Siva in Motion

June 1, 2014 5:40 PM

Multimedia artist Shigeyuki Kihara created Siva in Motion (SLYT), an entrancing exploration of taualuga, a Samoan type of dance.

The LACMA Website has a review of their recent acquisition, and her website has more on her current projects.

posted by Deoridhe (2 comments total)

Last year we saw a friend's daughter dance her very first Siva Samoa. Everyone was so proud of her - I think this blog post from Samoan author Lani Wendt Young explains this sense of pride in the Siva better than I could.

For folks who aren't familiar with the Siva Samoa, have a look at these different dancers' versions.

There is also this short film from American Samoa, `O A`u `O Le Taupou (I am the Taupou).

Thank you so much for posting this though. This is an amazing piece of performance art - I'd recommend folks read the LACMA review, which explains the piece's links to the 2009 tsunami.
posted by Alice Russel-Wallace at 6:39 PM on June 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

Really interesting, thanks, both posters.

(I have a crass question though, which is who picks up the money and gives it to the dancer? Coming from a different culture where this also happens.)
posted by glasseyes at 2:56 AM on June 2, 2014