FIRST FEMALE WINNER CAPS OFF A NIGHT OF FIRSTS AT THE PCC 2002 JUNIOR WORLD FIRE KNIFE DANCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Younger Brother Ties for Children's Title

Laie, HI - May 18, 2002 - Imagine you are competing in a grueling contest for the first time. You are testing your skills against the best of the best, twirling fire-lit knives and hoping you come out on top of the competitors as the World's Greatest.

Now imagine you're a 14-year-old girl from Samoa and the first female entrant ever in a competition like this. That was the scene last night for Melenie Lesoa Leilua from Siumu, Western Samoa, as she stepped out to become the first female competitor - and champion - in the Polynesian Cultural Center's Junior World Fire Knife Dance Competition.

Leilua performed to a packed house of more than 500 people in the PCC's Hale Aloha Theater, wowing and exciting the crowd with her fast-paced, skillful routine. At the end of her performance, the audience was on its feet in a standing ovation for this young record-setting champion.

She began fire knife dancing when she was five years old and has performed the fire knife in Australia as part of the Pacific Arts Festival. Coconuts Beach Resort in Siumu sponsored her participation in the competition. She is a member of the Ailao Club, a fire knife dance club in Samoa.

Second place went to Micah Kapono Naruo, a 17-year-old senior from Roosevelt High School, for his energetic and skillful routine. Naruo will continue his fire knife dancing while pursing a degree at California Lutheran University next year. Martin Tevaga, the 2001 champion from Waianae, placed third in the competition open to 12-17 year old entrants.

Adding to the excitement of the night was Melenie's younger brother Barry, who was one of two competitors named champion in the children's category open to contestants ages 6-11. He is also a member of the Ailao Club.

The seven year old has been twirling the fire knives to prepare for this event since the tender age of four. Like his sister, the Coconut Beach Resort also sponsored his participation in this event. The tie for first place, and the shared honor of brother and sister in the top seats, adds yet another first for the 10th anniversary year of this competition.

Top honors were also given to Kamaehu Arakaki-Fukui, a 10-year-old Kapolei resident, who attends Star of the Sea School. Second place was awarded to Julius Tafiti, the son of Magic of Polynesia fire knife dancer Ah Chew Tafiti who also competed last night for a spot in the finals of the World Fire Knife Dance Championships. Tennessee Su'esu'e of Salt Lake City, Utah, was the event's youngest competitor at just six years of age. He performed his third place routine in front of more than 60 family and friends who flew in for the event. The self-taught Su'esu'e learned his craft by watching a video from the PCC.

The finals of the 10th Annual World Fire Knife Dance Competition will be decided tonight in the PCC's Pacific Theater during the 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. night shows. Former World Champions Pati Levasa of Samoa and David Galeai of the Cook Islands will face off to see who can reclaim the title or if challenger Conan Higa from Maui will win it all. Higa was a one of three finalists in last year's competition.

The World Fire Knife Dance Competition is the highlight event of the annual "We Are Samoa" Festival, which concludes tonight. Hawaiian Airlines, Turtle Bay Resort, and Electric Pencil are sponsoring the championships. Cost to attend the finals is $26 for adults, $16 for children. PCC Annual Pass holders get in free with reservations. Call 293-3333 for reservations or more information.

Founded in 1963 as a non-profit organization, the PCC has entertained more than 30 million visitors by preserving and portraying the spirit, culture and people of Polynesia to the rest of the world. More important is the mission of the PCC, which supports the educational mission of Brigham Young University-Hawaii and provides an extension of the classroom in a workplace setting. Since its establishment, the PCC has employed more than 12,000 BYU-Hawaii students. As a non-profit organization, 100 percent of the PCC’s revenue is used for daily operations and to support the students who earn their tuition, room and board, and books. The PCC also provides significant financial support to elementary and secondary schools and to college students attending institutions of their choice besides BYU-Hawaii.