The World Fireknife Championships began with 19 of the top fireknife dancers in the world from Florida, Tahiti, Samoa, Philadelphia, Hawaii and Japan competing for the championship title. It ended with one, Joseph Cadosteau from Tahiti, a returning two-time champion winning $5,000. Mikaele Oloa from Waialua was the runner-up, with Via Tiumalu from Florida in third place, who are also returning champions. It took place at the Polynesian Cultural Center from May 7 to 9. Now in its 23rd year, the fireknife finale took place during the intermission of the “Ha: Breath of Life” night show and after the annual We Are Samoa Festival. Fireknife dancing comes from the Samoan ailao (a warrior’s knife dance), explained retired PCC Director of Cultural Islands Pulefano Galea’i. This is usually performed before battle and has evolved to include fire – so now warriors dance with flaming knives. The event captivated the audience as the fireknife dancers spun, twirled, and threw flaming knives high into the air and caught them. Some dancers juggled three to four fireknives at the same time, risking dropping them and losing points. Judges watched for speed and dexterity, a strong entrance and powerful exit, smooth transitions from trick to trick, a good performance of warrior spirit, and if the competitor dropped the fireknife. The performers danced and kept to the beat of pounding Polynesian drummers. Winners and competitors alike performed exceptionally well. After winning, Cadosteau said it was hard to explain his feelings. “It’s very hard, but it’s very happy. That’s what I know. I’m happy to share that with my daughter, my family, my wife and everybody.” Cadosteau performed to a roaring audience on May 9, almost perfectly spinning a fireknife, while laying down and jumping, even taking three fireknives and juggling them. As he performed, he said, “I thought about my daughter. My daughter, when she looks at my fire practice, she always says, ‘Papa’s fire! Papa’s fire!’ So when I was in trouble with my routine, I think, ‘Papa’s fire!’ And it gives me energy to keep going to the end without giving up.” Fireknife dancing is an inclusive community, with family, friends, and fellow competitors supporting each other as they learn and improve, said third-place winner Tiumalu. “This is a brotherhood, you know. This is part of our culture that we want to push to a younger crowd to people all around the world,” he said.Family and friends watch the practice and progress, and at the end of the night, everybody wants the performance to go well. Jane Cadosteau, wife of the Joseph Cadosteau, said, “All of these guys work so hard, and for them to come here, if they feel like they’ve done their best, they can leave feeling good about it. If they come and they prepared all year for it, and if they come and they feel like they haven’t done their best, then it’s really hard.”Neil Webb from Australia, also a fireknife dancer, was there filming a documentary about the heart of fire. He said, “The whole Polynesian culture, not just the fireknife – I feel like every single person loves their tradition so much. These people, they share their passion so strongly, so openly, that it blows me away just to watch it, and it gives me so much inspiration just doing what I love, because they show me that they love what they do and they’re so passionate about it.”Elijah Cavanagh, a videographer from Australia, said, “It’s special for us because basically Neil Webb, he has a heart right, and he has a passion, and what he does, he expresses his body through fire and he dances, but when he dances he’s not just moving; he’s expressing something. That’s all in his heart. We’re trying to find and trying to relate back to culture all over the world, because Neil knows it so strongly. The cultures burning really brightly.”Oloa, the second-place winner, said at the end of the finale, “I really try to take in every small thing, every face that you see, every person clapping. You take it all in and thank God for everything.”Uploaded May 21, 2015
Writer: Rachel Reed
