'Moana' choreographer Tiana Liufau on how she's preserving her culture through dance
When it comes to the choreography in "Moana," every move is intentional, as a single move can mean connection, a celebration, or a journey, according to Tiana Nonosina Liufau, the choreographer behind the "Moana" films, including the new live-action "Moana," in theaters July 10.
"It's art, and beyond art, it's culture," Liufau told ABC News of her choreography. "These are the ways that we as dancers mimic what's around us. If we remember what's around us, we remember where we come from, we remember who we are, we remember the way we came to be."
Unlike choreography based on one established dance style, the movement in "Moana" was created to reflect a pivotal period in Polynesian history.
Liufau, who is also an associate producer on the live-action film, said she grounded the choreography in the traditions of Samoa and Tonga -- the earliest foundations of Polynesian dance, while incorporating subtle movement that foreshadows the styles that would later emerge in places like Tahiti and Hawaii.
"The movement of 'Moana' is something that is familiar but didn't quite exist," she said. "For me, it was exciting because we have to honor the timeline of migration."
She added, "The fun part is creating the movement that foreshadows what will then become Tahitian, what will become the other parts of Polynesia. So, it wasn't one specific rooted movement. I had a foundation, and then I had the honor of imagining how these movements became what we know it to be today."
How 'Moana' reflects Liufau's family story
For Liufau, who is of Hawaiian and Samoan descent, the themes at the heart of "Moana" -- migration, carrying culture across oceans, and honoring ancestors -- were deeply personal. She said the film reminds her of the story of her late grandmother, Estella Nonosina Reid.
"It leads back to a girl who left her island," Liufau said. "A girl who left her island, and then her journey led her to different shores."
Liufau added, "She voyaged, she was a warrior, and then along with her, she brought the songs and dances of our people."
Like the film's heroine, who ventures beyond her island to forge her own path, Liufau said her grandmother's journey took her far from home. Through music and dance, Reid carried Polynesian traditions with her, eventually founding Nonosina Polynesia in 1965 -- a dance studio in Anaheim, California, where generations of students have learned the dances and stories of the Pacific.
"I think it's a typical story for a lot of us," Liufau said. "We're removed from our root, meaning where our ancestors come from. Through her love of music and dance that is tied with culture, she was able to create her own path or her own journey."
How Liufau's journey led her to Disney
Raised in her grandmother's dance company, Liufau pursued dance professionally before joining Disney in 2015, where she first choreographed a D23 performance of "We Know The Way" from the first "Moana" animated film.
"I could never see myself doing anything else," said Liufau, who attended the University of California, Los Angeles, and earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in cultural studies and dance. Her work has also been featured on "So You Think You Can Dance" and she's led workshops and performed on stages around the world.
Choreographing the dance number at D23 then turned into an introduction with Disney's Oceanic Cultural Trust, a group that helped ensure the "Moana" films authentically represented the cultures and histories of Oceania.
Filmmakers said in a 2024 interview that Liufau would help on the "Moana" films by sending video clips of hand poses or finger positions that were "true to the region and the culture."
"I just felt honored. I wanted to represent," said Liufau, who recalled never seeing her culture represented in Disney films growing up. "I never thought in a million years Disney would have anything Polynesian based, anything. Because I grew up seeing the other films. It's always them, them, them -- but I never felt like it was us."
On the live-action "Moana," which is directed by Thomas Kail, Liufau worked with associate choreographer Kayla Fa'amaligi to train star Catherine Laga'aia and choreograph more than 200 background performers.
Drawing from her own cultural background, Liufau said she aimed to create movement in the live action film's choreography that felt both authentic to the Pacific and unique to this new adaptation.
How Liufau honored her grandmother in 'Moana'
One of the moments in the first "Moana" film that Liufau said resonated most deeply with her was the song "Where You Are," in particular the scene between Moana and her Gramma Tala. Liufau said the sequence reminded her of the close bond she shared with her own grandmother, making the experience feel especially full-circle.
While choreographing the scene, Liufau said she made sure her grandmother was in the studio with her, a decision she said made the work even more meaningful.
She recalled how one of Gramma Tala's signature movements appears to be reaching "towards the sky and towards the Earth." But for Liufau, the gesture carried a more personal meaning: When she created the choreography, she said, she was actually looking to her left -- to her own grandmother in the studio.
Liufau's grandmother died in 2020, but her legacy lives on through the Nonosina dance studio, which is run by Liufau and her family.
"It's so important to preserve culture through movement, because it's the way we exist," Liufau said. "It's the way that we have existed and we will always exist. It's the way that we tell stories on the body."
The new live-action "Moana" sails into theaters on July 10.
The Walt Disney Co. is the parent company of ABC News.
