THE FAREWELL - Tōfā si ou Tinā

In 2018, Raymond Sagapolutele travelled to Frankfurt, Germany to take part in the exhibition 'Grey is the new Pink', a work that featured his mother Ruta and sister Ufitia.

In 2019, Raymond returned to Frankfurt, this time together with Ufitia and her dance sisters Natalia and Lycia.

"I had discussed the possibility of including a choreographed contemporary Siva Samoa with the team at Weltkulturen, explaining that it would be a chance for our family to pay respect to our mother and to also provide an opportunity for a group of Samoans to be present and reconnect with the archive as I had done the previous year. From a narrative point of view, it was also a chance to complete the circle for our mother and sister who, seven years prior, had danced as representatives of two distinct styles.

Ufitia had evolved in her practice as a dancer and would be able to honour what our mother had taught her and show her fa’aaloalo (deference and respect) to dance one more time on behalf of aiga as we say goodbye" - Raymond Sagapolutele 

Check out the full project here