from Russia, Japan, the United States, Brazil, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Pacific islands.
Angela Smith, a 30-year veteran, teaches the course with champion exponents Dr Ngapo Wehi and Richard Wehi. All are part of the premier Te Waka Huia group.
"Most of them see something on the plane coming over here and make up their minds. They've got no hang-ups. They just come prepared to be respectful of another culture. They really want to know something about it," Ms Smith said.
After 12 weeks the students were assessed at a performance in front of whanau and friends, but for some one semester was not enough. They were bitten by the haka bug.
"In 2007 we had this Japanese boy Atiu. He ended up being the kaea [leader] for the haka. He was invited down to Ruatoki and just immersed himself in it. He was amazing. The next time I saw him he was performing at regional competition in the second row. I thought to myself, 'Oh my God, there he is'. No one [new to performance] does that."
Hiromi Sakamoto, 46, the university's first dance doctoral student, has had a career spanning 20 years in dance and television directing in the United States and Japan.
Last semester's introductory course was his first taste of Maori culture and he plans to continue with higher level study.
"You talk about iwi, you talk about tribes and images of ancestors going back generations. I'm still reminded I'm connected to them even if I'm Asian. You are connected to the earth, you feel the energy from the ground. It has its own sophistication and depth."
Learning in a "Maori" way opened his eyes, he said. "Repetition was the main thing. Using your senses such as hearing, watching and vocals without writing things down. Maybe 200 years ago Japanese learned like this, but we kind of forgot it. We look down on it but it is a very strong way of learning."
There were benefits of sharing culture, he said. "If you want to build a cohesive society, you have to make an effort to know each other. As a newcomer to New Zealand I want to know."
* Translation
He karaihe kapa haka ko te hunga Maori tetahi wahi iti o nga kaihaka.
I timata tenei karaihe i te tau 2000. Mai i taua wa he nui ke atu te hunga whakauru ki te akoranga tauira nei ehara i te Maori, tena i nga tangata Maori ake.
O nga akonga 87 i tenei tau ko te nuinga no tawahi ke, no Ruhia, no Hapanihi, no Amerika, no Prihi, no Taiwana, n Hongipua me Ng Moutere o Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa.
Ko te kaiako ko Angela Smith, kua 30 tau ia e whakaako ana, me etahi toa rongonui o te ao kapa haka, a Takuta Ngapo Wehi rua ko Richard Wehi. He mema katoa rtou o te ropu rongonui o Te Waka Huia.
"Ko te nuinga ka kite noa ake i etahi korero, whakaahua ranei pea, i te rererangi i te haerenga mai ki konei, ka tatu nga whakaaro me whai atu. Kaore he awangawanga. Kua haere mai i runga i te ngakau iti ki te ako i nga tikanga o tetahi iwi ke. Kei te tino hiahia ratou ki te mohio ki tetahi wahi o te ao Maori," te ki a Angela.
I muri i te 12 wiki ka whakawakia nga haka a nga akonga i mua i te whanau me nga hoa, engari mo etahi, kaore i nui te toru marama noa iho. Kua ngoto mai te wairua mo te ako i te haka me te waiata.
"No te tau 2007 i uru mai tetahi tama no Hapanihi, ko Atiu te ingoa. Te mutunga iho ka noho koia te kaea o te haka. Ka powhiritia kia haere ki Ruatoki, ka noho tuturu ki te ako. He whakamiharo. Kite rawa ake au i a ia kua uru ki nga whakataetae a-rohe, kei te kaparua. I penei au ki a au ano, 'e tama ko ta tatou taitama tera.'
"Kaore e pera ana mo te tauhou ki enei mahi whakakitekite."
Kua 20 nga tau o Hiromi Sakamoto, 46, e mahi ana i te ao kanikani, i te ao pouaka whakaata, i Amerika me Hapanihi, a, koia te akonga tuatahi ki te whai i te tohu kairangi mo te kanikani i te whare wananga.
Katahi ano ia ka rongo i te wairua Maori me nga tikanga Maori i te akoranga pae tuatahi i tera tau, a, ko tana hiahia kia whaia atu ki nga pae o runga.
"Ka korero te tangata mo nga iwi, mo nga whakaahua a-hinengaro o nga tipuna o te tini mano tau, ka mahara au ki aku hononga ki a ratou ahakoa no Ahia au. I ahu mai tatou i a Papatuanuku, kaore e kore ka rongo i te mauri o te whenua. He matauranga ano to te haka, he tino hohonu."
Na te noho ki te ako i raro i nga tikanga Maori kua ngawha mai te maramatanga, e ai ki ana korero.
"Ko te mea nui ko te whakahoki korero, hoki atu, hoki atu, ko aua korero ra ano. Whakarongo, titiro, me te whakahuahua, hei aha te tuhi ki te pukapuka. I pera pea matou i Hapanihi 200 tau ki muri engari kua wareware pea. Kei te ahua whakahawea ki enei tikanga inaianei, engari he tino tikanga whai take mo te ako."
He hua to te ako i te tauhou no iwi ke, ki ana korero.
"Ki te hiahia koe kia pakari te tu o nga iwi katoa o tetahi whenua, me matua mohio ki nga tikanga o etahi. He tauhou au ki Aotearoa, koia au i hiahia ai ki te mohio."
