WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Come in from the cold and experience the warmth of a vibrant South Pacific celebration Dec. 4 when members of the Hawaiian Polynesian Revue come to town for a 2 p.m. performance at the West Plains Civic Center theater.
Tickets for the event, which is being sponsored by the University/Community Programs (U/CP) Department at Missouri State University-West Plains, are $5 each. Children age 13 and under and those with a university BearPass ID will be admitted free. Tickets are available at the civic center box office, 110 St. Louis St., or by phone 417-256-8087. The performance is made possible, in part, with grant funding from the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.
For more than 20 years, this St. Louis-based troupe, which was one of the original members of Dance St. Louis, has been thrilling audiences of all ages with such acts as a fire and knife performer, drummers, and traditional dancers from Hawaii, Tahiti, Samoa and New Zealand in costumes that represent each unique culture, organizers said. The Dec. 4 show is expected to last about one hour and 15 minutes, they added.
The troupe will be lead by Linda “Atea” Evans, who has studied with such renowned instructors as Roiti Sylva, Moeta Pihana, Tiana and Rikki Liufau of Nono Sina Polynesia, Charlene Hereford, Linda Shelton, Karoline Mariteragi, Marian Harris, Losa Manumaluena, the Butler family, Lafi Manumaluena, Fran Galeai, Kona Kaleikini, Medley Key, Dano and Ose Makua, and Barbie “Kuupo” Domingo with Halau Ho’o Mau I Ka Wai Ola O Hawaii in Maryland.
Evans serves on the staff at Center of Creative Arts in St. Louis and is a member of the Hula Midwest Association. She has attended the Merrie Monarch celebration on four separate occasions on the big island of Hawaii and has met Uncle George Naope, Kumu Mahaina Bailey at the Aloha March of 2000 and 2002, and Royal Order of Kamehameha I.
“This performance really immerses the audience in so many parts of Pacific Island culture,” said Jennifer Moore, coordinator of U/CP theater and events. “The members of this dance troupe are both very talented and devoted to making sure the costumes, music and dances are very true to the native cultures they originate from. And, they have been known to invite audience mebmers to the stage to help them hula.”
For more information about the Hawaiian Polynesian Revue, visit the troupe’s website. For more information about the Dec. 4 performance in West Plains, call 417-255-7966.