DANCING THROUGH PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Whoever told me that my love for kapa haka would not put food on the table was crazy. Kapa haka is the reason I understand most of my work tasks – dancing through my workload one day at a time.

Kapa haka is translated by the Aka Online Māori Dictionary as a concert party or Māori performing group – commonly a Māori dance group. These groups use te reo Māori (the Māori language) to elegantly tell stories through song and synchronised movement.

Regardless of the performance level, there is a general formula groups will adopt to prepare themselves for a performance.

In my experience, the components of this formula are:

• Ohu hui: a core group meeting to develop / select songs that can be learned in time for and meets the need of the performance. 
• Teaching: the core group will present the song to the main group.
• Wānanga: the main group spends time learning the song to prepare it for presentation – understanding, refining, strengthening their song. 
• Performance: delivering the song, often to an audience. 

If we take kapa haka out of the equation, we start seeing a crossover with the features we use to manage our projects: 

• Scoping: a meeting to understand the need of the client and the timeframe . 
• Project Plan: presenting what can be achieved to the project host. 
• Data Gathering: learning about the project – understanding, refining, strengthening. 
• Presentation: delivering the findings. 

Whether the project is about engaging with communities, writing proposals or establishing strategies – I’ve learned that my kapa haka formula is one way to understand the core components of any project. Wherever I am performing, the stages to get there are the same: plan, present, learn and deliver. And with that I say hi! (pronounced ‘he’, signalling the end of the Māori dance).