Westlake Girls' College taking on the Māori stage at ASB Polyfest 2022. Photo / Greg Bowker
Westlake Girls' College taking on the Māori stage at ASB Polyfest 2022. Photo / Greg Bowker
The second day of ASB Polyfest is underway, kick-starting Māori and Samoan speeches and performances. It's without crowds this year and has gone digital as a result of the Omicron outbreak.
It's the first time in nearly 50 years that Polyfest has gone ahead without crowds, but the spirit of the festival remains with plenty of talent and enthusiasm from the students.
The current Covid-19 setting means students are only performing in front of the ASB Polyfest judges, while family and friends can watch the performances live online via a livestream.
For Māori and Pasifika, Polyfest is a space that allows students to celebrate their identity on a competitive stage - making it enjoyable and fun.
Today at 9.45am, diversity stage performances included those from Indian, Fijian, Sri Lankan and Filipino groups. The diversity stage is the first to drive the festival, a chance for other groups to showcase their cultures.
Performers from the Avondale College Japanese Dance group during their competition on Thursday at Polyfest 2022 in Auckland. Photo / Greg Bowker
But on the Māori stage, the competition is heated as schools compete for the number one spot.
Just over 20 schools are competing this year, but traditionally, more than 60 schools would enter the Māori stage in different divisions.
Ngā Puna o Waiōrea (Western Springs College) principal Chris Selwyn told the Herald that the decrease in numbers means that all the schools are competing in the same pool this year.
Ngā Puna o Waiōrea has a history of championing the Māori stage and other Māori cultural events, and they are also the host of ASB Polyfest 2022.
Selwyn told the Herald this year has been a challenge with the Omicron outbreak, impacting on practices and trying to abide by the safety guidelines.
Westlake Girls' College taking on the Māori stage at ASB Polyfest 2022. Photo / Greg Bowker
"You'll have half the group with you one day, the next day some will be gone because of isolation," he said.
Sometimes it meant that all group members across all schools had to see themselves as leaders, so that as students came back from isolation, they could work with them to get up to speed.
"Trying to manage that has been a real challenge. I'm just so proud of our schools who have been able to push through it, we feel real aroha for all our kura."
Parents have raised concerns for their children participating in the festival, but Selwyn adds: "We all want to keep them safe."
"The way it's been set up online, whānau have been really supportive because they know their kids are safer this way.
"They wanted it to happen, but to happen safely. This ensures those concerns are being met."
"People felt [Polyfest] would be too hard to do, but many believed that it was something we could make happen. We'd say: 'Just make it happen for the kids'."
"It's not the same, but at least the kids have got the platform to be able to do their performances. Māori Television are able to capture it for whānau, so hopefully whānau are getting the best of it from home."
The Samoan stage hosted the Samoan speech competition today, running from 9.30am to 3.30pm.
Gloria Maee Fiti from Onehunga High School graced the Samoan stage representing her father, with a memorial badge to him pinned close to her heart.
Gloria Maee Fiti from Onehunga High School wears a badge as a memorial to her father during her Samoan Speech competition. Photo / Greg Bowker
Her father died in 2014, his memory helped her to do her speech today. She was 6 when he passed away.
Her speech explores what it's like to be a NZ-born Samoan, and the privilege it is to speak the language.
She talked about how a child's first teacher is always their parent, but that it takes a village to raise a child, especially when it comes to language. For Gloria, to know the language is an honour.
Polyfest helps students celebrate their identity and their language. Tangata Moana (people of the Pacific) face barriers in a western world, particularly with education and careers and having to neglect their culture.
