Miss Tahiti 2010 crowned - Lucie Poehere Hutihuti Wilson

Lucie Poehere Hutihuti Wilson, pictured here with Miss France 1991 Mareva Georges (left) and Miss France 1999 Mareva Galanter (right), became Miss Tahiti 2010 this past Friday. It was the 50th anniversary of the pageant and has gone through many changes since its inception. The latest being last year when the pageant was purchased by investor Narii Faugerat.

Born and raised in Laie on the North Shore of Hawaii, this young woman has had a long history of pageantry, winning countless competitions as a young girl and later claiming titles in Hawaii and Las Vegas. She has been performing at the nearby Polynesian Cultural Center for most of her life and recently was the nightly featured soloist at the evening show Ha, the Breathe of Life. In addition, she belongs to the Center's promotional team, representing the Center traveling throughout the country and trips to Asia and the South Pacific.

Lucie has excelled in academics and is majoring in International Business at Brigham Young University Hawaii. However, most have noticed how much she excels and stands out when she is performing. Her most recent Tahitian dance, or Ori Tahiti title was this past March at Heiva I Honolulu where she claimed the overall vahine title.

Lucie's parents Christian Wilson and Patricia Hutihuti have been ecstatic and extremely proud of her accomplishments. They have always encouraged her to build upon her abilities and strive to focus on enriching her own life, her family and those close to her.

Her younger sister, Kiana, an aspiring journalist at Kahuku High School, has been spearheading documenting activities and set up a special Facebook page dedicated to keeping friends, relatives, and the media abreast of happenings. She also is a member of the PCC's promotional team.

Pageant activities have been going on for several months, including preliminary pageants, interviews, photo shoots and rehearsals in Papeete, Tahiti and the surrounding areas. Twelve finalists competed at the culminating event that took place June 25, Friday evening at Place Toata, the same location where Heiva I Tahiti takes place each year.

Lucie succeeds Puahinano Bonno, Miss Tahiti 2009 and will next represent Tahiti and French Polynesia at the Miss France 2011 competition in December. Tehani Hautea Maono of Moorea, was awarded first runner up, and Mehetia Hsiao, also of Moorea, second runner. The Miss Heiva 2010 title went to Poerani Taiarui, of Hiva Oa in the Marquesas.

As a sponsor and extended family, Black Pearl Designs would like to congratulate Lucie (Poehere). As a featured model for us through the years, we've watched her grow into a beautiful, confident young women and wish her only the best.

Photos courtesy of Tahiti Presse.

RFO Tahiti TV interview

New Look, New Year

What's in store for this year? Well, this is the first update that you'll see at Black Pearl Designs in the new year. We're moving things along to a point where we think it will be even more useful in the Tahitian dance community.

The design is a step forward in the web 2.0 era. Along with our Twitter account (we try to tweet at least once a week), Facebook fan page, and designers blog, we've tried to bring the important news about each event.

We're committed to the culture and dance. Feel free to comment, give us a tip, or ask questions. We're more than happy to spread the news to our readers. Keep checking, subscribe and follow us for the latest info and news. Mauruuru.

Candid shots of Te Mana O Te Ra

Getting a group ready for a performance in a Heiva, Tahiti Fete or any number of Tahitian dance events is a job in its own right. Take for example bringing Te Mana O Te Ra, a large dance group from Walnut Creek, California and bringing them to Hawaii to compete in the Heiva i Honolulu 2009. The event took place last month from March 12-14. Group leaders Lisa and Rey Aguilar had the daunting task of coordinating hotel, airlines, ground transportation, food, and practices, not to mention coming up with a presentation, choreography, music, drumming and costumes.

This candid photo gallery brings some of those "backstage" elements to light. It also tells the story of an established group that puts in long hours and hard work. In the end you can see how rewarding it is to be a part of an organization such as Te Mana O Te Ra. Whether behind the scenes or out there on center stage, each member of the group strengthens the performance.

In the end, Te Mana O Te Ra not only walked away with an unforgettable experience, they also brought back with them several awards including the overall vahine soloist (Charity Offril) and the senior group Ahupurotu 1st place award. We're looking forward to more great performances.

Lastly, we have to add that we were pleasantly surprised to see our own Tehani pareo fabric, which is designed and printed by Black Pearl Designs, used in their group performance. The long black dresses featured just enough of our poehere blue to make the costume stand out. You can see the fitted costume in many of the gallery photos. Take a look and see for yourself.

Tahitian Dance - Heiva Calendar Shake Up

The 2009 Tahitian dance calendar is active and full of changes. Changes starts from the switch of the Heiva i Honolulu from 2010 to 2009. The move pushes the International Heiva i Tahiti back to 2010 and was recently confirmed by Raymond Mariteragi of Tahiti Nui International (TNI), producer of both events. Next years' event dates are March 12-14, 2009. In addition, the third TNI event, Heiva i Japan, is also moving dates. The Japan event is pushing the dates back a month to September 13, 2009.

More changes have been announced by Elizabeth Bertumen, producer of Tarena Tahiti. Not only is the event moving locations, it is also changing dates. In fact the event is moving to become a complimentary event to Te Aranui O Tahiti, the other event produced by Elizabeth Bertumen. Both events will take place at San Francisco State University, April 25-26, 2009. Tarena Tahiti is a competitive soloist competition and the Te Aranui O Tahiti event is a non competitive group event.

The July 4th weekend is also seeing a shake up as well. Hura Tahiti (Cerritos, CA), traditionally towards the end of July, is moving up to July 3-4, 2009. Event organizer, Alex Tekurio, moved the event up to accommodate other events that place him and his organization in Tahiti for the largest heiva - Heiva i Tahiti. The Tahiti Fete of San Jose is also making a change from recent years. Pua Tokumoto, producer of the event, recently announced the change from a bi-annual schedule back to making it an annual event. So the Tahitian dance competition will again be in San Jose, July 3-5, 2009.

And as we close out the year with the Kori Kori Tahiti Fete (Las Vegas, NV), the last major event of 2008, we find that many of the events for the first half of 2009 have confirmed their dates and locations. Recent confirmations include the Merced Kiki Raina Tahiti Fete (Merced, CA), which is celebrating its 30th anniversary as the longest running Tahitian dance event outside of Tahiti. Activities will take place March 27-29, 2009. That same weekend, Tamarii Tahiti Fete is scheduled to take place in Orlando, Florida. Applications and other information for the March 28, 2009 event will be available shortly from their website.

For the latest developments, updates and news, check back often or sign up for the Heiva-Tahiti Fete RSS newsfeed (see top of page for subscribe link). And for a list of all events, check out our Tahiti Dance Event Calendar on our website, Black Pearl Designs.

Black Pearl Designs, established in 2004, features exclusive Tahitian pareo designs and fabric, black pearl jewelry, handicrafts, monoi oil, temporary tattoos and unique accessories not only from French Polynesia, but also hidden and hard-to-find hand crafted items from Maori-Aotearoa, Fiji, Samoa and Hawaii.

Calling all Tahitian dance enthusiastic writers

We'd love to keep all our readers up to date all the time. We're looking for roaming reporters to help with keeping up with results and the "story" at the many Tahitian dance events. We receive requests all the time asking about results and we post as many as we can get from event organizers, but sometimes we just can't get the results that we want.

If you are interested in becoming a "roaming reporter" or correspondent, please let us know. Send us a sample of your original written work about Tahitian dance. Approved contributors can receive store credit at our online store - Black Pearl Designs. If your contribution is published, you will receive a writers credit and credit at our online store (to be determined depending on extent of content). Upon approval, submitting writer gives permission for Black Pearl Designs to publish above content on their website and publications.

Email us for details and event reporting needs.

Current reporting needs:
Merced Kiki Raina Tahiti Fete - Merced, CA
Tahiti Fete of San Jose - San Jose, CA
Heiva i Tahiti - Papeete, French Polynesia
Heiva i Reno - Reno, NV

2008 Tahiti Nui Heiva I Japan

One of the most exciting and rapidly expanding Tahitian dance event is the Heiva I Japan. With local dance groups eagerly joining up to compete, organizers Kenzo Tanaka and Ayumi Sugiyama recently announced the dates for the 3rd Annual Heiva I Japan. Activities will take place August 31, 2008 in Tokyo at the Meilpark Hall Hotel.

As a sister event to Heiva I Honolulu, it builds upon a growing interest in Japan for Tahitian dance. Now in its third year, the event has become an exciting addition to the Tahitian dance competition family.

Ticket information, applications and deadline information are available on the official website. Competition categories include solo and group Ori Tahiti, Ahupurotu, Aparima, Otea and Tamarii (children) and Tupuna (senior). Ori Tahiti soloist Meimi Horiuchi (pictured top left) of the dance group Tiare Heipua and overall soloist Momoko Hoshihara (pictured below left) of Te Pupu 'Ori Mehanaokara will be among other competitors ready to defend their titles. The activities include exhibition performances. Check back often for updates. We're also providing a computer translated version of the Japanese website for those who cannot read Japanese.

For a complete look at all major Tahitian dance events, visit our website, Black Pearl Designs, for the complete list of Heiva and Tahiti Fete.

2008 Merced Kiki Raina Tahiti Fete

Event organizer Becky Manandic has announced that the 2008 Merced Kiki Raina Tahiti Fete will take place March 14-16, 2008. The Merced County Fairgrounds will again serve as the location for the competition and activities.

This event is distinguished as the longest existing Tahitian Dance and Cultural Festival held outside of French Polynesia. As such it also serves as one of the first major competitions of the year.

Organizers are working on finalizing applications and event program. Visit the official site for updates and information needed to participate and purchase tickets.

For more information and a schedule of all Tahitian Dance events throughout the country, visit our website - Black Pearl Designs.

Heiva I Honolulu 2008 date announcement

Black Pearl Designs is privileged to announce the event dates for Tahiti Nui International's Heiva I Honolulu 2008. The event will take place March 19-21, 2008 (Event organizers moved event dates to March 13-15, 2008, consult official site or view our updated calendar for the latest information. Dates and details are subject to change according to individual event organizations) at the Waikiki Shell. Event co-director, Rose Perreira, announced the dates after returning from Japan from Heiva I Honolulu's sister event - Heiva I Japan. TNI also produces the Heiva I Tahiti International in Papeete, Tahiti.

Details and information will be forthcoming. Check the official site for upcoming updates, applications, travel & accommodation packages and vendor information.

Heiva I Tahiti

At Black Pearl Designs, there's not much more requested than a glimpse of the Tahitian dance performed in its islands of origin. Many dancers have asked if we have DVD's of the competitions. Unfortunately we don't have them... yet. We were however advised of a new service provided by the Institut de la Communication Audiovisuelle. At the site there are video clips of the 2001 Heiva I Tahiti competition. There are 21 clips on the site highlighting arguably one of Heiva I Tahiti's most vibrant and celebrated years of competition.

We've gone ahead and found a translation (into English) of the site and are providing it here for you to enjoy. It's not perfect, but you'll get the gist of it. If you look around, you'll also see that you can purchase some of the DVD videos. But be advised of the long process and possible extra customs duties that might be involved. We're working on eliminating that step for our domestic US orders and making them available on our website.

In the meantime, here's the link:

Heiva I Tahiti 2001 (English translation)

Heiva I Tahiti 2001 (original French edition)