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Te Matatini Kapa Haka will represent New Zealand at the first Association of National Olympic Committees Gala awards next month.
Twelve kai-haka drawn from five of the top teams will perform a bracket at the function held in Bangkok on November 7.
The occasion will be televised throughout Asia, Europe and the Americas.
The Navigating Oceania bracket developed by creative director Annette Wehi tells stories of what the ancestors overcame as they voyaged to Aotearoa.
Te Matatini executive director Darrin Apanui says it’s a chance to present kapa haka on a world stage, and the organisers are excited by what they see.
"They were very intrigued in terms of the intensity of our art form so we will be on stage with four other major continents and in particular the samba dancers and the person who will be coordinating the samba dances for their routine is the person who is doing the samba dance routine for the Olympic Games in Rio so that puts us in context with the type of people that the Association of National Olympic Committees want to deal with," he says.
Mr Apanui says the awards are to recognise some of the world’s best athletes from the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London and the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH DARRIN APANUI CLICK ON THE LINK
https://secure.zeald.com/uma/play_podcast?podlink=MjM0MTI=
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