Photos by Linny Folau.

A talented group of young dancers from Suliana’s Polynesian Dance Academy showcased their fantastic dancing during a fundraising event at the Queen Salote Memorial Hall, on Thursday night 10 December.

The dancers who are currently in secondary school, with some university students, performed Tongan, Tahitian, Samoan and Maori dances to a full house. They are preparing and fundraising for the dance academy's Christmas Extravaganza tour to Vava'u next week.

The tour is signifcant this year as it will be the last for founder Suliana Afeaki who has for more than 30-years taught Polynesian dancing in Nuku'alofa to hundreds of students.

Her daughter Finau Afeaki said her mother reached a milestone, turning 75 in January this year, and is passing the baton to her as she retires from the dancing academy.

"This year is special because this will be her last trip with the dancers. For us, it is not so much teaching the dancing but teaching our students confidence and being able to get up in front of hundreds of people and share your culture, which is so importand for us."

"My mother will still be here to help and guide me but it's my turn to stand up to it now," she said.

This year they have focused on their Tongan dancing section.

"Before we had always focused on the Hawaiian,Tahitian and all other Polynesian dancing because there wasn't anyone teaching them here, while we could learn Tonga dances everywhere else. But this year with our students getting older we know how important it is for them to be able to perform their own cultural dances and teach them as well," she said.

The dance program begins February next year and every year they have had over 100 students coming to learn how to dance.

Finau was also grateful to all the businesses that have supported their program and made possible their dreams, including FISA, Puataukanave Hotel, TCC, MBF Bank, ITS Company and Royco Amalgamated.