Dance and music have long been cherished as a vital part of Cook Islands cultural expression. Now, a new thesis, “Cook Islands Dance Oral History – Embodied Expressive Culture of the Cook Islands: Encounters, Change and Artistic Mobility”, offers a comprehensive exploration of their creation and performance.

Forty dancers and composers were interviewed by Dr Jill Flanders Crosby from the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Alaska Anchorage. She officially deposited a copy of her thesis to the Cook Islands National Library last week.

Dr Crosby, who taught dance at the United States University of Alaska Anchorage, first came to the Cook Islands in 1988 as a tourist and became very interested in the local culture.

Each time she visited Rarotonga, she noticed many changes in our cultural dance and decided that it was important to document these changes over time.

“Most important to me was that it should not be my voice trying to tell Cook Islanders about their dance, but it should be the voices of the composers, the dancers, the choreographers telling me their stories and what they think about Cook Islands dance,” said Dr Crosby.

She added that the thesis also needed to be accessible to the Cook Islands people and to future researchers.

In January 2020, Dr Crosby had the privilege of travelling to Pukapuka with a “tere party”. There, she spoke with dancers and composers, filming their dances – now archived with permission at the Turnbull Library and Māori and Pacific Sound in Aotearoa.

She finished most of the interviews in 2020. When talking to people, Dr Crosby said she was very clear that she wanted their words to be “front and centre” as opposed to her assumptions of what Cook Islands dance is all about.

“I also realised I needed to capture the generational perspectives of dance at that time so I went back to many elders as I could including those from the CINAT (Cook Islands National Arts Theatre) years to the very current dance makers and composers.”

Interviewing elder dancers and composers in Aotearoa New Zealand, Dr Crosby sought to capture generational perspectives on the making and performing of Cook Islands dance and music, along with their reflections on its contemporary representation in the Cook Islands.

To the best of her ability, she transcribed all the interviews and checked that the Māori was correctly represented.

“I invite anyone to look at the transcriptions and correct the Māori … it can be edited and I’m happy to make any changes,” she said.

The research materials arrived in Rarotonga in May this year. Arriving on the island this month, Dr Crosby retrieved the manuscript from the Office of the Prime Minister and personally delivered it to the library.

The digital files of all the interviews, original conversations as well as the transcript are available at the Library and Museum.

Emile Kairua, acting Secretary for Tauranga Vananga (Ministry of culture), was quite excited to have a look at Dr Crosby’s comprehensive research.

“I’m always thankful to anyone that has helped in the past to collect our history, our knowledge, but more so to bring that knowledge back to give that back to our people,” Kairua said.

Odile Urirau, the Library Manager, said the focus of the Library and Museum is language and cultural history.

“We are very thankful for the work you have done,” Urirau told Dr Crosby.

Maki Karati, Tauranga Vananga’s language advisor, was also pleased to see Dr Crosby’s work and acknowledged her contribution.