About

Naenoa Lopaka Temu Ngarima George, 22 years old, is of Cook Island/ Hawaiian descent. He is the oldest of three boys, born and raised in Kailua-Kona, on the Big Island of Hawai’i. Currently he resides in Las Vegas, where he helps instruct, compose, choreograph & drum alongside his father in their dance family of Tevakanui. His parents inspired him to perform and it’s evident that dance & drumming seems to be in his blood as he is the fourth generation of cultural artists.

Naenoa’s great-grandfather, George Karaponga, is the creator of the Moko Ra Duck dance originating from the island of Manihiki. His grandfather, Ngarima George, followed in the footsteps creating the group Te Ivi Maori, popular in Rarotonga in the 80s and then there’s Henry George, his father, who too was inspired to further the work of his fathers before him. Naenoa has recently transitioned more into his passion of drumming and hopes to take his dance family to Rarotonga because “that’s where my heart is.”