"THIS WILL be a major step forward to what I believe will be a great multicultural society." With those positive words, Aboriginal director Noel Tovey helped launch the inaugural Pacific Wave Festival, a celebration of the art, music and performance of peoples from the Pacific Basin set to run in Sydney during the first two weeks of November. Reflecting the diversity of its community, Pacific Wave will splash its way all over Sydney, hosting a variety of both traditional and contemporary events at a range of venues such as the Performance Space, The Casula Powerhouse and Bondi Pavilion. And what better way to kick off the festivities than with a giant pool party. And at Victoria Park. That's right, the scene of those Ted Mulry Gang and Hush concerts held all those years back (was it that long ago?) will be transformed into a celebration of everything that is vibrant and enervating about Pacific Islands cultures

After an official welcoming ceremony by the local Aboriginal community, the pool party will be awash with drumming from the Cook Islands, the sweet sounds of of traditional church choirs, Maori acapella groups, contemporary Aboriginal, Fijian and Maori poetry, aquatic performances and Samoan canoeing.

Things will hot up with the Samoan fire dancer and the Hip-Hop beats of local Polynesian DJs.

From "Going Home"

There will also be a special preview of Death Defying Theatre's latest show, "Going Home". But don't expect to see tourist brochure images of grass skirts and palm trees -- this is a show about the lives of Pacific Islander and Maori people living in Sydney. It takes in the sounds of Apia, Auckland and Auburn. The sounds of Pacific Islander urban youth. Maud Page, curator of the Pacific Pool Party, says it is important that urban Pacific Islanders have a space to express themselves. "I'm particularly interested to show the urban and the traditional, that you can combine the both. Especially for the young people -- to say look, you can go out and have a good time and be into Hip-Hop, be into other things and have your culture as well." Page is adamant that an event like the Pacific Pool Party not only ought to show the more established groups but also give an opportunity for groups that have never had any exposure to perform.

Page is not giving away the other "surprises", however. "People will have to come and see for themselves on the night", she smiles.

But there's no secret about what Pacific Wave is set to cover over the next two weeks.

The Casula Powerhouse will be staging three major art exhibitions: Highlander Rascals from New Guinea, contemporary artwork from Melville Islands and Tuba rai Metin, an affirmation of East Timorese culture.

Maori artist Maureen Lander is in also in Sydney to team up with Aboriginal artist Judy Watson. Their installation, "Bioluminescence", will be on show at Victoria Park.

There will also be dance performed by the acclaimed New Zealand Black Grace Theatre Company. An all-male troupe, this strong and physical work centres on the trials and tribulations of what it is to be a male dancer in the Maori and Pacific Islander communities.

Other highlights include the performance of Going Home at the Casula Powerhouse and Tatau -- Rites of Passage, a theatrical piece featuring the world famous Samoan body-artist Suía Suluape tattooing a cast member live on stage. For the closing ceremony Pacific Wave moves from the pool to the ocean at Bondi. Faía Pasefika ("Pacific Way") promises to be an explosion of South Pacific visual and performing arts set to the backdrop of contemporary Hip-Hop music.

Some five or six DJ's will play on the night, accompanied by a range of traditional and contemporary dance groups performing live. Up to 10 people will be tattooed with traditional arm bands.

"A lot of people from our culture relate to the Afro-American experience", explains Leo Tanoi, organiser of Faía Pasefika. "But the other side we have is Hip-Hop by Polynesians over here. Hip-Hop follows on the R&B tradition and has an ability to get a wide message over".

"Tanoi points out that while Hip Hop is still young in Australia, young people are experimenting and trying to find out what relates to them in the music. I asked him if he thought local Hip-Hop was a predominantly outer suburb thing.

"There's been a lot of debate about this. In America it's East Coast and West Coast and their styles are different. You can hear it. It's really hard to explain but in the same way there are different styles here. You have the outer-west and the Eastern suburbs. But the common thread in Hip-Hop is poverty and the need to express oneself in broken-down communities."

Faía Pasefika, like all the other Pacific Wave events, is about old and young. "We're expecting everyone to come along," says Tanoi. "There's no time for only contemporary or only traditional. Only for both."

Festival of Contemportary Pacific Arts, Sydney, November 2-17, 1996.

Copyright © 1996 Michael Kessler and Asia-Pacific Network. This is a PHOTOCOPY for educational and personal use only.

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