Rotorua International Maori Entertainers: Presented By Maureen & John Waaka

Kapa haka is the collective term for Māori action songs and the groups who perform them. The word combines kapa (group) and haka (dance), and today refers to a full suite of Māori performing arts presented as a coordinated bracket of chant, song, and dance. A typical kapa haka performance blends traditional chant (mōteatea), posture dance (haka), poi (rhythmic dance with balls on cords), and waiata-ā-ringa (action songs) with rich group harmonies, synchronized movement, body percussion, and expressive facial gestures such as pūkana (dilated-eye gaze) and whētero (tongue protrusion). Performed primarily in te reo Māori, kapa haka is a vital way Māori communities express whakapapa (genealogy), identity, history, and contemporary issues through song and dance.