Marie Lankford, left, and Izumi Walton perform a Samoan dance La’ U Hani one of the numbers the Siva Maia Polynesian Dancers will perform at this year’s Tucson Meet Yourself, Wednesday, September 27, 2017, Tucson, Ariz.
The Siva Maia Polynesian Dancers walk onto the dance floor during a dress rehearsal for their Tucson Meet Yourself performance. They’re barefoot, with lime green skirts hovering above their knees and a tutu-like waistband made from colorful flower petals and leaves. Flowers sit perfectly in their hair.
Cue the music and the dancers, women of various ages, dance in unison. The movements are smooth and gentle. There isn’t a moment when a woman isn’t smiling as she swings her hips and taps her feet on the floor.
“We are a diverse group,” choreographer Marie Lankford says. “We have ladies from different backgrounds and ethnicities, and I want to showcase that we can be a team and share a culture that we love so much.”
Siva Maia, which means “let’s dance” in Samoan, started at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base when a group of Samoans decided to showcase their culture.
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“Siva Maia is a way of perpetuating the Polynesian culture and sharing it with the community,” Lankford says. “I love Tucson Meet Yourself. It’s such a wonderful feeling to have all these people bringing their cultures and sharing them with everybody. They’re all so friendly, so open, and inviting. It’s a wonderful environment.”
Siva Maia performs at 2 p.m. Oct. 15 on the Alameda stage.
