2006 Results As They Happened

Saturday, May 20	Friday, May 19	Thursday, May 18
World Champion Crowned Samoa Festival Results	Senior Finalists Junior Champions Crowned	9 semi-finalists named

May 20, 2006, 11:30 p.m.

Oloa repeats as PCC 2006 World Fire Knife champion

LAIE, Hawaii — The third night of fireknife action at the Polynesian Cultural Center was even better than the first two nights of this year's 14th annual World Fire Knife Dance Champion. But in the end, it was déjà vu, again:

Mikaele Oloa, now a 16-year-old who will be a senior at Oakridge High in Orlando, Florida, next school year, and the defending 2005 PCC World Fire Knife Dance champion, defended his title a couple of hours ago during final heats in each of two evening shows to claim the 2006 crown.

He also won a $4,000 first prize and a six-foot-long hand-carved and chromed ceremonial nifo oti or Samoan dancing knife created by event founder Pulefano Galea'i.

First-time participant Joseph Cadousteau from Papeete and Papara, Tahiti, won second place, and a $2,000 cash prize; and former three-time World Champion David Galea'i from Laie won third place and a $1,000 cash prize.

Oloa dances professionally several nights a week at two Orlando hotels, and is a friend of now two-time intermediate champion (ages 12-17), Via Tiumalu, also of Orlando. Indeed, this year might be described as an "Orlando invasion," as Via Tiumalu, 14, and his little brother, Rex, 11 — who won the junior division (ages 6-11) world championship all come from there.

The older Tiumalu said he's thinking of making the jump to the senior bracket next year, just as did Oloa last year when he was only 15. Competition rules, however, prevent a junior from moving back to that division once he's competed as a senior.

Cadousteau, a 26-year-old economics student, has been knife dancing since he was 7, and won a competition in Faaa, Tahiti, that qualified him for the PCC event. "Mikaele is the best," he said.

"The Polynesian Cultural Center is very good, and I feel like a Samoan now," he added. Before he won, he also said he was "surprised to be in the finals," but the audience — and more importantly, the independent panel of judges — loved his dynamic dancing.

One of those judges was Malie Letuli, daughter of the late Freddie Letuli — who is acknowledged as the "father of modern fireknife dancing" when he combined fire with the Samoan ailao dance with a traditional nifo oti ["deadly tooth" knife] in the 1940s — described this year's competition as "amazing. The quality of the dancing was fantastic. We run our own fireknife competition in Pago Pago [American Samoa], and the kids coming up continue to come up with tricks and moves that even my father was amazed at."

(Left-right): Pulefano Galea'i, David Galea'i, Mikaele Oloa, Joseph Cadousteau and Delsa Moe (photos by Mike Foley)

David Galea'i, who grew up in Laie amid a family who is famous for their fireknife and Samoan cultural skills, said, "There are a lot of good, younger dancers coming up." Before the competition began, he also said, "This is going to be a tough year."

Each year the cash prizes are donated by Henry S. Matalii and Company of California. The Matalii family has strong ties to the Laie community.

Pulefano Galea'i, the PCC's Cultural Islands Manager and a former professional knife dancer in youth who emceed the finals, explained that World Fire Knife Dance Championship rules call for anyone winning two consecutive titles to sit out a year.

So, next year's 15th annual championship is going to be very interesting. Hope to see you there.

—Mikaele Foley

May 20, 2006, 5:00 p.m.

Samoa Festival full of fun, energy and fealofani

LAIE, Hawaii — Thousands of people filled the Polynesian Cultural Center's Pacific Theater this morning to watch hundreds of Hawaii high school students — most of them of Samoan heritage — compete in a variety of their traditional arts and skills. There was also a Samoan cultural organization, USOH, that participated and provided some of the prizes.

When it was all over about two hours ago, the overall winners among the seven high schools were:

• Kahuku High, 1st place, repeating their win last year
• Farrington High, 2nd place
• Moanalua High, 3rd place

For a complete list of 2006 Samoa Festival winners >>>

The Samoa Festival started out with USOH — The United Samoan Organization of Hawaii — singing Lo Ta Nu'u, a national patriotic song, followed by traditional speech making, first by hereditary chiefs representing the Polynesian Cultural Center and the community of Laie.

Next selected students, both boys and girls, presented their own lauga or speeches. "The art of oratory is very highly regarded in Samoan culture," explained Delsa Moe, PCC's Director of Cultural Presentations who is originally from Samoa. She noted in the past arguments and even wars have been averted through the verbal skills of Samoan tulafale or talking chiefs. "It's almost like they have their own language, filled with poetry and proverbs."

Even those who didn't understand listened respectfully. But soon enough the games began as the students competed in traditional skills, such as peeling green bananas. "Anybody can peel a ripe banana, but Samoans love [cooked] green bananas," said Moe, who added that they had to use a wooden fofo'e or knife to remove the skins "and they need to do it quickly, without breaking the bananas."

Other contests included weaving coconut leaf baskets, husking coconuts and traditional Samoan firemaking. The theater erupted with cheers and laughter as the competitors raced to finish, or failed to even get started in some cases.

Following the games, USOH and then each of the high schools performed the lively dances of Samoa, set off by the sometimes comic motions of the fa'aluma or male leader, and the ornately costumed female taupou, who performs a solo.

While the taupou danced, hundreds of people came forward from the audience and donated money that went directly to the schools. "That's the Samoan way of showing appreciation," Moe said.

At the end, all of the students gathered on the Cultural Center's stage for a stirring performance by Samoan Idol winners of We Are Samoa, a beautiful song which suggests that all Samoans are brothers and sisters.

"All Samoans are related in one way or another. We're all äiga [family]," Moe said. "We want to thank the schools for the good way they support each other. They're all trying to build fealofani [mutual love and respect]."

May 19, 2006 11:30 p.m.

LAIE, Hawaii — A quick update of the finalists, as well as the junior champions follows. More information will be provided as it is made available:

Senior Finalists

2006 World Fire Knife Championship Finalists, in no particular order, are:

• Mikaele Oloa (Orlando, Florida)
• David Galea'i (Laie, Hawaii)
• Joseph Cadousteau (Tahiti)

2006 Junior Championships Crowned

Juniors 12-17 years:

• Viavia Tiumalu (Orlando, Florida) World Champion
• Julius Tafiti (Laie, Hawaii) 1st runner up
• Malakai Lavata'i (Pago Pago, American Samoa) 2nd runner up

Tamaiti (Children) 6-11 years:

• Rex Tiumalu (Orlando, Florida) World Champion
• Kahikina Moise (Tahiti) 1st runner up
• Hale Motuapuaka (Honolulu, Hawaii) 2nd runner up

See results from previous years >

Early in the evening the Tamaiti or children's division entrants were soooo cute — and already very talented. Two of them, although only six years old, have already been dancing for several years and have been waiting for their sixth birthdays so they could compete this evening.

PCC Director of Cultural Presentations Delsa Moe, who is originally from Samoa, said of one of them, "I remember him when he started dancing at [age] three."

By the time the winners were announced, the father of one of the boys had to carry his sleeping son back on stage for the awards ceremony; but this year's winner — Rex Tiumalu of Orlando, Florida — still had plenty of energy to celebrate his own victory and the $800 check that his brother, Viavia Tiumalu, won for his outstanding repeat performance as world champion in the Junior Division.

There were also three Lavata'i brothers from American Samoa, and two Ahuna brothers from Kaneohe, Hawaii, competing in the two younger divisions.

Everyone in the overflow crowd at the PCC's Hale Aloha venue realized the future of Samoan fireknife dancing is in excellent hands as they watched the skill, speed and agility of these younger toa or warriors.

The finalists are (left-right) Joseph Cadousteau, David Galea'i and defending champion Mikaele Oloa

The competition really heated up in the second half of the program as the nine semifinalists named the night before took the stage in turn. Amazingly, their routines were even better than the night before, prompting competition founder and PCC Cultural Islands Manager Pulefano Galea'i to say, "Any three of these nine semifinalists could truly be finalists tomorrow night."

"They gave it all they had," he added, noting that several of them danced through injuries and burns in putting on their exciting performances this evening. He also explained that the number-one rule in fireknife dancing is, "Never drop your knife."

Moe, who co-emceed the evening with Galea'i, added that the difference between the three finalists and some of the other semifinalists often comes down to one or two points, while judges subtract three points each time a contestant drops a knife.

After the awards were announced, all of the semifinalists embraced each other, demonstrating the keen spirit of alofa [just like Hawaiian aloha] that exists among the brotherhood of young men who dare to dance with knives amid the flames in honor of Samoan culture.

May 18, 2006

Nine semifinalists advance in 14th annual competition

LAIE, Hawaii — Following several hours of the world's most exciting Samoan fireknife dancing — featuring a field of 20 toa or modern warriors from Hawaii, Tahiti, Guam, Japan, Korea, the U.S. mainland and Samoa — a panel of judges selected nine to advance to the Polynesian Cultural Center's 14th annual senior division World Fire Knife Dance Competition semifinals on May 19.

In alphabetical order, this year's semifinalists are:

• Joe Cadousteau from Tahiti
• Ricky Fitiausi from Guam
• David Galea'i of Laie
• Mikaele Oloa from Orlando, Florida
• Heiva Potel from Tahiti
• Andrew Umi Sexton from Orlando, Florida
• Richard Siolosega from Kaneohe, Hawaii
• Kapeneta Te'o-Tafiti from the PCC
• Peter Whitney from Waianae

Each of them is guaranteed a $500 prize.

Following the semifinals competition on May 19, the judges will select three finalists who will compete in each of two evening shows in the Polynesian Cultural Center’s main theater on Saturday, May 20. The PCC’s 14th annual World Fire Knife Champion will be named at the end of the second show, and will receive a $4,000 cash prize along with a six-foot-long hand-carved wooden ceremonial.

Judges selected the nine semifinalists based on their energy, the use of traditional moves and actions, the smoothness and speed of their dance, the height of their tosses, and the difficulty of their moves. The judges also penalized those dancers who dropped their flaming knives.

Pulefano Galea'i, the PCC's Cultural Islands Manager and founder of the World Fire Knife Dance Competition, said it was "unfortunate that only nine of the young men can advance. They're all pretty good."

And good sports, too: For example, airline officials would not let the Japanese dancer, Yuji/Alex — who had his own enthusiastic cheering section with him — bring his knives because they had a gasoline smell, so his namesake and former World Champion Alex Galea'i loaned him his for the event.

That made it even harder, because each dancer usually customizes the weight and balance of his knives. Each also performs with one knife, and then two, while several managed to handle three, and one dancer even kept four fireknives in motion at one time.

For example, as is customary, Samoan chiefs greeted all of the competitors with traditional oratory at the beginning of the program; and a corps of drummers enhanced the excitement and kept up the momentum as they pounded away on instruments ranging from traditional wooden pate to metal cracker cans — a favorite modern Samoan "drum." In other words, it was a fantastic evening of fiery skill and Samoan culture.

"When we first started this, I was asked who's going to want to see more than one fireknife dancer at one time," said Pulefano Galea'i, "but when you put them in a competition, and the young men continue to improve, they take it to the next level, and it just gets better every year."

The semifinal competition follows the keiki (children ages 6-11) and junior (ages 12-17) championship competitions, which start May 19 at 7:45 p.m. in the Center’s Hale Aloha.

View other years' World Fire Knife Championship results>

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