"As a wheelchair user, I never saw people like me performing at Polyfest. So we created our own space — and we keep showing up."
– Naomi Vailima

In the world of Pacific dance, where rhythm and story meet tradition and innovation, Naomi Vailima is a force of change, courage, and visibility.

A proud Samoan creative and passionate advocate, Naomi is the director of Nesian, a performing arts collective led by Pacific artists living with disability. Her work with Nesian and PHAB Pasifika is reshaping the narrative of who gets to be seen on stage — and more importantly, how their stories are told.

This year, Naomi returns to the Pacific Dance Festival with her biggest spotlight yet: opening the festival with PHAB Pasifika’s full-length show, Stories About Us... — a vibrant, truth-filled, joy-forward production that celebrates identity, movement, and the beauty of difference.

A Movement That Centres Belonging

For Naomi, performance has never just been about technique — it’s about truth. It’s about taking up space, on your own terms, in a world that too often overlooks or underestimates Pacific people living with disability.

PHAB Pasifika’s Stories About Us... is just that: a collective expression of lived experience, performed by a group of bold, talented artists who move with grace, power, and purpose.

Filled with rhythm, poetry, laughter, and raw emotion, the show is both a celebration and a challenge. It asks audiences to see beyond what they think they know about dance — and to understand that movement lives in every body.

Why This Show Matters

When Naomi speaks about representation, she speaks from the heart:

“There’s not enough of us in these spaces. But when people see us on stage — they see what’s possible.”

Stories About Us... opens the 2025 Pacific Dance Festival not just because it’s powerful — but because it reminds us what the stage is for: amplifying voices, claiming space, and celebrating identity in all its forms.

This is the future of Pacific performance — inclusive, courageous, and overflowing with mana.

🎭 Don’t Miss It

📍 Opening Night – Saturday 7th June, 5:00PM
📍 Māngere Arts Centre | Ngā Tohu o Uenuku
🎟 Tickets available now

Join us, as Naomi and PHAB Pasifika open the festival with movement that speaks from the soul.