Manamea To Australia

MANAMEA by SAU E SIVA CREATIVES is a powerful Samoan love story that has moved audiences across Aotearoa, New Zealand.  An original devised production written, choreographed, produced and directed in-house by the 5 Core Creatives of Sau E Siva in collaboration with some of the finest community talent. 

🌺 TALOFA FAMILY 🌺 After 3 Sold-Out seasons, we’re finally taking a leap of faith and we're traveling our entire company to Brisbane, Australia to connect with our Samoan and Pasefika families abroad. Yes, that's right - not 1 of us, not 5 of us, but all 64 of us! 

Our flights are booked, our accommodation is paid and we’ve already invested in getting our team there!  We're aiming to raise our final amount ($10,000 with a $10,000 Moana Boosted Match) to cover the extra production costs needed to bring the show to life. With your support, we can open the door to take Sau E Siva worldwide and to create opportunities for our stories to be heard on the global stage. 

SAU E SIVA CREATIVES is a South-Auckland based Pacific Dance Theatre Company founded by former students of the Pacific Institute of Performing Arts. SES (Sau E Siva) aim to deliver high quality, original work and the core of their work springs from the cultural heritage art form of Siva Sāmoa (Samoan Dance). They are a passionate collective of contemporary artists that weave multiple disciplines, diverse audiences and authentic story-telling enhanced by the elements and conventions of theatre.

There are 5 Core Creatives who run and manage Sau E Siva Creatives - 

• Troy Tu'ua (Artistic Director)
• Italia Hunt
• Leki Jackson-Bourke
• Epine Bob Savea
• Idalene Ati

Our flights, accommodation and logistics have all been paid for. We've been fundraising for almost two years and as a self-funded company, we prioritise people over profit and we stay loyal to our team - 'all of us or none of us'. 

After multiple fundraisers and continued support from our Auckland community, we're now committed to making the leap across the ditch. Our venue has limited resources - this means we will need to do some external hire and extra work in order to deliver the best quality version of our show. We don't want to downscale it and we don't want to compromise the quality of our story. We're hoping to use this campaign to fundraise for the remaining production costs: 

• Venue & staging costs
  (Extra costs associated with venue & staging)
• Lighting hire & setup
  (LED lights, rigs, operators to bring the show’s atmosphere to life)
• Sound system & live band equipment
  (External gear needed to cater to our band & sound requirements)
• Projection & technical equipment
  (High-lumen projector, playback systems, installation)
• Technical crew & operators
  (Local lighting and stage crew required to run the show). 

What we’re doing and why: 

MANAMEA is a powerful Samoan story of love, tragedy, hope & celebration - A forbidden love story set against the backdrop of the 2009 Samoan Tsunami. It speaks to the memories, grief and resilience that many of our families carried and still carry today. This heartfelt story is delivered through live Samoan music and dance, performed by an 8-Piece band and a solid cast of 50 performers from Aukilani, Niu Sila. 

We’re taking this work to Brisbane to connect with our Pasefika families living away from home - many of whom rarely get to see stories like theirs reflected on stage. As cliche as it sounds, it is more than just a show. It’s about creating space for our people, taking ownership of our stories and showing the world that our culture and language is worthy to be celebrated at this scale on the world stage. 

MANAMEA was made in 2023 to mark the 10 year anniversary of SAU E SIVA CREATIVES - it’s a reflection of Pasefika people and our rich history in story-telling. The vision speaks to the story of resilience as Pasefika youth growing up in the struggles of South Auckland. This particular work is a special production which has been carefully crafted by all 5 Core Creatives in collaboration with some of the finest talent in our South Auckland community. It pays homeage and respect to those who came before us and it makes way for a new generation of story-tellers. 

For many in the diaspora, opportunities to see stories told at this scale are few and far between. SES are known for large scale performances where audiences can see themselves on stage - reconnection & belonging.  

Our community should back this project because this is our story, carried by our people. It uplifts over 64 Pacific artists, many of them young creatives from South Auckland who have never performed on an international stage. It gives them a platform to represent who we are away from home and it opens the door for future generations to show them that our stories are worthy of investment. 

When you support this project, you’re not just helping us put on a show. You're sewing a seed into the future generations of Pasefika artists who will see this show and realise that we belong and we are worthy. 

Fa'afetai tele lava for your love & support. 

If you want to contact us directly we are available at sauesiva@gmail.com