Built like a rugby player, but with a passion for ballet and tap, Kaea Rakatairi-Paul is no stranger to breaking stereotypes.
Not only is he a footballer, but he also has a talent for hip-hop and tap dance, Kaea Rakatairi-Paul, who is not unfamiliar with the idea.
‘I am Maori. I am tall. I’m pretty solid… I’ve gotten a lot of double stares in my life,” says the 19-year-old.
“I am Maori. It’s been a while. Hanga metimeti… I’ve had a lot of second views in my life,” said the 19-year-old.
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Rakatairi-Paul practices with Emily Waugh, 9. The only thing he loves more than dancing is teaching others.
Dancing to Curious George in the lounge at age 3 caused Rakatairi-Paul’s talent to be noticed by his mother who enrolled him in a jazz dance class a few years later.
When he was three years old dancing on Curious George, Rakatairi-Paul’s remains were discovered by his mother, who then enrolled him in a traditional dance class in the following years.
He had started rugby at the same age, but it was the dance that won his heart.
Football started at the same age, but the liver was bitten from dancing.
His talent led to scholarships, which allowed him to take additional classes in hip-hop, tap, contemporary and ballet at the Dean Mckerras School of Dance in Palmerston North.
Her instincts earned her scholarships, which allowed her to take further dance classes in lap, tap, modern and hip-hop at the Dean Mcckerras School of Dance in Te Papaioea.
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Rakatairi-Paul, left, performs as part of trio Thift Shop at the 2016 NZ Star Search Manawatū final in Feilding, along with Diego Ramos-Juarez and Zac Maskill.
As an “all-rounder”, Rakatairi-Paul can also sing and act. In year 9, he took part in his first stage production, A Chorus Line.
He has “many talents”, Rakatairi-Paul can also sing and act. At the age of 9 she took part in her first stage performance, A Chorus Line.
He has several more productions to his credit and was also a lead actor in two musicals at Freyberg High School, where he received the Performing Arts Dux two years in a row.
He also performed as the lead character in two musicals at Freyberg High School, where he won the Performing Arts Dux Prize for two years.
For all his success, Rakatairi-Paul hates to brag: “That’s why I hardly talk about myself.”
This kumara, Rakatairi-Paul, will not talk about his own taste. “That’s why I don’t talk about myself.”
His focus is on dance, so while he has trophies – which he didn’t have to return – and prizes in his lounge at home, he’s not sure how many competitions he’s participated in.
His focus is on dancing, so while he has numbers—those numbers he didn’t die to return to—in his living room, he doesn’t know how many competitions he’s won.
His approach was to enter as many as possible, and he estimates there were probably close to a hundred.
His strategy is to include as many as possible, and he is estimated to have close to a hundred.
Warwick Smith / Stuff
Rakatairi-Paul says he was “super shy” as a child, which in part led his mother to enroll him in dance classes.
Rakatairi-Paul has a confident showman, but it wasn’t always like that.
The face of Rakatairi-Paul is confident on the football field, but not like his time.
“I was very quiet and nervous…I was the super shy kid.”
“I was quiet and well behaved… I was the shy boy.”
His shyness was compounded by his feelings of loneliness as an only child, all reasons his mother enrolled him in dance classes, he said, which helped him develop confidence and friendships.
Companing to his shyness, he was also lonely and lonely, through these experiences his mother introduced him to dance lessons, he says, and developed some trust with friends.
Teachers were largely supportive, but not so much other elementary school kids, including some friends, who made disparaging remarks when he dropped rugby in favor of dance.
Most of the teachers have supported him, but so have many primary school children, even some friends who apologized for giving up football to go dancing.
“I really took that to heart when I was a kid,” he said.
“It took my toll when I was a kid,” he said.
Warwick Smith / Stuff
Rakatairi-Paul loves to exceed people’s expectations, be it because of his size, his ethnicity or his love of ballet – the foundation for any dance style.
Not having time for stereotypes, Rakatairi-Paul loves opportunities to “change their way of thinking,” especially when people make assumptions.
There is no time for widespread ideas and Rakatairi-Paul is interested in opportunities that “change the way of thinking”, especially when people are suspicious.
When they learn he can dance, they assume it’s hip-hop.
When they heard that he had finished dancing, they thought it was a sheep.
When you think of hip-hop, you think of African-American culture, and it’s street hip-hop, “the more aggressive form of dancing,” he said.
When you think of the loincloth, you think of an African-American woman, and the outdoor loincloth, she says, is “the latest angry dance.”
“Most people say to me, oh do you do hip-hop? Yes, I do hip hop. But I do other styles.”
“A lot of people have asked me, do you dance the loincloth? Yes, but I have a different kind.”
His love for tap and ballet is regularly greeted with amazement.
A random person has the same love for tapping and dancing.
It’s a good feeling, he says, to deliver a shock to change people’s thinking.
It’s good news, he says, and it will make the skeptics laugh.
Warwick Smith / Stuff
What it means to be Māori is a journey that Rakatairi-Paul wants to explore.
Rakatairi-Paul studies ballet for technique. It is the basis for any dance style.
Rakatairi-Paul has focused on ori theiki where movement techniques are taught. This is the basis of all dance forms.
“It’s very precise what you do with your hands and feet.”
“You have to focus on the movements of your hands and feet.”
But it’s the expressiveness and ability to choreograph his own style that he loves about tap dancing.
But there’s more expression, an ability to create his own moves that he loves tap dancing.
“I just love the uniqueness and ferocity of tap.
“I like the color and texture of the faucet.
“The sounds you make are all the same, but all it takes is a shift in music and a shift in timing and, wow, you’ve got this new feeling…it helps convey more emotions.”
“All your sounds are the same, but if you change the music and the rhythm, you have a new sound…that’s how you hear the emotions.”
Warwick Smith / Stuff
Rakatairi-Paul loves the ferocity on tap.
Rakatairi-Paul said that people expecting a dancer often greeted him with a “who is this tall Māori man?” expression.
Rakatairi-Paul said, it is like those who criticize a dancer, thank them and ask “who is this Māori tararoa?” .
However, what it means to him to be Māori is a journey he wants to explore.
The Māori weapon culture is for him, that is one way he emphasizes tomene.
“I really want to reconnect with my Māori heritage.”
“I really want to connect with my Maori identity.”
He has strong memories of his great-grandmother, Nanny Winnie, who spoke fluent te reo, and he learned that he had a connection to iconic Kiwi showman Howard Morrison from his mother’s side.
He has vivid memories of his maternal grandmother, Nanny Winnie, who spoke Maori, and there he learned about his relationship with the elder Howard Morrison, his wife.
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“That’s what gives me life,” Rakatairi-Paul says of seeing students’ skills develop.
The reaction of performing in front of a crowd – seeing everyone enjoy the dance – was what used to make Rakatairi-Paul happy. But now his motivation is to inspire the next generation.
Sometimes it was the reaction of the audience when he stood – and saw everyone having fun dancing – that made Rakatairi-Paul happy. But his inspiration now inspires descendants.
He volunteers at Freyberg High School to help with the Musical Theater Academy, and is a dance teacher where he first learned his craft, with Dean Mckerras at Red Star Dance.
She is a volunteer at Freyberg High School, the School of Music, and a dance teacher at the place where she studied, Dean Mckerras at Red Star Dance.
He loves to teach the skills he has learned over the years.
He enjoys teaching the skills he has learned over the years.
“It’s a pleasure for me to watch them grow up with the things I used to do. It really makes me happy.”
“It’s good to see them grow, to do what I did. I’m totally happy.”
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Rakatairi-Paul is eager to train an adult dance crew.
Despite his passion for teaching and his drive to dance, he is not sure where the future will take him.
Despite his teaching skills and his fire of dancing, he doesn’t really know how the future works.
One of his goals is to train an adult dance crew and compete in more competitions. But his ultimate dream lies in teaching.
One of her goals is to train with an adult dance team and participate in more competitions. But teaching is central to him.
“I know one of my [dance students] blooming with all my knowledge and it’s amazing… that’s what gives me life,” he said.
“I know, someone’s worried [o āku tauira kanikani] and my education, and why, it’s amazing…that’s why I’m alive now,” he said.
Translation by Stuff Māori Language Leader Taurapa.
A translation by Kaihūtū Reo Māori ki Puna, Taurapa.