Samoan siva

The best known is the siva itself, which the Samoa Tourism Authority describes as a "graceful storytelling dance," slow and fluid, traditionally performed by a young woman.

Alongside it are livelier, percussive forms. The sāsā is an energetic group dance in which rows of performers sit cross-legged and move in tight unison, their hands miming the work of daily life: paddling, cracking a coconut, making nets and rope, climbing trees, while claps, slaps and a drum keep time, as a Human Kinetics teaching guide sets out. The faʻataupati, or slap dance, is faster again. The Samoa Tourism Authority calls it "a fast, energetic slap dance ... performed by men," the rhythm struck on the dancers' own body. The fire-knife dance, siva afi, turns that same energy into spectacle, twirling a bladed staff lit at both ends.

A program often closes with the taualuga. The U.S. National Park Service describes it as "the final performance of any Samoan dance group," led at the front by a taupou (a chief's daughter), a manaia (a chief's son) or the chief, while the rest of the group sings and sways behind and the audience is invited to join in. The music comes from voices and percussion rather than recordings: Te Papa, New Zealand's national museum, describes the fuataimi as the leader who "guides both the dance and music, conducting the choir as it accompanies the dancers."

Like every tradition in this directory, siva Samoa is best learned from the people who carry it, and it is theirs to teach, correct and pass on. The schools and studios listed on this page include siva Samoa among the dances they offer, so browse them to find one near you and reach out directly.