Extravaganza Found Nowhere Else In The Universe

MEDIACOM-RELEASE-NZ-ON-AIR

If the music was pumping, everyone on stage was school-aged, and the music wasn't found anywhere else in the universe - where would you be? Answer - either at the Smokefree Pacifica Beats competition, or, thanks to NZ On Air funding, watching it on television.

Jo Tyndall, Chief Executive NZ On Air, said that the screening of this competition would provide an opportunity for the promotion of Maori and Pacific Island culture and for young New Zealanders to see themselves on screen.

Pacifica Beats is a section of the Smokefree Rock Quest competition. The television programme Pacifica Beats 2000 will blend competition highlights of the section with behind-the-scenes interviews and vignettes.

"The Pacifica Beats section is more than a competition and celebration of talent and expression. The judging criteria stipulates that the music and performance clearly reflect the unique cultural identity of modern Aotearoa New Zealand," Ms Tyndall said.

"We will see young people using Maori and Pacific languages in rap, electronic baselines accompanying traditional instruments, and haka and hula mixed with break dancing."

NZ On Air also funded the recent televising of the National Secondary Schools Kapa Haka Competition - Ahurea Haka Time 2000.

NZ On Air has allocated $71,540 to TVNZ to produce 2 one-hour programmes of Pacifica Beats 2000.

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