A spirited and near flawless haka powhiri is performed by school pupils at the opening of the Hui-a-iwi Ngai Tahu cultural festival yesterday.
About 40 pupils from Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Otepoti, King's, Queen's, Otago Boys', Otago Girls', Bayfield, St Hilda's, Portobello and Wananga o Aotearoa performed for a 700-strong audience at the Dunedin Town Hall.
What made it extra special was that most pupils learned the six-minute routine remotely, King's High School teacher and organiser Komene Cassidy said.
The pupils practised as a group three times before perfecting it via video.
''It's pretty common now. Most kids have access to Facebook, Google Drive and YouTube,'' Mr Cassidy said.
''They enjoyed their part in the ceremony. If you watched them perform ... they really gave it everything.
''One of the speakers said `what a fantastic way to be welcomed'.''
He said some of the performers were not school-aged but were keen to take part.
''When they leave school and there's not another group to go to, they miss performing a lot, so they find any way to come back.''
