The Manurewa High School Samoan group in action at ASB Polyfest. Photo / Thomas Wandstraat
The Manurewa High School Samoan group in action at ASB Polyfest. Photo / Thomas Wandstraat
Manurewa High School’s Samoan group will celebrate Polyfest’s 50th anniversary, remembering matriarch Melegalenu’u Ah Sam.
Polyfest, now the world’s largest secondary school cultural dance festival, anticipates 75 schools and 280 groups from April 2-5.
More than 10,000 youth will take to the stage and around 100,000 people attend the Manukau Bowl.
Manurewa High School deputy principal Linda Sime says celebrating the 50th anniversary of Polyfest will be bittersweet for her Samoan group.
Sime says many of their Samoan teachers and Samoan communities will have mixed emotions as they remember their matriarch, Melegalenu’u Ah Sam.
Melegalenu’u Ah Sam.
Ah Sam died in April aged 75. She was known to thousands of students who performed on the Samoan stage at ASB Polyfest, where she had worked as the lead coordinator since 1993.
“She had a major hand in establishing the Samoan language in Aotearoa and she led our Samoan Stage for many years,” Sime says.
“We will use this opportunity to remember those who paved the way for us to have these celebrations and who are no longer with us.
“We will reminisce on our past performances, friends and families that we journeyed with through the past 50 years of Polyfest.”
Liston College students perform the Fa'ataupati (slap dance) on the Samoan Stage in 2024. Photo / Thomas Wandstraat
Polyfest has come a long way since its humble beginnings back in 1976, when it was first staged at Hillary College and four schools attended.
In 2025, they are anticipating close to 75 schools and 280 groups will perform. More than 10,000 Pasifika youth will take to the stage and around 100,000 people will attend with 200 stallholders.
It’s now heralded as the biggest secondary school cultural dance festival in the world.
Manurewa High School has competed in Polyfest for the past 35 years and its teams have a tradition of excellence.
Sime has managed the Samoan group since 2013 and they have won it three times under their tutor John Lafaele and have always placed in the top three.
Sime, who competed in Polyfest under the Niuean Group in her time as a student, says the festival is hugely important in building the students’ confidence and cultural competence.
“One of the greatest things about Polyfest is the encouragement our students receive to learn more about their language, culture, traditions and history through song and through dance.”
e Wharekura o Ngā Maungarongo me TKKM o Te Kōtuku at ASB Polyfest 2024. Photo/ Ben Campbell
“A strong sense of cultural identity can provide resilience in the face of challenges.”
Manurewa has 15 groups performing at Polyfest this year. There are 10 diversity groups alongside five big groups; Samoan, Tongan, Cook Islands, Niuean and Kapa Haka.
The Samoan group practises five times a week.
“There is a certain hype in the air when our students get ready for Polyfest,” Sime says.
“They have a higher level of energy, they are extremely excited, they enjoy the preparation, the hair sessions, the breakfast before the performance, the circle of talanoa where they are reminded of who they are representing and how proud we are of them.”
Polyfest 2025 is sponsored by ACC and will run a stall with New Zealand Rugby League to highlight the importance of managing concussion in sport.
In 2023, ACC accepted 10,648 claims for sports-related concussion at a cost of $64 million to help people recover.
The Samoan group practices five times a week and there is a special energy in the group.
ACC injury prevention partner Nat Hardaker says community events like Polyfest are important as they provide an opportunity to raise awareness and understanding of ACC services.
“They are also important for ACC to learn what is important to communities and how we can support them. We know that sport is important in the lives of Māori and Pacific peoples.”
Research shows Māori and Pacific players have higher rates of concussion and lower rates of reporting.
“We need to continue changing the culture and provide a safe environment for reporting concussion,” says Hardaker.
