Tania Fraser
Cultural Performer
Te Arawa, Ngati Porou
Tania Fraser is a daughter of kapa haka. Her parents were Maori cultural performers who took their little girl to work with them every night in Rotorua. “As a baby I remember sitting on the side of the stage watching them in the kapa haka show. I kept pleading when is it my turn? Let me sing too!” At the age of 14, her parents relented. “I would have been on stage earlier but my mum wanted my voice to mature first. Once on, you couldn’t get me off.”
Tania is now a regular member of Te Puia’s midday concert party that welcomes and entertains visitors every afternoon. “I’ve still got my very first pay packet! It reminds me how excited I was. Other people have jobs. We have laughter. I look out and see people smiling back every single day.”
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