Ka karanga te manu ko au, ka taea, ka hiahia, ka tū
About Me
Kia Ora,
My name is Violetta Dacre and I am a year 8 student at Selwyn House School in 2021. In year 8 we do a project called a Passion Project where we identify what makes our heart sing and what causes us heart break and we combine the two to create a passion project. I love singing and dancing and I LOVE Kapa Haka. From an early age, I have been aware that not all girls in the world have the same access to education. I know that I am privileged to be able to learn, share my ideas and one day choose a career that I love. For my project, I wanted to create a website to teach and educate other students Kapa Haka so they can further their knowledge in Kapa Haka and the Māori culture.
I discovered my passion for Kapa Haka at the age of around 6 or 7 and since then my passion has just grown into something I love doing. I have also considered the importance of kapa haka in schools. For young Māori students it is a way of expressing themselves, being connected to the Māori culture and providing a platform for expression and to gain confidence through performance. As a non-Māori student kapa haka enables me to appreciate the unique role of Māori in shaping our identity as New Zealanders. Overseas, kapa haka is proudly shown to the world and is part of our national branding.
I decided to create an educational website but I didn't want to just create a website full of words I wanted to share videos. So I have researched what kinds of Waiata and Whakatoki ( songs and words of wisdom) that I can include in videos that I will put on the website.
I have made Kapa haka uniforms for selected girls to wear in my videos. I have incorporated Selwyn House colours with feathers, fabric, and ribbon in blue, brown, black, and white to add our unique Selwyn House spirit to the uniforms.
My goal is to inspire and motivate others to learn and enjoy Kapa haka as an important connection to the Māori culture creating meaningful connections for us as New Zealanders together.
I hope that you enjoy my website as much as I have loved creating it.
Ngā manaakitanga,
Violetta Dacre