Kelston Boys' Samoan Group Visit

Kelston Boys' High School Samoan Performance Group and Unison Dance Crew gave joyous, energetic  performances during lunchtime today in the school hall.  KBHS Guidance counsellor George Fruean commented on the event:

Could you explain to us who these boys are and what they aim to do?

This is Kelston Boys' High School Samoan Performance Group for the 2011 Polyfest competition in Manukau next week.  This venture is to bring the boys some live performance experience, and there's also a lot of good will involved here too.  Some of these boys have never performed in front of a live audience before.  We've just finished at Melville High, [HBHS] is the second performance today and tonight at Church College the boys will do the same thing again.  Next week on Friday, when we are competing in the Polyfest competition the boys will be sharp, and there won't be any stage fright in them.

What is your role here?

I teach Maths, I'm the guidance counsellor, and I worked in Hamilton for thirteen years.  I was actually at Church College of New Zealand in Temple View, until they closed in 2009.  I've been at Kelston ever since. There are faculty members at Boys' High, Melville and the old Church College who have helped me to get this going.  

I was born in Samoa, but I've spent a lot of my life here in New Zealand.  I'm bilingual.

How many of these boys are also bilingual?

Most of these boys have an understanding of Samoan, but can't speak it fluently.  Of the sixty boys in the group, fifteen to twenty can speak the language. 

The purpose of an event like this is that it is an culture experience.  Obviously it gives the boys a chance to get some stage experience before they go into the competition next week, but it also about who they are as people.  A lot of these boys have been born in New Zealand to Samoan parents, so they belong to a culture that they don't always fully understand.  Their involvement in this dancing and singing is a big part of getting them to learn where their roots are.  They are getting a better understanding of the background to their culture, which is their heritage.