nwasianweekly.com
Jan. 12, 2008

Photo provided by Seattle Seahawks

The sold-out Seahawks vs. Washington Redskins game Jan. 5 at Qwest Field featured a Polynesian-themed halftime show, in celebration of the six Seahawks players going to the 2008 Pro Bowl in Hawaii Feb. 10. Here, students from Evergreen High School perform a haka, a traditional dance form of the Maori of New Zealand.

See hakas

By Caroline Li
Northwest Asian Weekly

Dressed in his high school football jersey, 15-year-old Devon Smotherman prepared for the Seahawk game against the Washington Redskins Jan. 5. But this time, instead of inviting his friends over to his house to watch the game on television, he was the one everybody waited to watch.

The sophomore from Evergreen High School, in White Center, along with the rest of his teammates from the school’s football team, was part of the game’s halftime show. The show featured their haka (a traditional dance form of the Maori of New Zealand) dance group and other Polynesian culture groups from the area.

The Polynesian-themed halftime show was to celebrate the six players – Matt Hasselbeck, Walter Jones, Patrick Kerney, Julian Peterson, Lofa Tatupu and Marcus Trufant ­– from the Seattle Seahawks who were selected to represent the club in the 2008 Pro Bowl, the NFL’s annual All-Star game in Hawaii Feb. 10.

“It’s a really big thing for us to be here performing,” said Smotherman. “We don’t get to go to a lot games or perform to large audiences.” He said many of his teammates can seldom afford tickets to a game and the Jan. 5 game was their first performance outside school. “It’s one thing to perform for your friends, but performing in front of 60,000 strangers is completely different, “ said team member Sia Sagio.

Joining the Evergreen High School haka dance group were members from the Halau Hula O’Napualani, Halau Hula O’Liko Lehua and Hula Expression, who, despite the cold weather, performed cultural hula dancing and drumming in their ethnic attire to a sold-out stadium.

“It’s important to us to promote our culture,” said Bill Nahalea, who handles marketing at Halau Hula O’Napualani.

Nerissa Go, one of the dancers, said after the performance, “Now I know what they mean by the rumbling of the stands. It really sounded like rumbling from the field. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

“We really like to showcase local performance groups like APIs during Seahawks games. We have so many talented performers in Seattle,” said Ryan Madayag, fan development manager for the Seattle Seahawks.

Last August’s Seahawks vs. Minnesota Vikings halftime show featured the Chinese Community Girls Drill Team, Filipino Youth Activities, One World Taiko, Morning Star and the Mak Fai Kung Fu Club. “We hope to have more Pro Bowl celebrations and continue to grow the partnership with the API community,” said Madayag.

The Halau Hula dance school had been pitching the idea of having a Polynesian show at the Seahawk’s halftime for several years. The timing of the Pro Bowl was the perfect fit.

“It was a real honor to be here. How often does Seattle go to the playoffs?” exclaimed Gloria Fuji Nahalea, the school’s head hula instructor.

Julie Weedman, an assistant hula instructor, added, “My family members were in awe that we were invited to come. They are huge football fans.”

Caroline Li can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

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