Highlighting Rotuman love and solidarity through song and dance
Adorned in ti leaves, male and female performers took the stage in pairs, moving in steady and coordinated rhythm as they showcased Rotuman culture.
Club choreographer Willie Irava, a senior majoring in business management from Fiji, said the club’s performance this year illustrated the “relationships between men and women.” He said, “The dance moves that the men performed showed strength and power, and the women showed a bit of softness, describing their roles in society.” He added, “The dance doesn’t put men above women, but more so how they complement [each other] in Rotuman Culture.”
Irava mentioned how Rotuman culture is often overlooked compared to Fijian culture. While Rotuma is a part of Fiji, he stated, it has its own unique cultures and practices. Through their performance, he hoped audiences had “a better idea of what Rotuma is and what culture it portrays compared to other cultures [in the Pacific].”
Performer Kevin Merrill Louis, a junior majoring in finance and Hawaiian studies from India, noted the sense of solidarity and support members showed one another throughout their dance practices. “[It] felt like a family connecting together. … Everybody supported each other throughout our practices.” That same sense of family, Louis stated, carried over to the night of the performance
“My partner kept cheering me on throughout the dance, and I did the same,” he continued.
