Tama Huata

Tama Tūranga Huata ONZM (15 April 1950 – 11 February 2015) was a Māori performing arts leader in New Zealand.

Tama Huata

ONZM
Born
Tama Tūranga Huata

(1950-04-15)15 April 1950
Died11 February 2015(2015-02-11) (aged 64)
Napier, New Zealand
Spouse(s)Pukepuke Tangiora Huata
ChildrenThree
RelativesWiremu Te Tau Huata (father)
Hemi Pititi Huata (grandfather)
Paraire Tomoana (grandfather)
Henare Tomoana (great-grandfather)

Biography

Born in 1950 of Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Porou descent,[1][2] Huata was the third son of Wiremu Te Tau Huata—a chaplain to the Māori Battalion during World War II—and Ringahora Hēni Ngākai Ybel Tomoana.[3] His maternal grandfather was Paraire Tomoana, the composer of "Pokarekare Ana".[4]

Huata was a central figure in the renaissance of the Māori performing arts.[3] In 1983 he founded the Kahurangi Dance Theatre and Te Wānanga Whare Tapere o Takitimu (the Takitimu Performing Arts School), and was responsible for the establishment there of the first degree programme in Māori performing arts.[5] In 1985 he was a group leader at the Te Maori exhibition in San Francisco.[3] Awarded a Fulbright scholarship in 1995, Huata travelled to the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee to study African history and dance.[3]

Huata was the inaugural chair of Te Matatini Society,[5] and founder of the Waiata Māori Music Awards in 2007.[3]

In the 2006 Queen's Birthday Honours, Huata was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to Māori performing arts.[6] In 2012, he received Te Tohu Toi Kē (the "Making a Difference" award) from Creative New Zealand at Te Waka Toi Awards, for his significant contribution to the development and retention of Māori arts and culture.[2]

Huata died at his home in Napier in 2015.[5]

References
  1. Spence, Richard. "Whakaaria mai: the biography of Wi Huata". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  2. "Te Waka Toi awards". Creative NZ. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  3. Gullery, Lawrence (12 February 2015). "Maori performing arts leader Tama Turanga Huata dies". Dominion Post. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  4. Ballara, Angela. "Huata, Wiremu Te Tau". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  5. Brown, Heeni (11 February 2015). "Performing arts stalwart Tama Huata passes away". Māori Television News. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  6. "Queen's Birthday honours list 2006". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 5 June 2006. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
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