Pa\u2019oti, or scissors dance<\/a>, which also involves considerable thigh strength. While in a squatting position, the dancer rapidly opens and closes his bent legs while his arms are outstretched.<\/p>\nOpening night on Friday will showcase the Mehura competition, a more languid dance style, with graceful arm movements that have a theme or tell a story.<\/p>\n
Mister and Miss Heiva 2026, Elijah Tiguelo, 24, and Ivana Moi, 18, also will be crowned that evening.<\/p>\n
Moi just graduated from Carlsbad High School and since the age of 4, she has trained and competed with the world renowned Nonosina Polynesia dance studio, based in Anaheim.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a big commitment going back and forth to practices,\u201d Moi said. \u201cThrough their training, I was able to become one of their soloists and be a part of productions that placed first in several competitions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Ori Tahiti competitions are typically divided by age, solo, group and skill level.<\/p>\n
At Heiva San Diego, three judges from Tahiti will scrutinize technique, interpretation and cultural authenticity. The Otea, or fast dance competitions last for just under two minutes.<\/p>\n
Moi said the hip rotation called Fa\u2019arapu, derived from the Tahitian word meaning \u201cto stir or to mix,\u201d is \u201clike you\u2019re mixing your hips but your feet cannot be moving.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour heels have to be glued to the ground,\u201d she explained. \u201cYour shoulders and your arms have to be loose, like water, and honestly, and the only thing that\u2019s moving like crazy is your butt.\u201d<\/p>\n
Additionally, the Tahitian Otea soloists must improvise to live drum accompaniment performed on traditional percussion instruments.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard,\u201d Moi said. \u201cA lot of people don\u2019t know that we have no clue what types of beats are going to be played.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Miss Heiva San Diego, Moi will be a representative for Polynesian culture, but she won\u2019t be competing this year because she is continuing her education at Arizona State University.<\/p>\n
![\"Kalea](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sut-l-dance-heiva-new1.jpg\")
Kalea Minabe, from Te Rahiti Nui school, is one of the dancers who will take part in the 2026 Heiva San Diego, a Polynesian dance and drumming competition running July 31 through Aug. 2 at Harrah\u2019s Resort Southern California in Valley Center. (Bryson Kim)
\nCostumes<\/p>\n
Janice Minabe is an \u2018Ori Tahiti dance instructor and the director of Te Rahiti Nui, a Tahitian dance studio in San Diego.<\/p>\n
Her 19-year-old daughter, Kalea, also teaches at Te Rahiti Nui and she will be one of 30 students competing at Heiva San Diego.<\/p>\n
For the past three years, Kalea has won Best Costume at Heiva San Diego, in addition to winning multiple \u2018Ori Tahiti competitions in Paris, Bora Bora and throughout California.<\/p>\n
Besides teaching, Janice Minabe offers costume workshops and designs her daughter\u2019s competition wear, including the towering headdress, which is likened to balancing a small floral garden on top of the skull.<\/p>\n
Tahitian costumes are an investment, ranging from $100 to $500 or more, depending on the exotic flowers and traditional materials used.<\/p>\n
Minabe\u2019s designs can include fresh greenery and orchids, gladiolas, red and pink ginger, plumeria, ferns, tea leaves and the tiare\u2019, which is also known as the Tahitian gardenia.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a deadline, too, in that fresh flowers must stay fresh throughout the competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt takes two days of work to make my daughter\u2019s costume,\u201d Minabe said. \u201cWe have a large ice chest with ice packs, and even if I\u2019m not hot, the air conditioner is running high, just to keep these flowers alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
History<\/p>\n
During the 19th century, traditional Tahitian dance performed at the annual Heiva (pronounced Hay-vah) was forbidden.<\/p>\n
Christian missionaries who traveled to the Polynesian islands found the dancing too provocative and in 1819, they convinced King Pomare II to legally ban the \u201cheiva,\u201d or community festivities. But through oral tradition, the people passed down their history and rituals.<\/p>\n
When Tahiti was annexed by France in 1881, Bastille Day in July included Polynesian cultural practices and the festival was named Tiruai, the Tahitian word for \u201cJuly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then, in 1956, a high school principal named Madeleine Moua formed a popular dance troupe that revived \u2018Ori Tahiti and the annual Heiva celebration not only flourished throughout French Polynesia, it spread to other countries.<\/p>\n
On the island, Heiva i Tahiti has been celebrated every July since, with traditional dance, drumming, singing and sports, such as javelin throwing and canoe races.<\/p>\n
Coulomb said she hopes that those who attend Heiva San Diego this year will leave with a deeper understanding about Polynesian culture, that it is more than beautiful costumes, music and dance. \u201cThere is history, language, family, and meaning behind what they see on stage,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf someone comes to Heiva San Diego knowing very little about Tahiti and leaves feeling curious, connected, and wanting to learn more, then we\u2019ve done something meaningful. More than anything, I want people to feel the spirit of our culture and the joy, the strength, and the sense of community that have kept it alive for generations. Everyone is welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heiva San Diego 2026<\/p>\n
When: 6 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m. Saturday and next Sunday\n<\/p>\n
Where: Harrah\u2019s Resort Southern California, 777 S. Resort Drive, Valley Center<\/p>\n
Tickets: $10-$30 general admission, $135.23 gala buffet dinner, $193.92 VIP seating including lunch<\/p>\n
Online:\u00a0heivasandiego.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Competitive Tahitian dance, or \u2018Ori Tahiti, is a lot harder than it looks. Though it was legally banned…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":412872,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[7,1472,967,181,74,84,76,75,1058,420],"class_list":["post-412871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-california","tag-dance","tag-entertainment","tag-latest-headlines","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-county","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-theater","tag-things-to-do"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412871","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=412871"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412871\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/412872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=412871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=412871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=412871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Lindsay](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sut-l-heiva-lindsay.jpg\")
Lindsay Reva Coulomb is the founder of Heiva San Diego. (Bryson Kim)<\/p>\n