Pacific Talent Academy of the Arts

Greater Los Angeles Asian/Asian-American/Pacific Islander Dance Music 2012 2013

Pacific Talent Academy of the Arts (formerly Fireknife of Samoa) was founded to preserve and perpetuate Pacific Island culture by organizing workshops, competitions, performances, and cultural events.  These events ultimately provide an avenue for Pacific Island youth to compete and share their talents in the forms of fireknife dancing, Tahaitian solo dancing (or ori), and traditional and contemporary song and chanting.

In 2013 and 2012, grants from ACTA’s Living Cultures Grants Program supported Weekend in Polynesia, an annual competition for fireknife and Tahitian solo dancers.  The competition brings together youth from California, other U.S. states, and the broad area that makes up the Pacific Islands.