Te Whare Tapere o Ngāti Toa

Te Whare Tapere o Ngāti Toa – the House of Performing Arts of Ngāti Toa – is the kaupapa that guides the kapa haka services provided to the community where Ngāti Toa resides. including the confederation of Āti Awa, Raukawa, Toa ki Wairau and Whakatū. 

Ko Ihaia Ropata ahau, but most people in my iwi and community know me as Cuzzy E and I am the founder of Te Whare Tapere o Toa Rangatira. For the past 15 years I’ve voluntarily composed, tutored and created waiata, haka and mōteatea within the world of kapa haka for my iwi and the wider Porirua community. The purpose has always been clear: to raise a positive profile of Porirua, invest cultural currency into our rangatahi, and help bridge te reo Māori and tikanga to both Māori and non-Māori across our city.

Currently, Te Whare Tapere o Toa Rangatira tutors four schools, one kaumātua group and two senior adult groups, all on a voluntary basis. What keeps this work moving is the aspiration to see our people stand confidently and proudly on the kapa haka stage, performing at their very best.

Alongside tutoring, Te Whare Tapere o Toa Rangatira facilitates workshops and collaborates with community networks to provide wrap-around cultural support. The aim is not only to prepare people for the stage, but to ensure they carry their culture with confidence, integrity and pride in their everyday lives.

The work of Te Whare Tapere o Ngāti Toa is not carried alone. It stands on the strength and support of many across our iwi and community.

Ngāti Toa iwi and our kaumātua provide the cultural grounding and guidance that ensures this kaupapa remains anchored in our tikanga, history and the aspirations of our people. The support and encouragement from Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira also strengthens this work, helping ensure that the cultural contributions being made continue to uplift our people and reflect the identity of Ngāti Toa.

Strong relationships with our local kura and colleges allows kapa haka to thrive among our rangatahi, creating spaces where culture, language and performance are nurtured every day.

Together, this collective support enables Te Whare Tapere o Ngāti Toa to continue uplifting our people, strengthening identity, and creating pathways for our rangatahi and community to stand confidently in their culture.

Support the delivery of kapa haka workshops and strengthen the infrastructure needed to sustain kapa haka across the Porirua community through Te Whare Tapere o Ngāti Toa.

The funding would not be used for personal payment. Instead, it would be distributed back into the schools, groups and communities that are currently supported through this kaupapa.

The funding would enable the delivery of a series of kapa haka workshops for rangatahi, adults and kaumātua across the kura and community groups currently engaged in the programme. These workshops would focus on strengthening waiata, haka, mōteatea, poi, movement, stage presence and cultural understanding so participants are confident both on stage and in their everyday expression of culture.

A portion of the funding would also go towards building an inventory of kapa haka resources that can be shared across the groups being supported. This includes developing and maintaining a pool of kākahu, poi, and stage-ready attire, ensuring performers have access to the appropriate cultural and performance resources when representing their kura, marae and community.

Te Whare Tapere o Ngāti Toa will deliver targeted kapa haka workshops and cultural support to strengthen the performance readiness of several kura and community groups across Porirua as they prepare for major kapa haka milestones later this year.

This project will support Aotea College, the first mainstream college in Porirua to qualify for the National Secondary Schools Kapa Haka competition, helping ensure the team is well prepared to represent their kura and city on the national stage.

Workshops will also assist Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Toa Rangatira as they prepare to debut at their first senior regional kapa haka competition, while strengthening the preparation of Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Rito for their regional competition.

Alongside this, support will help both Ngāti Toa School and Te Kura o Toa prepare for Te Kiwa Nui Festival.

Through focused tutoring, composition, performance preparation and shared kapa haka resources, this project ensures each group is equipped to perform with confidence and represent their kura, community and culture with pride.

This kaupapa is about more than preparing groups for the stage. It is about strengthening the cultural heartbeat of Porirua and growing the presence of te reo Māori across our community.

Through Te Whare Tapere o Ngāti Toa, kapa haka becomes a pathway. Tamariki learning at Ngāti Toa School and Te Kura o Toa can see a clear future for their skills as they move into Aotea College or any college in Porirua and beyond that into senior community performance with senior kapa like Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Toa Rangatira. This continuity tells our young people that their culture is not something they grow out of — it is something they grow deeper into, with the support of their community always behind them.

Every rehearsal, waiata and haka strengthens language use, confidence and identity. In this way, kapa haka becomes a living vehicle for advancing the aspiration of Ngāti Toa Rangatira: that by 2040, half of our 10,000 registered iwi members will be somewhat proficient in te reo Māori. (40% of students partaking in the workshops delivered by Te Whare Tapere o Ngāti Toa are iwi members, 80% of the senioe kapa haka team are iwi members)

This project also looks to the future. Alongside workshops and performance preparation, the development of digital learning resources will ensure the waiata and compositions created through this kaupapa are preserved, shared and carried forward by future generations.

The impact is simple but powerful: rangatahi who are confident in who they are, a community where te reo Māori is heard and valued, and a cultural pathway where our people can begin as tamariki and continue standing proudly in their identity for life.