Welcome song performed by people of Kiribati.
Where cultures collide, the celebration comes alive is what happened in the Athenium Theatre in Junee on Saturday 12th September.
A vibrant tapestry of mostly Pacific Island culture transformed the theatre into an arena of celebration, as workers from Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines shared their heritage through a spectacular showcase of traditional song and dance. The performers, living locally under the PALM scheme, traded their work boots for traditional attire to entertain the community that has welcomed them.
The event served as a reminder of the cultural wealth these workers bring to our town, and the performances moved seamlessly between unique rhythms, styles and storytelling of these predominately island nations. Energy abounded as Kiribati began proceedings with a welcome song meaning “to gather people to celebrate happiness.”
Every performance had significance, be it expressing a strong sense of community, cultural identity, connection to the land and sea and a sense of belonging. Wearing traditional clothing, the Fijians sang a welcome song only sung to tourists visiting the island for work or holidays and delighted the audience with a war dance usually performed by the Fijian Rugby Union team before matches.
The Samoans brought immense grace and power to the stage with dances telling stories of everyday island life as well as the resounding “slap dance”. The men of Kiribati danced with precision and vocal chanting the Te Roa a story about survival, sea faring heritage and deep respect for the ocean. Samoa decided to have a fun dance to make all smile and laugh and performed Who run the world? Girls, which got the crowd roaring.
Not to be outdone, dancers from the Philippines performed Tinikling, a folk dance that mimics the quick, graceful movement of tikling birds as they avoid bamboo traps set by farmers in the rice fields. This meant dancers had to move between moving bamboo poles!
The event culminated in a combined finale where performers from all nations took to the stage together to present their flags. The roaring applause at the end proved that while these workers may have arrived to fill crucial labour shortages, it is their culture, warmth and spirit that will leave the most lasting impression.
Special thanks to the Rotary Club of Junee, Junee Prime Lamb and the Junee Ex-Services Memorial Club who enabled the PALM workers from Junee Prime Lamb to put on performances of song and dance celebrating their culture to members of the local community.
The NSW Council for Pacific Communities extended sincere thanks to their Regional Community Representatives for attending, supporting the event and continuing to strengthen our connections with Pacific communities across regional New South Wales.
‘Congratulations to every performer, organiser, volunteer and community member who contributed to such a successful celebration. Events like this promote greater cultural understanding, inclusion and pride while bringing the whole community together.’
The South West Slopes Times covers an area approximately the size of Fiji in country NSW. We look after a population of more than 50,000 people with our staff servicing 7 major towns and dozens of villages with our story telling footprint.
We offer weekly print editions at $3 a copy and we also offer digital subscriptions across 3 months $30, 6 months $60 and 12 months $120.
We are one of the last truly local independent family run newspaper businesses in the state.
Contact us today to find out how we can promote your business or organisation across our huge network by emailing ads@thetimes.net.au or by calling 0413 763 216.
If you have a news tip, lead or scoop for us please make contact as we love celebrating our communities. You can contribute articles via our South West Slopes Times website.
