
Tau Dance Theater
ABOUT
Tau Dance Theater (TDT) is the only professional dance company founded by a native Hawaiian based in Honolulu. Established in 1996 by Artistic Director Peter Rockford Espiritu, TDT has produced numerous original and epic works of critical acclaim with several reviews in Dance Magazine and global presence in newsprint, magazine, academic publications and social media platforms. NAUPAKA: A Hawaiian Opera was mentioned in the New York Times and is listed in the Encyclopedia of Hawaiian Music & Musicians II. Poli’ahu: Goddess of Maunakea toured statewide and was featured at the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC. Hanau Ka Moku: An Island is Born toured statewide and with its final bow at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts at the University of California, Davis. In 2020, TDT was the only dance company to produce a live streamed performance (INDIGENUITY) from a major venued theatre (Hawaiʻi Theater) in the state of Hawaiʻi. In September 2021, TDT toured to South Dakota as ʻFeatured Guest Artsistʻ at the Crazy Horse Memorial, a national monument that draws over a million visitors annually. In 2002, the youth program TAU Y2 was launched. Answering the need for a platform for young dancers to be trained in our original Pōhuli technique fusing Hula, Ballet and Modern Dance. Grooming aspiring dancers to one day become company members, TAU Y2 is an incubator for these young Hawaiian dancers to aspire to one day perform the works of TDT as a company member. The program has produced its own productions on Oʻahu, Maui, Hawaiʻi and Kauaʻi performing at major venues and sharing the stage with local luminaries such as Raiatea Helm, Melveen Leed, Jay Larrin, Kūpaoa and Pōmaikaʻi Lyman. TAU Y2 has continued to offer scholarships for native Hawaiian, at-risk, underserved and families in need.
GALLERY
ON TOUR-INDIGENUITY
An artistic celebration of gifts from our ancestors, native pride, cultural and spiritual awakening to transform the arts through the respectful evolution of indigenous dance, music and theater. Oceania is rich with mana and INDIGENUITY is created with a vision to unite us as one artistic tribe, celebrating our cultures. What we create and share today, makes for a better tomorrow. Featured guest artists include: Native Hawaiian music sensation Pōmaikaʻi Keawe; 2019 Artist of the Year - Native American Music Awards, Shelley Morningsong; 2018 Gathering of Nations - 1st Place Men’s Traditional, Fabian Fontenelle; Tlingit rap and YouTube sensation, Arias Hoyle. The segment featured in the video is "Rain."