Kanikani o te Motu

The brand new attraction located behind the Rotorua Retail is a brand new stage performance Kanikani o te Motu, or “Dance of the Island.” This show is set in a Maori Longhouse where guests are welcomed to a theater (akin to the Festival of the Lion King Theater). Once guests are seated, the stage in the center comes to life with hula dancers, fire eaters, acrobats, and even performances of the Haka.

Hosted by two hosts, a brother and sister pair named Hehu and Arataki respectively. They are the children of the great chief of the island and welcome guests to the island of Motu Wairua. They announce that they are the storytellers who will share the story of their beautiful island and it’s amazing nature that surrounds them. They enter the first performance, a traditional hula, telling the story of how the island rose from the ocean as a living entity. The island goddess soon fell in love with a volcano god on a nearby island, but through falling in love, they angered the greater gods and were cast apart. She was cast far away from the rest of Maori territory, but her ancient call summoned her people all across a new ocean to reach her, settling her land just as she was meant to had she not made her mistakes.

The second segment is another hula, led by Arataki which tells of how the Maori people settled Motu Wairua, harvesting her fruits and animals and living alongside her. This transitions into a haka telling of when the Ottoman settlers landed on the island. The performance begins peaceful and gentle, but quickly becomes more aggressive and hostile, showcasing how the Ottoman settlers began friendly, but soon started abusing the island and her resources.

The fourth portion of the show is a fire hula, led by Hehu, encompassing fire dancers and hula dancers meant to represent life currently on the island, where the Ottomans have begun destroying the island, abusing her resources, and turning the island into a bustling trading port, which angers the island goddess. The segment finishes in a central display piece representing a baobab tree bursts into flames, causing all the dancers to flee as it burns.

The next segment watches as the fire burns the tree and soon burns out, but there is hope. We see (by use of dancers) the leaves beginning to grow back onto the tree, symbolizing new life. Hehu and Arataki return and say that it is not too late to save the island and all of our people. If we use the land properly and we don’t abuse the resources and destroy the island, we can all live in harmony. All of the dancers come back out and perform a final hula with the hopes of a brighter future. With that, all of the dancers bow and guests are ushered back out into the park.

The hopes of this attraction is to tell the story of the island in a more digestible way, provide a touch of culture with traditional Maori dances, and add another element of live entertainment in the park. Guests should leave with more appreciation for Motu Wairua as well as the beauty of Maori Culture.