November 13, 2017
Simple test for kapa success
Simplicity brought rewards for the top three roopu at this year's Te Mana Kuratahi primary schools' kapa haka competition in Gisborne.
The biennial event was won by Te Kura o Te Teko, with Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Waioweka second and Gisborne's Te Kapa Hurutea o Horouta Wananga
Organising committee member Lewis Whaitiri says the top three teams were focused and prepared, and kept their performance simple.
"A lot of the tutors nowadays try to make our kids look and sound like adults which I think may have hindered them a little bit. The top three kapa came on stage, the whakaeke was plain and simple – start at the back, move to the front. Everything was done in plain lines, four lines, and it was what the judges were looking for," he says.
Mr Whaitiri says with 57 schools involved facilities were stretched, and a cap may need to be imposed to stop Te Mana Kuratahi getting too big.
Waikato will host Te Mana Kuratahi in 2019.
Copyright © 2017, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com