For Gold Coast choreographer Theresa Sao, the Siva Samoa means more to her than just dancing.
"It's the connection to my grandmother," Ms Sao said.
"I feel like it's a gift that she gave to me, and it's the strongest way for me to connect with my cultural identity.
Ms Sao was surrounded by her Samoan culture growing up in New Zealand, in a proud extended family and within the Catholic church.
"My grandmother would pull all the grandchildren into the living room and say, 'Someone play a song' and we would all dance and she would choose who would represent the family at the church fundraiser," Ms Sao said.
'Community connection'
More than 75,000 people of Samoan descent live in Australia and, of them, more than one third reside in Queensland.
Samoans are also the largest of all Pacific Islander groups in Australia, outnumbering the entire Melanesian diaspora.
So, when Ms Sao arrived in 2018, she was surprised by how difficult it was to locate and connect with members of the Australian-Samoan community.
"It's not only missing family but missing that community, connection, culture. Without culture, it's really lonely."
Together with a few tutors, Ms Sao decided to change that.
Now in its second year, VASA is the largest volunteer-run Samoan performing arts school on the Gold Coast, teaching students of all ages the language, values and dances of their motherland.
"A space to connect this Gold Coast to that island in the Pacific Ocean.
"For us, it's about creating a community that's unified and just proud to be who we are.
"When we're in the minority, the wider community is quick to tell us who we are but when we're among our own people, we know exactly who we are,
For three hours every Sunday afternoon for the past 15 weeks, students rehearsed ahead of the inaugural Fiafia showcase evening on June 12.
In just one year, the dance program's cohort grew from 25 to 110 participants and, for the first time since the onset of the pandemic, they performed in front more than 900 people.
'It's something special'
Many VASA students are second- and third-generation Samoan-Australians, including three of Noela Chan Boon's children.
"There is something special about coming to VASA and watching them perform," she said.
"It gets me emotional. My son's done the same fa'ataupati [Samoan slap dance] every week and every week I get goosebumps. I get teary sometimes."
During the showcase, women and girls glided across the floor with grace and delicate hand movements, while young men moved in an exhilarating display choreographed to fast drum beats and traditional songs.
Love, service, respect
Penina Chan Boon, 7, took centre stage as the Taupou – or chief's daughter – at this year's showcase.
Ms Sao said that, more than dance, VASA was teaching students the foundational cultural pillars of Samoan life: alofa (love), tautua (service) and fa'aaloalo (respect).
"I hope these students become so empowered and connected that they become the parent to teach their children the Samoan ABC, the Samoan anthem.
