Celebrating a decade of storytelling through street dance – Station is a collective work curated by Freshmans Dance Crew, directed by Hadleigh Pouesi, and choreographed by Christopher Ofanoa, Leilani Elliot and their creative team. Freshmans showcase West Auckland street dance narratives at the prestigious ASB Waterfront Theatre. This milestone marks their dedication to their communities over several years, particularly for street dance collectives who do not often get the opportunity to perform in this theatre. It is refreshing to finally see some street dance performances in this theatre space – congratulations Fresh.

I walk into the space to Scribe – Dreamin’ playing overhead. At the same time, school kids sit on the stairs gossiping, a rebellious skater glides across the stage, and a security guard stands staunchly as if just before walking into Orange nightclub (lol). It sets the show’s tone with relatable characters we see in our lifetime as Pasifika people walking the streets. The infamous Auckland train voiceover tells us we’ve reached our destination on the Western line, as the lights dim down, the curtains rise, and a station light lowers to reveal a lonely green chair – the grounding pou for the exchange of stories and narratives embodied/carried/articulated throughout the show.

The dancers showcase a creative mixture of b-boying to Lupe Fiasco, ‘influenced’ image-making by the talented breakdancing spray painter – Jude Caudeville, expressive Siva-Samoa-inspired solos, rapping about afakasi identity, and quirky theatre dynamics for young lovers alike. Station emphasises individuality and creative expression for all dancers involved. A highlight is the krump solo performed by William Rakena; an expressive use of krump language to articulate the lyrics of the song and ‘talk his sh*t’. The younger generation of Fresh dancers: Paini Afu, Desney Fritz, Tiana Tanielu and Bianca Tiatia, hold space well at the forefront of the team. I look forward to seeing them grow and create more over the years.

The dynamic spoken word duo, Hadleigh and Kiahan are another highlight; the kōrero turns from quirky and entertaining and eventually shifts into feelings of whakamā about Kiahan’s lack of ‘knowing’ the Sāmoan language. Something that I think a lot of urban Pasifika can relate to – those ideas of not knowing enough of their Mother tongue, and the feelings of shame that come with that. Kiahan’s performance is also commended for this rap and solo, a beautiful reference of street dance/krump movement flows and Siva Sāmoa movement. Something refreshing and a critical reflection of street dance’s distinct whakapapa and influence on our Pasifika creatives within Tāmaki Makaura, Aotearoa. 

Coming from a street dance background, I can’t help but feel myself reflected in the narrative Fresh has portrayed and reminisce about the times my friends and I would often meet at the train station before heading off to late-night rehearsals. It was part of our daily routine, and the different characters in the show reminded me of the characters we often crossed paths with while waiting for our train. I applaud Fresh for their take on this show and the social commentary of these narratives, as they are important reflections of how Pasifika creatives/dancers/artists are navigating the urban Pacific identity in today’s society. Station is the meeting place for many rich stories and people of different backgrounds to cross paths and build relationships. What I consider the ‘Vā’ in street dance can look like.

The mahi that Fresh is doing (and has been doing over the past ten years) is an important reflection of how Pasifika diaspora identities are being told through street dance. Many of our young people reside with street dance and the urban narrative of language loss, whakamā about culture, but also empowering narratives such as sense(s) of belonging, storytelling and reclamation of our Pacific identities are reasons why shows such as Station, are an important part of Pacific storytelling – (re)imagining the urban Pacific identity away from disconnected, detrimental ideas into a space of mana-enhancing, empowering, relatable and (re)connected understandings of the urban Pacific identity. Congratulations on your debut at ASB Waterfront, Fresh Movement. Thank you for your mahi over the years and I can’t wait to see you all take Maui overseas for further Indigenous/Pasifika storytelling to be taken to the world.

Fa’afetai tele lava, ngā mihi maioha.

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