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Air Tahiti Magazine 54
dany paheo aux sources de la danse mangarevienne © danee hazama dany paheo the roots of mangarevan dance hailing from the gambier, dany pheo is so proud to have this unusual identity that he expresses it through dance. but to practice this dance without really knowing the culture behind it is meaningless for him. so he "investigated," as he says himself, by talking to elders who told him endless stories and legends about his archipelago. in this way he learned about the myths that formed and continually nourish the gambier. all of this he learned in order to improve the dance. from the time of his childhood dany watched his grandparents, his parents and his big sister dance. he admired the bodily balance that moved in harmony with the persistent rhythms. he would read through the movements and heroic scenes every day then mimicked them. "my best teacher is my mother who knows all the arm gestures and foot work of our dance," says dany. in 1999 he founded the dance troupe toromeki anaoru which translates to "the children of mangareva." anaoru is the ancient name for mangareva. "in most polynesian islands the people practice tahitian dance. but really, each archipelago has its own cultural nuances that shouldn't be forgotten. i think that here in the gambier we need to show the rest of polynesia our style of dancing since it is unique." in the year 2000, for the big annual heiva tumi nui festival in july, the minister of culture asked the delegations from the outer islands to go back to their roots for their dance performances. the goal was to find the most authentic aspects. dany was thrilled and exclaimed, "finally we're able to show everyone what mangareva is capable of!" more than 50 dancers formed the troupe of dancers, singers and musicians. every type of person from the gambier were represented: women, men, young people, not so young people, professionals, amateurs, etc. dany's troupe performed at the to'ata amphitheater. this was the first time that the gambier had participated in this festival. everyone from the spectators to the organizers were impressed with and amazed at the mangarevan dance style which few had seen before. "during rehearsals for the festival, we would hide so that no one would see us," says dany. "we wanted the dance to be a complete surprise." manouche lehartel who works as an organizer for heiva tumu nui admits to being completely fascinated by mangarevan dance: "the performance of the mangarevans was remarkable for its unique character. for everyone this was a strong and authentic discovery. gentle gestures and choreography, simple repetitive rhythms, persistent really. it gave the impression that these were the roots of dance and that we were watching a performance from another time. o riginaire des gambier, dany paheo est fier de posseder cette identite si singuliere, qu il a souhaite exprimer par la danse. mais pratiquer la danse mangarevienne sans connaitre veritablement la culture qui l a cree, cela n a pas de sens pour dany. alors il «enquete», comme il le dit lui-meme, questionnant les anciens, se faisant raconter histoires et legendes de son archipel, s abreuvant des mythes qui ont faconne les gambier. tout cela pour mieux les danser. depuis l enfance, dany observe ses grands-parents, ses parents et ses grandes soeurs danser. il admire le balancement des corps, en harmonie avec le rythme de ces sons entetants ; lit dans les mouvements les scenes de vie heroiques ou de tous les jours qui sont mimees «ma meilleure conseillere, c est ma maman, qui connait bien les gestes et les pas de notre danse». en 1999, dany paheo fini par fonder la troupe de danse toromeki anaoru. «les enfants de mangareva» - anaoru est l ancien nom de mangareva. «dans de nombreuses iles de polynesie, les gens pratiquent la danse tahitienne. pourtant, chaque archipel detient ses specificites culturelles qu il ne faut pas oublier. j ai pense que nous aussi aux gambier, nous devions presenter au reste de la polynesie notre danse, car elle est unique». en l an 2000, pour les representations du heiva tumu nui de juillet - le heiva des archipels - le ministere de la culture demande aux delegations des archipels de realiser un veritable «retour aux sources». venez avec ce que vous avez de plus authentique, leur dit-on. dany se rejouit. «on va enfin pouvoir montrer de quoi mangereva est capable !» plus de 50 personnes font parties de la troupe : danseurs, musiciens et choristes. toute la population des gambier est representee : femmes, hommes, jeunes, moins jeunes, confirmes, novices la troupe de dany se produit sur la scene de to ata a papeete. c est la premiere fois que les gambier participent. etonnement general. les spectateurs, mais egalement les organisateurs, decouvrent la danse de mangareva. tous sont epates. «lors des dernieres repetitions a tahiti, nous allions nous cacher, loin des regards», confie dany. «on voulait vraiment creer cet effet de surprise». manouche lehartel, qui travaillait alors a l organisation du heiva tumu nui, avoue avoir ete fascinee par la danse de mangareva : «la prestation de la troupe de mangareva a ete remarquable par son caractere unique. ce fut pour tous une decouverte authentique et puissante. sobriete gestuelle et choregraphique, rythmique simple et repetitive, entetante meme on avait vraiment l impression d etre a la source de la danse, on avait la la chance d admirer une oeuvre venue de la nuit des temps». 18 r e v u e d e b o r d n ° 5 4 / a i r ta h i t i / o n - b o a r d m a g a z i n e n ° 5 4 3 3
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