Meet the Performers of
“Tropical Nights, Community Lights”

2025 Annual Fundraising Gala & Auction
hosted by the
Community Services Center
Friday, November 14, 2025
Grand Hyatt Taipei

Tonight’s Performances

Tropical Nights Jazz
Taipei American School – Upper School Jazz Ensemble • Luke DallaGrana, Director • Momoka E. • Ryan Y. • Lawrence K. • Atticus P. • Kylie C. • Tommy W. • Jason K. • Sarah K. • Lewis W. • Tera I. • Veronica Z.
 
Ori Tahiti – Tahitian Traditional Dance
Melissa Hiro’a Gygax • 翁珮瑄 Ines Weng • Chen Li • Yi-Chun Lee • Siyi Li

Hula ‘Auana
Hālau Hula Kauluokalā Taiwan • 許培真 Verdad Kapuaʻala Hsu, Alakaʻi • 林路瓴 Kahiau Lin (ʻŌlapa / Alaka’i) • 劉壽秋 Kūlia Liou (ʻŌlapa / Alaka’i) • 李兆莉 Christine Lee (ʻŌlapa) • 周怡君 Pink Chou (ʻŌlapa) • 彭郁欣 Yu Shin Peng (ʻŌlapa) • Theodore Walter Kalaniloa Rycroft (Musician)
 
DJ Dance Set
International Community Radio Taipei
ICRT • Stevie G

Ori Tahiti – Tahitian Traditional Dance

Organized By
Melissa Hiro’a Gygax

Performed By and Donated By
翁珮瑄 Ines Weng, Ori Hō’oa Tahitian Dance Studio
Melissa Hiro’a Gygax
Chen Li 
Yi-Chun Lee
Siyi Lin

Special Thanks To
翁珮瑄 Ines Weng, Ori Hō’oa Tahitian Dance Studio
林怡欣 Sibyl Lin, Pupu Ori Vāite Ora Tahitian Dance Studio

Music and Choreography

Otea Tane
Music: Tamariki Poerani
Choreography: Makau Foster/Kohai Batani-Gournac/ Tamariki Poerani


Ahiri
Music: Esther Tefana
Choreography: Makau Foster/Kohai Batani-Gournac/Tamariki Poerani


Au Manava
Music: Papehau
Choreography: Makau Foster/Kohai Batani-Gournac/Tamariki Poerani

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I first encountered Tahitian dance in 2010 and fell in love with this passionate dance. I became a teacher in 2013 and founded my own dance group ‘Ori Hō’oa 大溪地悅舞集 in 2024. I have been promoting and sharing the beauty of Tahitian dance throughout Taiwan and at community colleges for more than 10 years. To share this beautiful dance and culture is my life mission.
 
  • 2016 Heiva I Taiwan ‘Aparima solo 1st prize
  • 2017 Tahiti Fete in Okinawa ‘Ōte’a solo 1st prize 
  • 2017 Heiva I Taiwan ‘Ōte’a solo 1st prize 
  • 2017 Heiva I Taiwan ‘Aparima solo 1st prize 
  • 2022 Mexico Aito International competition ‘Ōte’a solo 1st prize
  • 2022 Mexico Aito International competition ‘Aparima solo 1st prize 
  • 2022 Heiva I San Francisco ‘Ōte’a solo 1st prize 
  • 2023  Mexico Aito International competition ‘Ōte’a duo 1st prize 
  • 2023 Mexico Aito International competition ‘Aparima duo 1st prize 
  • 2024 Japan Tataura’a Ori Tahiti Professional Vahine 1st prize 
  • 2024 Heiva I San Francisco Group Aparima Hura Ava Tau 1st prize 
  • 2024 Heiva I San Francisco Group Ōte’a Jura Ava Tau 1st prize 
  • 2025 Tahiti fête in Okinawa Ōte’a solo 1st prize 
  • 2025 Tahiti fête in Okinawa Group Mehura 1st prize and Overall 
  • 2020 Heiva I Taiwan duo 1st prize
  • 2023 Aito international competition: O’tea solo 1st prize, Aparima solo 1st prize, O’tea group 1st prize
  • 2024 Ori Tahiti solo competition mehura 4th place
  • 2024 Aito international competition: O’tea solo 3rd place, Aparima solo 4th place, Aparima duo 3rd place
  • 2025 Tahiti fete in Okinawa: O’tea solo 1st place, Aparima group 1st place, Aparima group overall
  • 2025 Heiva Okinawa Aparima group
  • 2024 Heiva Tokyo Aparima Huraiti
  • 2023 Ruahatu Tahitian music and dance drama
  • 2020 Heiva Taiwan Exhibition group / Duo Ote’a
  • 2019 Heiva Taiwan Aparima group / Duo Ote’a
  • 2015 Heiva Taiwan Ote’a group
  • 2018 Heiva i Tahiti competition, Hura Tau category (professional): 2nd place with Hei Tahiti
  • 2018 Hura Tapairu competition, Mehura category with Ravatea
  • 2022 Hura Tapairu competition, Mehura category with Te Mana O Vaiahu
  • 2024: Heiva i Tahiti competition, Hura Tau category with Heikura Nui

  • 2023 AITO INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION (Mexico), Solo ‘Ōte’a General: 2nd place

  • 2025 Heiva I San Francisco (USA): Solo ‘Ori Tahiti Advance

  • 2025 Heiva I Tokyo (Japan) Solo Competition

Taipei American School

Tropical Nights Jazz

Organized By
Luke DallaGrana, Taipei American School

Performed By and Donated By
Taipei American School – Upper School Student Jazz Ensemble

The Taipei American School Jazz Ensemble is an auditioned group of students in grades 9-12 at Taipei American School. The band runs as a curricular class where the students study improvisation, Jazz History, and ensemble playing along with rehearsing and learning a wide variety of music in big band and small combo settings. Alumni of the TAS Big Band go on to use skills of listening, focus, collaborating, improvising, independent practice, accountability, and student leadership learned through playing and performing to fuel successful careers as students and professionals in a wide variety of areas.
 
Music

So Danco Samba – Antônio Carlos Jobim

St. Thomas – Sonny Rollins

Jo Jo Calypso – James Nadel

Jive Samba – Nat Adderley

Things Ain’t What They Used to Be – Mercer Ellington

The Jazz Ensemble is taught and directed by Luke DallaGrana who has 17 years of experience teaching music and working with students from kindergarten to university level. Luke has taught music at international schools in the Middle East, and in Asia, along with teaching at the collegiate level in the United States. 
Momoka E.
Ryan Y.
Lawrence K.
Atticus P.
Kylie C.
Tommy W.
Jason K.
Sarah K.
Lewis W. 
Tera I.
Veronica Z.

Hula ‘Auana

Organized By
許培真 Verdad Kapuaʻala Hsu, Alaka’i
Hālau Hula Kauluokalā Taiwan

Performed By and Donated By
許培真 Verdad Kapuaʻala Hsu
林路瓴 Kahiau Lin (ʻŌlapa / Alaka’i)
劉壽秋 Kūlia Liou (ʻŌlapa / Alaka’i)
李兆莉 Christine Lee (ʻŌlapa)
周怡君 Pink Chou (ʻŌlapa)
彭郁欣 Yu Shin Peng (ʻŌlapa)
Theodore Walter Kalaniloa Rycroft (Musician)

Music

“Ka Uluwehi O Ke Kai”
Written and composed by Edith Kanakaʻole, is a graceful Hawaiian mele that poetically celebrates the lush sea plants, expressing love and reverence for the ocean’s living beauty.

“Hanohano No ’O Hawai’i”
Composed by Alice Kuʻuleialohapoinaʻole Nāmakelua, is a beloved Hawaiian classic celebrating the majestic beauty of Hawaiʻi’s mountains and lands, filled with pride and affection for the islands.

“He Aloha Nō Kuʻu ʻĀina”
Composed by Kumu Uluwehi on a serene evening at his home Hōkūʻula in Makawao, Maui, this mele expresses love and gratitude for the breathtaking land of Nā Wai ʻEhā — a place rich with native beauty and cherished as home.

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許培真 老師所創立與帶領的夏威夷舞學校，為由夏威夷音樂與舞蹈大師 Kumu Hula Uluwehi Guerrero 所指導的夏威夷茂宜島傳統舞蹈學校 Hālau Hula Kauluokalā 的台灣分校。

Hula，不只是舞蹈，更是一種與土地共生、與海洋對話的方式。當舞者的雙手描繪海浪、花朵與風的形式時，訴說的正是太平洋島嶼世代傳承的生命故事，也是夏威夷人對自然、島嶼、祖先與海洋的敬意。

本次演出將為大家呈現現代 Hula ʻAuana 的舞碼，邀請您一同感受來自太平洋文化的優雅與深度，展開一段充滿 ALOHA 精神的舞蹈旅程！

Begun and represented by Verdad Kapuaʻala Hsu, this Hawaiian hula hālau (hula school) is the authorized Taiwan branch of the famous Hālau Hula Kauluokalā of Maui, Hawai’i — founded by the renowned Kumu Hula (hula master teacher) Uluwehi Guerrero. 

Hula is not just a dance: it is a language one speaks with the sea and experiences with the land. When a hula performer’s hands form the shapes of ocean waves, flower blossoms, and the island winds, they tell the story of Polynesia and its life — and the reverence and oneness Native Hawaiians have toward nature, their land, their kupuna (ancestors), and the sea.

With tonight’s performance of Hula ‘Auana (modern hula), we invite you to embrace the depth and grace of Polynesian cultures, and feel the spirit of Aloha through our dance and mele!

ʻŌlapa / Alaka’i

2025 Kagimana Hula Competition Group Kahiko 1st Place

ʻŌlapa / Alaka’i

2025 Kagimana Hula Competition Group Kahiko 1st Place

ʻŌlapa
2025 Kagimana Hula Competition Group Kahiko 1st Place

Musician

Teddy Rycroft is a singer and multi-instrumentalist who explores Hawaiian ancestry, authenticity, and creativity in his personal musical projects and through his involvement with Hālau Hula Kauluokalā Taiwan.

iCRT FM 100

Dance Floor / Evening Social Set

Organized By and Donated By
Tim Berge
International Community Radio Taipei (ICRT)

Performed By
DJ Stevie G

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A longtime member of Taipei’s international community, Stevie began hosting ICRT’s Morning Show in January 2006:

  • Favorite quote: “Being smart is easy, but wisdom comes with reflection and experience. Wisdom is not what you know, but how you use it!
  • Ideals with ICRT: I really enjoy being able to play great music for all of the music lovers around Taiwan, and I like the bright orange on our logo too!
  • Theme of my program: My show is all about making you want to turn up your stereo and move your body to the beat!
  • Special interest/expertise: I love music! I spend most of my free time looking for and mixing music. When I am not doing that, I like to cook, hang out with friends, go to clubs, write and do one or more of the thousand things that interest me. (Please don’t ask me to list ALL of them!)
  • My message to the 21st century: We can all learn to be a little more considerate to each other! Consideration to others shows respect and class.