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Salient: Victoria University Students' Paper. Vol. 27, No. 7. 1964.

Dancers Went Native

Dancers Went Native

Students went 'native' in true South Pacific fashion at the Polynesian dance held on Friday night, April 24th.

The University Maori Club rallied in full force to prepare an excellent evening of entertainment. Amidst palm-fronds hibiscus blossoms and colourful paper leis the 'leaders of tomorrow' sweated out their frustrations to the beat of tom-tom drums, and the heavy pulse of guitars. Sarongs, lavalavas, mumus, bula shirts, shifts and bare-feet (the more inhibited dressed in conventional collar and tie) wriggled, stomped, hitchhiked and twisted with loose abandon until midnight. A Kava stall (looking like a soda fountain) and the coffee bar downstairs helped to sustain the dancers until closing hour, when they were permitted to collapse in an exhausted heap outside the hall.

The dance was well patronised by the public and the student body alike. The orchestra, specially imported from Manahiki of the Cook Islands group, provided just the right musical touch. The assistance of Mr. Short, the curator, who generously lent pot plants, and Mrs. Matthews, who donated dozens of beautiful hibiscus flowers, combined to make the Polynesian dance a tremendous success.

Proceeds went towards running the New Zealand Federation of Maori Students' Conference, held in the Student Union Building on May 21. 22 and 23.