DANZ QUARTERLY Issue 18
January, February, March 2010
Kā: Body + Mind = Action
Interview by Julian Haldane
Kā is the Mika Haka Foundation’s health and wellbeing programme. Anchored in Haka and Hip Hop, the programme offers free workshops that encourage active fun, without the negative influences of alcohol, smoking, drugs and violence.
Kā targets students of all sizes and abilities in schools that have high numbers of Māori, Asian and Pacific students. In 2009, twenty-six schools and groups participated in the programme. It is a healthy example of dance practitioners broadening their focus and working with new partners.
Mika (Kaitiaki, Mika Haka Foundation) and Jay Tewake (Kā Team Leader) discuss how Kā developed and what benefits dance provides for young people and New Zealand schools.
DANZ: Where did the idea for the Kā project come from?
Mika: I began working on the concept for Kā in 2002, when I realised that just teaching young people to dance wasn’t enough for their holistic health. In Kā, we dance – lots of dance – but we also encourage them to think about their careers and their complete health choices. We do that by using dance as a tool to get kids to express. It’s very important that they use their minds with their bodies to create some kind of external action and internal action.
DANZ: What needs does Kā address?
Mika: There are three main needs. Number one is the sadly prevalent state of teenage inactivity.
Second is allowing young people’s minds to be creative. In Kā, we let them express themselves. It’s not about perfect movement. It’s not about the Haka, or the Sasa, or the Céilidh, being correct. It’s about them moving.
And number three is the ability to interact on a social platform. In the new year we’re working with the Auckland Museum to develop an idea for kids to make short films to communicate their ideas on movement, health and dance with whānau and to a wider community. So we’re increasing their possibilities through digital platforms.
DANZ: Describe the Kā process.
Jay: We go to schools and do a one hour class. Most of the students aren’t that active when we start. But by the end, they usually get hold of it and want to participate more. We start off with a warm-up to get their bodies active, and then the creative stuff. Most of the kids aren’t really experienced with the styles of dance we’re teaching, but they pick a lot up along the way.
Mika: Part of Kā is experiencing things that might be a bit difficult. If they’re doing a Yoga stretch, it might be difficult. The Hip Hop element will generally get them involved, but we need to encourage kids to think. It’s not always best to spoon-feed young people what they automatically want, just because it’s hip. You’ve got to do it in a way that they find hip.
DANZ: Was it difficult getting support from the schools?
Mika: Getting support is probably the hardest thing – I totally understand why. Teachers are overworked and underpaid. So when a new programme comes along, the first response is often – I’d love to, but do I have the time to do this?
We’ve made the process really easy. We bring everything – music, tutors, First Aid kit, manuals. The teacher just has to sit there, with their own NZQA standards, and mark accordingly. I’m not saying it gives the teachers time off, but it does allow the teachers to actually engage in the teaching process.
DANZ: What are some of the more marginalised groups that you work with?
Mika: A lot more Māori and Pacific boys have been staying at school longer because they’re coming to something that they want to come to. We’re also reaching a lot of gay, lesbian and transgender youth, who are left out of the picture.
DANZ: Why is the Mika Haka Foundation successful at reaching these traditionally difficult to reach kids?
Mika: I’m interested in the beauty of the individual. It’s not about looking beautiful – it’s about feeling beautiful. The kids who are in violent homes, who are getting a bit bigger and don’t feel good about themselves – these are the kids we’ve got to encourage.
The Foundation is about allowing everyone access, no matter what their level of ability. Our whakataukī is: Kotahitanga me te rerekētanga (Unity through difference).
DANZ: What has the response from the kids been like?
Jay: More! The kids want more because they just don’t get to experience this sort of activity during school hours.
DANZ: What about the response from teachers?
Mika: They have found it quite refreshing. The Kā crew are living examples of healthy, fresh, young Māori delivering for all New Zealanders. They’re seeing vibrant, young people coming in to motivate that demographic.
DANZ: How does the programme fit into the school programme?
Mika: Kā works on a number of levels with NZQA. It works in with PE studies, dance studies and some theatre studies as well. It works within the arts spectrum, but it’s also physical activity. A warm-up – whether for basketball or dance – has the same measurables. Dance is based on mathematics. It freaks a lot of kids out when you tell them this, but there is mathematics in movement and there is science in the balance of weight. There are a lot of benefits in dance for subjects that are not all about the arts.
DANZ: What are the main benefits?
Mika: Healthier living is the obvious one. The more important one is feeling better about your self. Looking at what you’re eating and knowing what you’re eating, so you have an understanding. Understanding that everything in the media is not necessarily correct - building self-esteem and confidence.
DANZ: How do the schools monitor the programme?
Mika: The schools give feedback. We’re in twenty schools now, in decile 5 and under, and that’s what we can manage. Plus, the outreach programmes and holiday programmes.
We’ve got to keep the quality at all times, and that’s always my concern. It’s important that we visit for the whole term for an outcome.
DANZ: How does the programme monitor its own performance?
Mika: We’ve been conducting research with the Ministry of Health, based on the UNESCO health report on obesity in teenagers. Every student is doing a survey for the next two years. They’re being assessed by an external assessor from the Ministry who will come back with the outcomes of our work.
DANZ: Who are the supporters that allow the Kā project to happen?
Mika: The Ministry of Health is the major supporter – and the great thing about working with the Ministry is they want us to work with other partners. The JR McKenzie Trust has been instrumental in enabling us to keep instructors on the floor. The biggest cost, as everyone knows, is people. He tangata, he tangata, he tangata! South Pacific Water has given free water to all the kids. Auckland City has been very supportive as well.
DANZ: What about this project has moved you?
Jay: Seeing the kids grow – and having the kids look up to you as a role model in the community. There was one student who would weigh herself after every class. She would come back and give me an up-to-date analysis. At the end of the seven week programme, she had lost 5 kilos.
Mika: I prefer it if we don’t talk about weight loss, but health gain. If a young person is motivating themself through Kā once a week, they’re probably going to carry that on. Once they become aware, they don’t want to go back. Just think about the long-term savings for this.
DANZ: Will the programme continue?
Mika: Kā will always rely on funding, but I’ve been doing this for a long time now, and I believe that funding comes if you have a belief in what you are doing. We’re in it for the long haul.
For more information on Kā contact: www.mikahakafoundation.com
|
