MANA: Spirit of the Pacific, a new Polynesian dinner and dance show is heading to Auckland next month.
Auckland is known as the largest Polynesian city in the world but tourists in search of authentic cultural experiences and traditional cuisine currently have to go to Rotorua to enjoy regular Māori culture, hangi and haka shows.
Glorious Inc. founder Ama Mosese explains, “my sister and I are experienced tour guides and have been taking international guests to Rotorua for years. We love what our whānau (family) in the Bay of Plenty do but we are proud Māngere girls. Millions of overseas visitors fly right into our neighbourhood every year. We believe our vibrant community offers cultural gold right here in South Auckland.”
Ama and her sister Louisa Tipene Opetaia founded Glorious Inc. in 2024. The family owned company is named after their late mother Gloria, who was the ultimate hostess, cook and kapa haka performer. “Mum taught us the importance of manaakitanga and we pride ourselves on our hospitality,” said Ama.
Glorious Inc. run day tours offering Auckland Urban Māori Experiences but found that guests were asking for dinner shows like they have experienced in other Pacific locations. “We realised we had to create this event ourselves,” said Ama. “We are working with a local caterer because the feast has to be tasty and authentic. The performers are students from high schools in our area and we have a local fire knife dancer who at 14, just placed 3rd in the adult female division of the World Fireknife Dancing competition in Hawai’i. Our floor show represents the cultures of Aotearoa NZ, the Cook Islands and Sāmoa and incorporates stories that we share on our tour buses but in a more visual and musical way – utilising technology such as projections to bring the ancestral tales to life.”
MANA: Spirit of the Pacific will showcase at the Naumi Airport Hotel in Māngere and the dinner shows will run on Wednesdays at 6pm on August 6, 13, 20 and 27. If the formula proves successful, the Glorious sisters hope the shows are running regularly during the busy summer tourist season and long into the future.
“This isn’t an either / or situation,” says Ama. “We want people to experience the best Māori entertainment in the world in Rotorua and when they are in Auckland, they can now enjoy regular local Māori and Pacific island performances and delicacies befitting our title as the world’s largest Polynesian city. We believe our people and stories are worthy of being celebrated by visitors and locals.”
Tickets for MANA: Spirit of the Pacific are now available for purchase on the Glorious website at www.gloriousnz.com
