POLYNESIAN CULTURAL CENTER HOSTS 4TH ANNUAL TE MAHANA HIRO'A O TAHITI FESTIVAL, JULY 12-17

Children's Dance Competition Highlights Final Days of Annual Festival

LA'IE ­ July 6, 2004 ­ It is time once again to celebrate the fast-shaking hips, drum beats and colorful costumes that highlight the Tahitian culture at the Polynesian Cultural Center's 4th Annual Te Mahana Hiro'a O Tahiti Festival from July 12-17, 2004.

"We are pleased to bring back to this annual celebration to pay tribute to my home country of Tahiti," said Raymond Mariteragi, director of cultural islands at the PCC overseeing the French-Polynesian islands of Tahiti and the Marquesas. "There will be activities daily throughout the week in the Tahitian village, as well as the children's dance competition on Friday and Saturday. We are expecting more than 100 competitors this year, so it will be an exciting competition for our guests to see."

The preliminary solo dance competition will be held Friday, July 16th, at 7:30 p.m. in the Hale Aloha Theater. Then, Saturday, July 17th, the contest kicks off at 9 a.m. in the Pacific Theater for the solo finals and group competition.

As in years past, this year's competition covers two broad categories of Tahitian dancing: otea or traditional drumming dances, and aparima or more modern dances performed with music and singing.

"The difference is somewhat like Hawaiian kahiko and auana styles of hula," said Mariteragi.

Dancers in the solo competition will be divided into two age groups, tamari'i (ages 2-11) and taure'are'a (ages 12-18), with further internal divisions from 2-4, 5-7, 8-9, 10-11; and 12-13, 14-15, and 16-18, respectively. The group competition features mixed ages.

Awards and prizes will be given to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners in each age category, and overall best dancer awards for boys and girls in the two main divisions.

The festival is being co-sponsored by Treasures of Tahiti, which is providing Tahitian black pearl pendants for the overall winners. Trophies for the 1st and 2nd place solo competition winners are sponsored by Mike and Sylvia Kopp of the Hula Supply Center.

Regular kama'aina admission to the song and dance competition is $6 for children ages 3-11 and $8 for adults with proof of Hawaii residency. Annual Pass holders get in free. General admission tickets start at just $30 for adults and $25 for children ages 3-11. Purchase of a Te Mahana Hiro'a O Tahiti Festival ticket allows for admittance to the Center for the rest of the day and an IMAX film, excluding meals and the Horizons night show. For more information or reservations, please call 293-3333 or visit www.Polynesia.com.

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-Hawai'i and provides an extension of the classroom in a workplace setting. Since its establishment, the PCC has employed more than 12,000 BYU-Hawai'i 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-Hawai'i.

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