Deane-Rose Ngatai-Tua from Angitu is here to show us the ropes. Did we fangirl? Yes. Are we embarrassed? No. 🤩
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The world of kapa haka is a SCENE and we are major fangirls.
However, seeing as our own careers peaked with form two school assembly, we’re sporting more than a few holes in our understanding as to what’s really behind all those performances that give us goosebumps.
Luckily, Deane-Rose Ngatai-Tua, an incredibly talented kaihaka (/mother, partner, creative, writer for newly launched platform urban whakapapa/businesswoman) kindly agreed to this interview to help us fill some gaps.
Nō Ngāti Porou and Waikato Tainui, with Pākehā heritage too, Deane grew up in Tāmaki Makaurau. After going through the ranks at kura/school (way past form two), she now stands for the uber famous kapa, Angitu.
If you’re new to this world, Angitu are one of the most popular kapa in the nation, for good (like literally socially progressive good) reason. Read on to hear all about Deane’s experience being part of the crew.
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Well you know, for me, it literally IS my whānau soooo….
I guess a big part of our story is that we're a generation of urban Maori living in Tamaki Makaurau—that's a special part of Angitu for me.
Really being able to showcase some of the kaupapa that are important to our generation is a big part of it. We're quite bold, and like a little bit... pushing the boundaries on some things, but in a way that makes sense and that we all stand behind.
We have some pretty impressive and talented people in our leadership team so I feel lucky to be under them and to be a part of that wave of bringing these big kaupapa to the table.
In the early days, I guess we were still kind of finding ourselves and our style. It was just nice to be together and to represent our generation.
I remember our first regionals. We were still pretty fresh but there was just so much energy and excitement. We didn't make Matatini that time so we were a little bit upset but it didn't matter, because, you know, we had started something.
It just made us hungrier probably.
When we did make Matatini in 2023, it was very much that feeling like we had nothing to lose.
We knew we were taking some fresh and different ways of doing things to that Matatini. We felt one hundred percent behind all the kaupapa and we went in knowing that some people might like it and some people might not like it.
But yeah, people seemed to really get behind us there and it was nice to be well received. It was exciting.
Oh, first of all, I would look for facial expressions because that's a big part of telling the story.
Otherwise, like in waiata ā-ringa/action songs, there are often just simple things to look for:
If ā-ringa/hand actions are directed above, then it could be something to do with Ranginui or the whetū/stars and then if ā-ringa are directed to the whenua it might be about Papatūānuku.
Some ā-ringa flow like wai, they could be referencing awa/rivers or moana/oceans.
When ā-ringa are brought close to the waha/mouth, that could signify waiata, kōrero, or te reo Māori.
It’s really varied but those would be some good clues.
Yeah, it’s quite intuitive!
There's footwork as well, we might channel a specific manu/bird for example and move like a manu.
Then there can be things like; what tāonga are we using? And maybe what atua/gods are those tāonga associated with? Or what parts of the whenua or taiao/natural world are they associated with?
Or kākahu/clothing even like, what are we wearing and what could it symbolise?
Last Matatini our poi was all about ‘te rau o te huia/the feather of the huia’, so we wore huia feathers. We had a move where we held our poi to the side of our māhunga/heads like a feather and bouncy footwork imitating the huia, so things like that can sometimes be clues too.
People will have different props. They might bring on hue or woven baskets, so then you kind of know—oh, that's something to do with that tāonga. Usually those types of kaupapa get carried through different items within the bracket.
Te rau o te huia performance 👆🏽
I'm a kākahu person. I enjoy looking to see what people are wearing and also what they’re bringing on stage to help tell their stories.
I'm always looking for those little details and innovations, like what's new? What are people doing differently? What other materials or weaponry, or resources are they using?
I also like to step back and look at the whole picture.
When you’re watching a video stream or even when you're at a performance, often you'll watch the big screen, so you're kind of guided by the camera shots. The camera people almost end up being the ones telling the story. So I like to step back a bit and go—ok, what's the whole picture? How does everybody look together? What is the choreography or what are the formations like?
I feel like that's where a lot of the innovation sits as well. People can get quite clever about how they move forty people on stage to give those other layers of storytelling.
At the end of the day it'll be the singing though. I love to lean into that full kind of sound—all the different notes and how it all kind of weaves back together.
I enjoy diving into all of that and then going back and having a little wānanga to unpack it. I’ll be like—Did you see that? Did you see what they did there?!
I like the waiata-ā-ringa, the action song, because I feel like I can be my most authentic, genuine self there.
You’re able to connect deeply to the wairua of the waiata and express your emotions. I’m a pretty emotional person and the waiata-ā-ringa is an item where you can really channel that, as well as the mōteatea.
I always struggle learning poi. I just take longer to get that hand-eye coordination to click in, but once it's there it's fine.
It's just about being patient instead of being like—oh, why haven't I got it yet?! You kind of just have to let it come.
And in terms of kapa haka as a whole. I think it’s just that you have to be really resilient and to really look after yourself, like spiritually, physically—you have to, you know, turn up pretty well.
It can be tiring so you’ve gotta eat right, you have to sleep, you have to exercise and make sure you're turning up with all that in check.
It's pretty full on.
So, a ‘campaign’ is what we call the lead up period to a competition. That can be five to six months.
To start, you'll get a schedule for weekend wānanga. It's often Saturday and Sunday in the early days. The hours might be 10am-9pm on Saturday and 10am-3pm on Sunday.
But as you get closer to a competition or a performance, they'll start being full wānanga Friday night and Saturday night sleeping over together. Often it'll be fortnightly until about six to eight weeks out, then we'll go every weekend.
It’s quite hard to juggle everything—especially us ones who have tamariki, not to mention all the other kaupapa that might be on; other performances, fundraising, or tangihanga that come up that we go to together.
Your routine has to be tight. When you're in that world, you're really in that world. It can be quite full on. I'm not gonna lie—like it gets pretty stressful.
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I feel like kapa haka is a pathway into our world—especially if you haven't been raised in te ao Māori and around tikanga and mātauranga Māori/Māori knowledge.
Kura is one thing but kapa haka…. it’s a whole whānau thing, it involves wānanga and an ako/learning space which is outside of school, so it all kind of flows differently.
You get to experience toi Māori/Māori art, kākahu/clothing, taonga pūoro/traditional instruments, pūrākau/traditional stories, real community, and mātauranga—all that really helps you enter into te ao Māori.
That’s our world but some of us haven't had the privilege of being raised in it. So for me, that's probably the biggest opportunity—that immersion in te ao Maori.
It takes you to different places too. We've been all over the motu for kapa haka competitions. Recently I went to China so there are those opportunities to share and engage with other cultures internationally.
But I think for me it’s really about that immersion, and at a personal level, the opportunities to build confidence—and resilience, it definitely builds that! Discipline is probably another key one.
It really requires that whole whare tapa whā to be linked in and on—it makes sure I’m putting into that—into my oranga and wellbeing—but it also feeds all those parts of you as well.
Singing. You don't have to be a gifted singer, like I'm not a gifted singer at all,...
…but learning how to sing from your puku, to engage and project your vocals, and stay in tune is really the foundation. I listen to my girls sing and it’s very unfiltered and free. They already sing from their puku because they've got nothing to hide, it's just about fostering that.
Other than that, I think it's the ability to stand in front of a crowd. That's not easy for people to do, especially tamariki.
I remember when I was young I always used to look to the ground. I'd be there performing but with my eyes cast down. That was one of the first things that I had to overcome. I had to lift my chin and actually look out to the audience and project that way instead of down.
You know how I was talking about Te Whare Tapa Whā? When you're on stage, you want all of those parts of you to connect and activate.
It's about being a hundred percent present in that moment. Sometimes when you perform you can be all up in your head thinking about what you have to do next, what you don’t want to mess up…
I want to be present so I can experience the whole thing fully; physically, spiritually, emotionally, mentally—every second of it—because it goes really quick!
So yeah, when I’m first stepping out, I'm thinking: activate, experience, be in the moment, and then connect—connect with everybody who's there.
I might find a few faces that I want to engage with and it's like—let's do this together. I'm here to tell you a story, but equally I need you to come along with me on the journey. It’s an exchange.
It’s also about control. It can be quite easy to let the wairua and mauri take over and next minute you’re so deep in the moment that you miss a step!
So yeah, I think that's the thing that runs through my mind before the first strum or sound. It's like—ok, you've landed, now let everything click into place. Karawhiua.
