Last weekend, Jade Chocolates participated in our last show of the year at Manuia’s 1st Annual Holiday Boutique in San Francisco. Manuia Polynesia Revue is a polynesian dance group which participates in shows and competitions covering Hawaiian, Tahitian, Samoan and Tongan dances.
I took up polynesian dancing in college and it has taught me that discipline and dedication can lead to great rewards. I’m an inactive member of my halau (dance group). But once, some year’s back, I lived for dancing. Adding more balance to my personal life is one of my goals for the new year, so back to dancing it will be. Thinking back on Jade Chocolate’s first year in business, I had forgotten to take care of my personal well being and dedicated the majority of my time to the chocolate business.
Here’s a video of a competition at the San Jose Tahiti Fete in 2002. It’s shows only the first five minutes of the Tahitian Otea routine taken from a story of Ariki Tuohea. Our dance tells the story of a mother who is forced to send away her little boy whom the villagers regarded as a monster…and in case you’re wondering, we won first place for our otea routine.
