The Mengloi Sisters

my mother danced during high school, all the way til she was two months preggo with my older sister kimberly. my father had to stop her, for the sake of the baby. they married straight out of high school. after taking a break for twenty two years to raise us, she is dancing once again back home in saipan. my mother is a beautiful and highly skilled polynesian dancer, and there's no doubt that her daughters got their skills from her.

my eldest sister kimberly started dancing when she was ten years old with our aunties hawaiian dance troupe throughout her elementary career. six years later, she auditioned for the most elite professional polynesian dance group directed by a respected and scary samoan man named lewa tasi. she was hired the instant she danced for him, and that's where the legacy of the mengloi sisters at the dai ichi hotel began.

with the help of kimberly dating the main musician, richard santos, lewa's nephew, my little sister britney, thirteen at the time, easily got in. britney has trained with a french polynesian dance troupe, te' kana hao nu'i dancers, since she was seven years old. she got to dance with the big girls, and made the big bucks. that beats my mother paying $200.00 a month for her to train with the tahitian group, and on a good and generous japanese filled audience night, she could easily make that $200.00

now i danced with my sister since i was five years old with our aunties hawaiian dance group, but i took a different turn for a couple of years. i always had a passion for polynesian dancing, just like my mother and my sisters did, but i also had passion for music. from when i was ten to fifteen years old, i dabbled in various instruments that include the guitar, drums, key board, and vocals. soon enough it became more of a hobby to kill time, than a passion to enjoy. it was then that i talked my sister into getting me an audition with lewa tasi. with a little practice, being rusty from taking a break, i was hired as one of the polynesian dancers at the dai ichi hotel when i was sixteen years old. on that stage is where i belong, and i long for a stage here in idaho. but, i'm in idaho, so not only is that stage practically unreal, it's also for the most part unheard of.

five years ago, the latest addition to the mengloi women gang came with the arrival of my little sister mary frances, kika for short. her god mother is the director of the tahitian dance group that trained britney, and of course she was a natural at it. she started to dance when she was barely three years old, and she's still at it as you read.

my mother, my sisters, and i, are known back home as the mengloi sisters throughout the islands entertainment demographic. i think that's pretty damn cool.

enclosed are some clips of my family at our best, hope you enjoy!