MAORI ENTERTAINMENT.

Gisborne Times, Volume XLVIII, Issue 4579, 7 June 1917, Page 6

MAORI ENTERTAINMENT.

NEXT WEEK’S PROGRAMME

Something out of the.ordinary run of entertainments will he given in the Opera House on Thursday, F rid ay and Saturday of next week by a troupe of 50 talented Native performers. The production, which is similar to a revues, takes the title of “From Mai'ae to Te Pakanga.” It has been carefully thought- out, and arranged by a Maori for the special purpose of performance by Maoris, and the native atmosphere is certain to he right. In the course of the production old native customs nave been introduced, the welcoming of visitors or relatives after a long absence, by the tribe, for instance. Hakas and poi dances will be danced as in the old days that have passed. There will also he given some modern hakas and poi dances and also the modern methods of welcoming visitors. The poi dances themselves are well worth the entrance money to see. Sir Janies Carroll describes them as the best lie had ever seen in his life. There will also be given poi dances adapted to scenes of modern warfare, there will be dances representing trench scenes, battleship scenes, aviation scenes, and others. Many popular and many select songs will he given in the course of the performance. A feature will be the turn of a troupe of 12 instrumentalists, who are self taught. The performance, which is_ being given in aid of Maori Patriotic Funds, has been produced to Napier audiences, and has met with wonderful success, and a similar reception is confidently anticipated from Gisborne patrons. The scheme of the production is to bring forth an appeal for Maori reinforcements. So far the Maoris have been able to obtain all their reinforcements without resorting to conscription, but the supply of eligible Maoris is getting short, as a very large number have been turned down on medical grounds, and the time is coming when those tribes who had not volunteered so freely would have to he conscripted, along with the other tribes who had responded freely so that the supply of reinforcements could he kept up.