Project Description

Te Waa Mai Kiribati has many members, but only twelve can come to the U.S.

Water Is Rising

Performance and purpose collide in this fourteen city U.S. tour. Presented in the most distinguished theaters in the country, Water is Rising will present the most exciting music and dance traditions of the Pacific while at the same time illuminating the plight of Pacific Islanders. Scientists report that the vulnerable coral atolls of Kiribati, Tokelau, and Tuvalu are already experiencing rising sea levels as a result of global warming and climate change. Thirty-six dancers and musicians express their deep connection to nature and their ancestral past through multi-part harmonies, poetry, and gracious movement cascading over dynamic rhythms inspiring us all to be better stewards of our shared planet. Water is Rising harnesses the power of performance art in an impassioned plea for global awareness and social change.

Samola Puga, director of the Tuvalu group, walks through the bush with her musicians.

Three years in the planning, Water is Rising brings together thirty-six carefully selected artists from the smallest countries in the world: Kiribati, Tokelau and Tuvalu (population 100,000, 1,500 and 12,000 respectively). As highlighted in the Copenhagen UN Climate Change Conference of 2009, these Pacific atolls are at the front lines of global warming. With their highest elevations at only 9 to 15 feet above sea level, they risk becoming the first cultures on earth to be submerged by climate change.

Presented for the first time on the American concert stage, Water is Rising will tour to fourteen major venues on the east and west coast. A project of the UCLA Center for Intercultural Performance in collaboration with the Foundation for World Arts and the EarthWays Foundation, this unique project has been developed in partnership with the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. Joining science, environmental studies, Pacific Island studies and performance, artists will conduct over 40 educational and outreach programs for all ages: K-12, University students, and adults.

In Tuvalu, male and female movement contrast and complement each other.

About the Islands

Coral atolls are unique geological formations; they hold treasures of marine life that are the envy of the world. Located where the equator meets the International date line, these atolls are remote, isolated, and vulnerable to nature’s wrath. For hundreds of years oral histories, spiritual teachings and the social values of Kiribati, Tokelau, and Tuvalu were danced and sung rather than written in books. These cultures are known throughout Oceania for their unique self-confident style, precise technical delivery and originality.

Hand made garlands are prepared for every show.

The artistic expressions nurtured in these atolls have been described as elegant, sensual, delicate, detailed, as well as exuberant, strong and forceful. Multi-part harmonies, poetic metaphors and gracious movement are performed to the dynamic rhythm of men playing with open hands on a large wooden box. Performing in hand made costumes woven from pandanus leaves, palm fronds, shells, and flowers, these Polynesian and Micronesian dancers and musicians display an astonishing ability to move in utter synchrony - evidence of the interdependence of coral atoll life. Life on coral atolls affords few material resources; therefore, the embodied expression and personal adornment of their culture are important representations of these unique places. As a Kiribati diplomat once said, “When you see a beautiful dancer, you know his family has loved him or her well.”

Performers in Tarawa prepared to show Professor Mitoma their songs and dances.

Virtually everyone on the islands of Kiribati, Tokelau, and Tuvalu sings and dances. Music and dance provide a forum for creativity and invention. Always fresh and responsive to the audience, people constantly compose new songs and learn new choreographies for myriad occasions. For this U.S. Tour, the groups will prepare a program of new songs and dances that express their deep connections to nature and their ancestral past; their art will convey their feeling about global warming and the desire that the world not forget their plight. The shared spirit and intense energy of these dancers and musicians gathered on one stage represent the legacy of their traditions and the joyful vitality of their collective ethos. In the islands, when different groups gather under one roof, no group wants to be outdone by the other. As a result of this, the music and dance on these coral atolls have evolved to a refined and complex art form. In contrast to Hawaii, colonial rule never stripped them of their cultural expressions. The vibrancy of their gestures, songs, and rhythms represent the unbroken legacy of these small island nations.

Stage Projections

Filmmakers Father Luis Proenca and Chris Wilson have created a film design for stage projections using images taken by Judy Mitoma. These films will provide visual context that evokes islanders way of life, their love of village, family, church, the ocean and the lagoon. The beauty, vitality and joy of performance will convey their hope and faith in the future despite the effects of global warming. Supertitle translations of poetic texts will ensure that Americans understand their meaning. There is no doubt that Americans will admire their collective solidarity, empathy, and self-confidence. As audiences bring their own knowledge of the causes and impact of climate change, the concert experience will inspire them to be better stewards of our shared planet.

Concept and Research

Kiribati children on a field trip - our school bus!

Program concept and artist selection were informed by Professor Judy Mitoma’s thirty-two years of work with Pacific Island cultures and her research on these islands in 2010 and 2011. See images from Judy Mitoma's 2010 journey to meet the artists. Professor Mitoma has taken into account many culturally sensitive issues while selecting the artistic directors and members of each group. She has taken the time to see how these performing arts functions in situ by meeting government officials, cultural leaders and artists in person. She studied the cultural needs and social dynamics of the groups in anticipation their personal needs on tour. With a commitment that their America experience be educational as well a exhilarating, she anticipates that these individuals will return to their countries with a fuller understanding of the American perspective on climate change. This information will be of value as they respond to the realities of their future.

Project Credits

Members of the Kiribati company took Mitoma on a field trip around Tarawa - and ran into a sail fish!

Presented by: Foundation for World Arts; UCLA Center from Intercultural Performance; Asia Society in association with World Music Institute; and UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. Funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts; UCLA School of Arts and Architecture; UCLA Office of Instructional Development; APAP - Association of Performing Arts Presenters; and the National Dance Project (NDP) of the New England Foundation for the Arts. NDP is supported be lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, with additional funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Community Connections Fund of the Metlife Foundation, and Boeing Company Charitable Trust. With additional support from; Cultures of Resistance Network; Andrew Beath; and Lekha Singh.