Sunday at the Met - 'Taualuga; the last dance'
Sunday at the Met - 'Taualuga; the last dance'
Live performance by Shigeyuki Kihara
October 19, 2008, 3pm
The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium
Shigeyuki Kihara, visual and performance artist
Free with Museum admission
Samoan-born artist Shigeyuki Kihara performs Taualuga: The Last Dance. In a traditional Samoan context the taualuga is a dance of celebration. Kihara utilizes the principles of the taualuga as a form of storytelling to reference history and mirror what is happening globally today. The artist’s fictitious character, loosely based on Salome, dances deep in grief wearing a Victorian mourning dress. The performance combines photography, dance, audio, and historical costume to form a tribute to the many leaders and people of Samoa. Virginia-Lee Webb, research curator, Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, MMA, introduces this special and unique dance performance.
Image credit:
'Taualuga; the Last Dance' 2006
Shigeyuki Kihara
Still from Performance DVD
Courtesy of Shigeyuki Kihara