Documentary | 09 March 2020

Andreas Dettloff

Unanimously considered the greatest choreographer Polynesia has known, Coco Hotahota is a dance master. He is one of the rare group leaders, if not the only one, to actually take care of the entire production chain of a show, whether it is writing the theme, writing the songs, composing. , costume creation, choreography. In 1962 he created his troupe, Te Maeva, which in 55 years of existence will have been the most successful troupe in the history of Heiva i Tahiti, and also the largest troupe in terms of number, more than 150 dancers in peak, in the 80s. Today we have the impression that Coco, who has long represented modernity, has become a bit of a reference for tradition. It's the whole contradiction of the character that we also admire for that. This film traces the long history of Te Maeva.