About
On The Stage
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ABOUT US
Fua Creative's mission is to provide innovative Creative Arts experiences for professional, educational and community sectors to foster creativity, collaboration and culture.
We offer a variety of programmes and services that use multi-disciplinary arts to engage, inspire and up skill individuals in their creative and artistic disciplines.
At Fua Creative we also value community arts and arts education. We employ the instrumentalist use of the arts to foster creativity, innovation, leadership and strengthen holistic well-being.
Our Organisation
Fua, was founded by husband and wife dynamic duo, Vita and Nicole Vaka. The organisation was established as a result of their passion for both performing, teaching, directing and producing across professional, educational and community sectors.
The word 'Fua' in Tongan means 'Fruitfulness' or to 'Blossom and Flourish' and this epitomises the vision of Fua Creative to see people of all ages and cultures thrive through the platform of Creativity and the Performing Arts.
We are based in Te Tau Ihu (Upper South Island), in the Marlborough region, and have a strong mandate to create Pacific Arts (both heritage and contemporary) experiences and facilitate job opportunities to support a thriving Pacific Arts Economy for our region.
Our Values
Kaupapa Pasifika is extremely important to us and our values, which encompass our organisation and define our culture and ethics are: Creativity; Passion; Innovation; Authenticity.
ABOUT US
OUR TEAM
Founder / Creative Director
Fua Creative is the culmination of Vita’s passion for Creativity, Community, Pasifika Culture and Holistic Well-being.
Vita holds a Diploma in Pasifika Performing Arts from the Pacific Institute of Performing Arts and has extensive experience working as a performer, singer & song writer, music director, vocal coach, choreographer, playwright and facilitator across professional, community and education spheres. Based in Marlborough, Vita has created innovative arts and mentoring programmes that he delivers in schools and across the community. He specialises in Music, Dance and Acting.
Nicole Vaka
Nicole has a Bachelor of Dance Studies (Honours) at The University of Auckland and is currently a PhD student in dance at UoA.
Producer / Director
Nicole has won several academic scholarships, performed at international and national dance festivals and taught workshops in various international forums. Nicole’s research has included investigating the links between global and local Arts Education policies. In 2016 Nicole was awarded a scholarship from the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to complete research and a policy brief focusing on the development of community arts in Tonga. Nicole's more recent work has been in Marlborough where she has created, facilitated and managed community dance programmes for youth, managed a local community art collective, worked as a creative facilitator in Secondary Schools, developed and facilitated in person and online professional development programmes for arts practitioners, project managed and produced for local Pacific Artists and Festivals.
Linelei Sagala-Opa
Creative Facilitator
Linelei is an promising emerging performing artist who has been under the mentorship of the Fua Creative team since 2022 and ever since, she has grown to be excellent in her craft.
Linelei has experience working & creating programmes for after school & holiday programmes for kids. As an emerging Tokelauan & Samoan heritage, Linelei has used her cultural & professional knowledge gained from stage managing Secondary Schools competition events, performing arts productions and experience as a stage performer to further pursue the performing arts industry as a career option. She recently worked in 2021 and 2022 for the Pasifika Festival Marlborough as a Liaison/ Social Media Manager for Kalia Trust & is currently working with Fua’s Pasifika Proud Programme in Schools as a Creative Facilitator and for the community event Pasifika Festival Marlborough, 2023.
Sheldon (shldn) is a young Māori multi-disciplinary artist of Tainui/Waikato & Samoan descent, who specializes in Hip Hop/Street Dance, Spoken Word Poetry, and Music.
Susana Tyrell
Creative Facilitator
Susana has worked as a Pacific dance instructor for Pasifika Festival Marlborough, an arts and crafts artist and Pasifika tutor for Picton School and Queen Charlotte College.
Susana established Picton School Pasifika Group in 2019 and Queen Charlotte College in 2022. Her work has enabled tamariki and rangatahi to learn the cultures of the Pacific Islands and to value and respect diverse cultures. In this role Susana aims to teach, inspire, empower, motivate and support the students to develop awareness of cultural inclusivity.
Nastassia Wolfgramm
Creative Facilitator/Administration
Nastassia is a NZ born creative artist of mixed pacific heritage. With over a decade of experience in singing, acting, musical/vocal direction she is also an aspiring writer/director for film and theatre.
Significant performances include being cast in, ‘Where We Once Belonged’ (NZ, Australia), ‘The Factory Musical’ (Australia, Scotland) where she collaborated in composition and arranging. Her musical skill has continued to contribute to various projects under Auckland Theatre Company, Black Grace, Pacific Music Awards and Fua Creative. Nastassia continues to nurture and grow her craft as a storyteller. In 2021 she received a SEED grant from NZWG for development of her feature film and was shortlisted for Fresh Shorts for her short film script. Nastassia has worked for Fua Creative as Music Director and Songwriter for the Pasifika Proud Digital Series with Vita and Fejoint Productions.
OUR COLLABORATORS
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Kimi Young
Creative facilitator
Kimi Young graduated from the University of Auckland in 2013 with an Honours in Dance Studies. During her last year of undergraduate studies Kimi received a 360 award to attend Mason Gross School of the Arts in New Jersey for a year. Whilst abroad she choreographed and performed her own work in New York City at Waxworks. In 2017 she received a scholarship to Ev and Bow (Australia) from Kairos Dance convention. She has also placed 2nd in all the Krump dance competitions she has entered (females division). In 2019 she won the 'Never give up' award from Krump Nationals after recently moving to Blenheim from Wellington. In 2019 she led a mini crew to place 3rd at the NZ Hip Hop International South Island Regionals. as well as taking 1st place earlier this year. Kimi continues her professional and community dance practice in Marlborough and she has recently started a business venture -The River Mindset, which is dance and well-being focused. Kimi has worked with Fua Creative as Admin and Marketing as well as a creative facilitator for Matala Project 2021, BCre8ve partnership projects such as the Dance Academy, The Man in the Mirror & Ezekiel 47 Dance Video.
Sheldon Rua
Creative facilitator
Sheldon is an active member of Prestige Dance Crew, Projekt Team, South Auckland Poets Collective, and Mother Tongue Collective.He has worked in collaboration with Action Education for a number of years, Marlborough Youth Trust, Kalia (Bcre8ve), independently travelled nationally and internationally, performing/teaching Spoken Word Poetry, and Dance workshops at numerous youth centres, and schools at a primary and secondary level. This has enabled Sheldon to develop, and deliver workshops that would help raise diverse generations of artists in multiple disciplines, spreading his practise not only in Aotearoa, but across the world. Sheldon has worked with Fua Creative on the project Matala, 2021.
Leki Jackson-Bourke
Creative facilitator
Leki Jackson-Bourke is a multi-disciplinary,
multi-award-winning creative/performing
artist of Niuean, Tongan and Samoan descent.
A graduate of the former Pacific Institute of
Performing Arts Leki has worked freelance in
the arts industry for over 10 years and has
toured NZ, Australia, USA, Europe and the
Pacific through multiple Pacific Theatre
productions. Leki made a surprise appearance with Marlborough's Māfana Theatre Production, Pasifika Festival & co-directing the Pasifika Proud Digital Series with Vita.