December 04, 2018
Kapa haka connection for intellectually disabled
The first Te Anga Paua o Aotearoa national kapa haka festival for people with intellectual disabilities is happening today in Hamilton.
Fifteen teams from around the country will perform at Claudelands Events Centre .
Organisers say for many of those involved, kapa haka creates a sense of identity, and a connection to their whānau, hapū, iwi and marae.
It also improves motor skills through actions and choreography as well as mathematics through counting and following beats.
Some of the waiata and haka written for the roopu talk of feeling excluded, being invisible or experiencing discrimination.
The festival will give both performers and tutors an opportunity to increase their knowledge of being Māori through the medium of performing arts.
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