The word sasa literally means 'to strike'. The dance was originally village activities that soon became one of Samoa's most interesting dances. It was performed by whole villages in order to give a perfect effect to the viewers. The more performers, the more the dance became effective, it became a form of entertainment for the Samoan Royal Family and other royal dignitaries that visited the islands.
The Sasa requires synchronization and a lot of energy. Generally the sasa is performed by a large group of people, it is normally performed sitting down, but there are parts of the dance which require the group to stand up. The movements depict everyday life, from the movement of fish in the water, to the flying birds in the sky, from cooking the umu to cleaning the house, and even a form of voyaging, where the group move into the form of a large canoe, having the arms on the outside mimic the movement of paddles in the water. The particular Sasa you are about to watch was choreographed by Jane "Tani" Okalani.
Every Sasa is different, some movements have never changed, however nowadays, more contemporary moves are now being added to the Sasa. The Samoa 'ava ceremony is always included in the Sasa where the group would mimic the Taupou making 'ava.
A Sasa will always begin with the fa'aluma yelling tulolo which tells the group to bow their heads, and nofo for the group to sit up again, in a Sasa you will hear chants like "Talofa" (greetings) in the beginning and "Tofa" (farewell) at the end.
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