Sheila Green isn't shy so she's excited to perform kapa haka in front of thousands of people.
She's part of Whangārei group Ngā Taonga Atawhai o Te Tai Tokerau, which is one of 15 from around the country performing in Hamilton tomorrowat Te Anga Pāua o Āotearoa - the inaugural National Kapa Haka Festival for people with intellectual disabilities.
"I'm feeling good," Green said "I'm not shy."
Sally Hume, IDEA Services area manager, said the group was formed nearly four years ago after the service manager at the time identified a need for people to reconnect with te reo Māori.
"It started really simply. People really enjoyed the song, and then they enjoyed the poi and then as a larger organisation - the northern region from Tauranga up - we recognised that we should celebrate this because everyone had a kapa haka group of some kind. So we had an Auckland festival a couple years ago which grew into the national festival."