Louise Kimitete
Louise Kimitete (24 June 1939 - 25 March 2020) was a French Polynesian choreographer, dancer and teacher of Tahitian dance.
Biography[edit]
Louise Kimitete was born in Hatihe'u, on the island of Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia in 1939.[1] She began dancing at the age of sixteen, with the group 'Arioi, led by Mémé de Montluc, then with Heiva, led by Madeleine Moua.[1]
After a stay of about ten years in Hawaii where she participated in film shoots, in 1981 she joined the Artistic Conservatory of French Polynesia (CAPF) created two years earlier in Papeete.[1][2] She taught Ori Tahiti there for nearly forty years, becoming one of the emblematic figures.[3]
She counts among her students people who have become big names in Ori Tahiti, including Vanina Ehu, who became head of the traditional CAPF department,[4] Moon, her granddaughter, Hinavai Raveino, Tuarii Tracqui, Teraurii Piritua, Mateata Legayic, Moena Maiotui, and Kehaulani Chanquy.[5]
She retired in 2012.[6] She died on March 25, 2020, at the age of 80.[7]
Tributes and posterity[edit]
In 2012 she was made a knight of the Ordre national du Mérite. The insignia was awarded by Manouche Lehartel.[7]
On her death, the Minister of Culture Heremoana Maamaatuaiahutapu and the director of the artistic conservatory Fabien Dinard paid tribute to her.[6] For the Minister, Kimitete “summarizes, through her incredible journey, the renaissance movement of traditional Tahitian dance”.[1]
In July 2022 La Poste issued a stamp with her image.[8]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d "Disparition de Louise Kimitete : hommage à une grande dame de la culture". Présidence de la Polynésie française. 25 March 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
- ^ "Mystérieuse mamie Louise" (in French). Polynésie la 1ère. 26 March 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
- ^ "" Mamie " Louise Kimitete, " une grande dame de la culture " s'en est allée" (in French). Radio1. 25 March 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
- ^ "60 ans au service du 'ori Tahiti : Louise Kimitete, une légende vivante" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 15 April 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
- ^ "Louise Kimitete, grande dame du ori tahiti s'en est allée" (in French). Radio Te Reo o Tefana. 25 March 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
- ^ a b "DISPARITION DE LOUISE KIMITETE : LES HOMMAGES DU MINISTRE DE LA CULTURE ET DU DIRECTEUR DU CONSERVATOIRE" (in French). Conservatoire artistique de Polynésie française. 25 March 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
- ^ a b "Mamie Louise est décédée" (in French). Polynésie la 1ère. 25 March 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
- ^ "Timbre Polynésie Française - Louise Kimitete" (in French). La Poste. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
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