SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9
Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm

Cost: Free; no reservations required.

Feel the heartbeat of Polynesia with the songs and dances of Te Vaka. Evoking a time when Polynesian voyagers courageously explored the riches of the Pacific, Te Vaka draws its musical inspiration from the diverse countries of Tuvalu, Samoa and Tokelau (New Zealand). Under the direction of Opetaia Foa’i, the enthralling company commands the stage with its joyful melodies and sensual movements. Combining rhythms of the pate, an indigenous log drum, with guitars, keyboards, and percussion, the musicians and dancers of Te Vaka deliver a kaleidoscopic array of Pacific flavors in a genre of its own.

Over the last thirteen years, Te Vaka has performed extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe enchanting listeners with its own brand of South Pacific fusion. The group is led by singer, songwriter and choreographer Opetaia Foa’i. Inspired by Foa’i’s multi-cultural upbringing – Tokelauan and Tuvaluan in descent, born in Samoa, and raised in New Zealand – Te Vaka’s music encompasses both the traditional and the contemporary.