Coco Talanoa — Entertainment / Page 1

Tomorrow night, the Virtuoso Strings Orchestra from Porirua will join forces with Grammy award winning bass-baritone Jonathan Lemalu in a first time collaboration in Wellington.

This one night only concert ‘Some Enchanted Evening’, will feature Lemalu performing some of the most well-loved bass arias by Bach and Mozart, as well as classics by Copland, Gershwin and others, old favourites like Jerome Kern’s ‘Ol’ man river’, and of course Rodger & Hammerstein’s  ‘Some Enchanted Evening’.

The Virtuoso Strings Orchestra was formed in 2013 by Elizabeth Sneyd and Craig Utting who were in awe of the natural talent in the community especially among the Maori and Pasifika students. Today the popular youth orchestra is based in Cannons Creek, Porirua, and is run by the non-for-profit Virtuoso Strings Charitable Trust.…more

We're here for all things Jason Momoa and Roadshow Films have just released the final trailer for 'AQUAMAN' which also stars another Poly in Hollywood - Temuera Morrison.

From Warner Bros. Pictures and director James Wan comes an action-packed adventure that spans the vast, visually breathtaking underwater world of the seven seas, “Aquaman,” starring Jason Momoa in the title role. The film reveals the origin story of half-human, half-Atlantean Arthur Curry and takes him on the journey of his lifetime—one that will not only force him to face who he really is, but to discover if he is worthy of who he was born to be…a king.

AQUAMAN will be released to NZ cinemas on the 26th December.

The much anticipated first season of Project Runway NZ hits our TV screens tonight at 7.30pm and there are 3 Tongan designers representing & competing for the opportunity of a lifetime - one designer will come out on top and walk away with their very own Holden Astra, a cash prize of $50,000, and receive a photoshoot and six page spread in Fashion Quarterly Magazine.

Before the show kicks off, get to know our Tongan designers here:

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ImagineNATIVE Film & Media Arts Festival in Toronto, Canada is the biggest indigenous film festival in the world, and this year Pasifika films represent hard!  

There will be at least 9 Pasifika made stories from Aotearoa at the festival and it is the international premiere of the CoconetTV documentary ‘Marks of Mana’ - which is the only feature film from Aotearoa on the big screen Programme at the festival.  ‘Marks of Mana’ looks at female Tatau in the Pacific and how these ancient marks are being worn again by women today. Coming soon to the Coconet TV!

Check them out below and look out for when they'll be showing at a Film Festival near you!

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MARKS OF MANA 

Lisa Taouma is a Samoan film and television producer and director currently living in Aotearoa. She has worked extensively in the Pacific for over 25 years and is passionate about telling the many diverse stories of this region.…more

Rihanna closed out New York Fashion Week earlier today with a stunning presentation of her SavageXFenty lingerie collection choreographed and directed by our very own Parris Goebel and also featured some of NZ's own ReQuest Dance crew on the catwalk.

She showcased an inclusive line with flexible lingerie for everyone, concluding with the models holding hands showing solidarity.  Check out the show above which was live streamed on Rihanna's YouTube channel from NYC and some of the feedback from people at the show below ...

Musician and actor KJ Apa shares about his childhood, his love for Samoa and staying connected with family.

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson appeared on the Stephen Colbert show to promote his latest movie 'Skyscraper' (out now btw).

The Rock talks about his ethnicity - being half Black & Half Samoan, his Samoan heritage, Samoan culture, drinks some tequila, gives the audience a peek at his Pasifika tattoo and even sings a bit of a popular Samoan song 'Tali Mai' by Pati.

Check it out in the video above.

Last night Janet Jackson was honoured with an 'Icon' award becoming the first black female artist to receive the award.  She performed a medley of her hits and dancing right alongside her on stage was Samoan professional dancer Isaac Tualaulelei.

At the 0:49 mark he comes into view on the far right side of the stage (black & white checkered shirt) dancing to Janets 'Nasty Girls' 

He tweeted after the performance: 

Check out more of Isaac's dance & choreography work on his Youtube channel here

Isaac is a proud Samoan Professional Dancer, Instructor and aspiring Choreographer originally from Seattle, WA and currently residing in Los Angeles.  He's been a part of great jobs such as: America's Best Dance Crew, GLEE, Bring It On, Toyota, Xbox, Jamie Foxx, J Lo & more!