March 19, 2018
Polyfest shows off best of culture
SEIULI TERRI LEO – MAUU INTERVIEW
It's a wrap.
Polyfest 2018 has ended for another year with 10,000 Auckland secondary school students performing their hearts out and upwards of 100,000 people turning out the the Manukau Sports Bowl over the four days to watch them.
The Maori stage was won again by Nga Puna o Waiorea from Western Springs College, with James Cook High School and Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Hoani Waititi make up the top three.
Festival director Seiuli Terri Leo-Mauu says it was great to see the pride the performers have in being part of something bigger.
"They don't necessarily have to be Maori to be in a Maori group or be Samoan to be in a Samoan group. It's that feeling of 'I respect it, I want to learn more about it, and I look forward to doing that alongside my brothers and my sisters," she says.
Ms Leo-Mauu says the presence of visiting groups from overseas, Niue High School and Tereora College from the Cook Island, was a reminder of the value of culture to education that Polyfest represents.
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