Pacific Islander Student Alliance puts on first luau
P.I.S.A.'s first annual Luau at the Barn heats things up
Leah Uko
Issue date: 6/2/09 Section: Entertainment
The Pacific Islander Student Alliance (P.I.S.A.) here at UCR hosted their first annual Luau at the Barn on Thursday. Members of the P.I.S.A. had been practicing various dance and vocal performances since Fall quarter for this premier. President and founder of P.I.S.A. Geminelle Rollins chaired this event with the help of the rest of her alliance. Along with musical performances were different styles of Hawaiian dances and the crowd enjoyed them all.
Hostess Janelle Fejeran kept the crowd entertained throughout the night. In between performances she encouraged the crowd to participate in the different types of island greetings. A Samoan warrior call, the "Fau'umu," (pronounced "Chah hoo") was a greeting people yelled at the top of their lungs to cheer on every act that stepped on stage. Taking the audience on "a tour through the various islands [of Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia]" as Fejeran said it, the show's first dance performance was a Hula performance from Maui, Hawaii. President Geminelle Rollins multi-tasked with keeping the show in order and making a couple of appearances throughout the Luau.
She was featured in a couple of performances given by dancers of P.I.S.A. Eight young ladies whose U-shape formation allowed everybody to be seen gave the first Hula performance to a Hawaiian song titled, "Sway It Hula Girl". Following their performance were six of the same dancers and Jorden Acfalle from San Diego. Both performances were done with bright, wide smiles and graceful hand gestures from the dancers. There was no doubt that they enjoy performing various Hula dances.
Moving on to the Island of Samoa, Fejeran introduced the two main types of dancing in the Samoan culture called Siva and Sasa. The forms of dancing are improvisational styles, in which people use their hands to tell a story. UCR students Mace Porotesano and Sonya Tuileso performed first to "Do It, Do It", an upbeat song by Samoan artists Pacific Soul. Following them was the Pacific Islander Club of San Bernardino's Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School. Their dance instructor Francine Blacksher expressed how proud she was in these students. These students, from grades six through eight, came out to support P.I.S.A.'s first Luau by performing routines from the Samoan and Fijian culture.
Hostess Janelle Fejeran kept the crowd entertained throughout the night. In between performances she encouraged the crowd to participate in the different types of island greetings. A Samoan warrior call, the "Fau'umu," (pronounced "Chah hoo") was a greeting people yelled at the top of their lungs to cheer on every act that stepped on stage. Taking the audience on "a tour through the various islands [of Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia]" as Fejeran said it, the show's first dance performance was a Hula performance from Maui, Hawaii. President Geminelle Rollins multi-tasked with keeping the show in order and making a couple of appearances throughout the Luau.
She was featured in a couple of performances given by dancers of P.I.S.A. Eight young ladies whose U-shape formation allowed everybody to be seen gave the first Hula performance to a Hawaiian song titled, "Sway It Hula Girl". Following their performance were six of the same dancers and Jorden Acfalle from San Diego. Both performances were done with bright, wide smiles and graceful hand gestures from the dancers. There was no doubt that they enjoy performing various Hula dances.
Moving on to the Island of Samoa, Fejeran introduced the two main types of dancing in the Samoan culture called Siva and Sasa. The forms of dancing are improvisational styles, in which people use their hands to tell a story. UCR students Mace Porotesano and Sonya Tuileso performed first to "Do It, Do It", an upbeat song by Samoan artists Pacific Soul. Following them was the Pacific Islander Club of San Bernardino's Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School. Their dance instructor Francine Blacksher expressed how proud she was in these students. These students, from grades six through eight, came out to support P.I.S.A.'s first Luau by performing routines from the Samoan and Fijian culture.
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