About

Photo Credit: JP Fernandez Photography

Let us bring the islands to you

Company Overview
Lei Pasifika is a performance group focused on sharing the music and dances of the Pacific Islands from Tahiti to Hawaii. Since 2008, our mission is to share and cultivate these exotic cultures through dance classes, costume workshops, and heartfelt performances embodying the spirits of the isles, taking you through a magical voyage in time, places, and legends leaving you with a Polynesian wanderlust.
We believe dance is an expression of creativity but also a shared experience among people.
Welcome aboard, and let Lei Pasifika take you to the islands.

The Crew

Tamara Bejar Hernandez
Raised in Orlando, FL, Tamara Bejar Hernandez is a descendant in a long family history composed of dancers and entertainers. With over 30+ years of experience, she has been dancing & performing since the age of 6. To date, Tamara performs for audiences all along the east coast region and continues to study dance ; attaining valuable & extensive training.

Working as a Tahitian Dance Instructor at Lotus Music and Dance Studios NYC during 2007 to 2011, she choreographed and staged dance routines for the student recitals.

Tamara founded Lei Pasifika in 2007 in New York City while teaching at Lotus Music and Dance. Lei Pasifika was created to offer a strong performance group of dedicated dancers, as well as to instill the basics of Tahitian Ori and Hawaiian Hula Dance. In 2012, Tamara expanded Lei Pasifika along the East Coast and founded Lei Pasifika Ohana in Miami and Lei Pasifika Pearls Orlando, Florida.

Makalina Gallagher
Born and raised in and around the Pacific Islands, Makalina has lived in the Marianas, Caroline, and Hawaiian islands most of her life. A graduate of Fordham University with a B.A. in Theatre and Drama, she has studied ballet, jazz, modern and tap in New York City. She has performed with the Tiny Bubble Band and her Hawaiian Express Dancers on Channel 13 WNET PBS, NYC Telethon, FOX5 Good Day New York, and at the Manhattan Center for Bette Midler's 4th Annual Hulaween Ball. She has also performed at a benefit for the New York Restoration Project, the Food Network with Donna Hanover (featuring Roy Yamaguchi of Roy's Restaurant), and The Food Network with Gordon Elliot's Doorknock Diners. She has appeared on Good Day New York Fox5 with Mike Woods and with Don Ho, as well as on WB11's Morning Show. Her dancers and the Tiny Bubble Band were featured on MTV's Beach House to promote the movie "American Wedding," and were also seen in Times Square promoting FOX 5's new show "North Shore," as well as at the Flea Theatre benefit. She is the organizer of the NYC Ukulele MeetUp group and teaches Hula at Lotus Music & Dance. She has participated in celebrating Asia Pacific Heritage Month by performing with her students and dancers at the CAPA (Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans ) Festival., And for 3 years in a row at former Mayor Bloomberg's Asian Pacific Heritage events, and at various Asian Heritage events in Manhattan and Brooklyn. She has been involved with Lei Pasifika since its inception.

Carol Leogite
Carol, grew up on Raiatea, one of the most beautiful and sacred island of French Polynesia better known as “the islands of Tahiti”. At an early age, she discovered a passion for dancing, ironically started with ballet and tap, then hip hop and jazz, but ultimately she could not stray away from her Polynesian roots, therefore Ori Tahiti became her main focus.
After hopping from Tahiti to Hawaii, then finally settling in the Big Apple, she longed for a piece of the islands she once left and this led her to cross paths with her teachers Makalina Abalos-Gallagher and Tamara Hernandez-Bejar, with whom she now partners with to form and grow Lei Pasifika. Together for the past 10 years, they have been bringing the islands to the tri-state area through an array of public and private events.
Throughout the years she has directed and performed numerous shows for Lotus Music & Dance, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Uniqlo, Hawaiian Airline's Liberty Challenge, NYC Dumpling Festival, and many more.
Because Carol perceives Ori Tahiti not only as an art form, but as a life style, her enthusiasm is contagious and her goal is to makes this culture accessible to anyone.
Through Lei Pasifika, she is able to leads yearly costume workshops teaching students the techniques of Polynesian crafts and creates educational programs for non-profit organizations such as Art In Education, Arts Horizon, and Lotus Music & Dance to bring a slice of these islands to public schools and senior centers.
Now Carol frequently returns to Tahiti and Hawaii to keep training with Le Conservatoire Artistique (Te fare Upa Rau) and various other artists.

Crista
A San Francisco native, Crista has been dancing Tahitian for 9 years and Hula for 5 years. She has danced with various companies in California including Spirit of Polynesia and SDSU Pacific Islander Student Association. She recently trained with Te Fare Upa Rau (Conservatoire Artistique de la Polynesie Francaise ) in Tahiti. With LP, she hopes to cultivate a friendly and open community dedicated to the purveyance, performance, and education of Tahitian dance, music, and language.

Miyuki
She is originally from Oakland, California. She's been dancing with Lei Pasifika for 7 years. Lei Pasifika is her first Tahitian company but she has experience with ballet and hip hop. She is currently a Special Education Teacher in the Bronx. She loves dancing with Lei Pasifika because it gives her the opportunity to bring part of the beautiful and rich history and culture of Tahiti to the people of New York!

Janessa
Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Janessa has been dancing Hula and Tahitian for 10+ years and also has experience in hip hop dance. She moved to the East coast in 2016 and is currently a Project Manager for a Charter School in New Jersey. When she moved, she had a desire to continue dance and that is when she found Lei Pasifika. Lei Pasifika has become her second family and she hopes to continue to share her passion for dance with others.

Michelle Ch.
From Jersey City, NJ, Michelle currently works in New York City as a Registered Nurse in the Operating Room. She started dancing with Lei Pasifika in summer of 2007. Before Lei Pasifika, she was dancing ballet, hip hop, and ballroom. There is an enjoyment she gets from Tahitian dancing that she doesn't get from any other style of dance. She loves the culture of the dance and the sisterhood that she has built with her fellow dancers in Lei Pasifika.

Virginia
Virginia grew up in Southern California and has been dancing since the age of 4. She continues to enjoy all types of dance but particularly appreciates the beauty and story-telling aspect of Tahitian dance. She joined Lei Pasifika in 2016 and has been lucky to perform alongside her fellow dancers at the United Palace Theater and in the streets of NYC's Chinatown for the Asia American and Pacific Islander Heritage Festival.

Michelle Cg
Hailing from Long Beach, CA, Michelle started her journey as a Tahitian dancer with Maka in NY. She has been dancing for 10 years while balancing her career as Group Account Director at a Branding Agency. Her goal with LP is the spread knowledge of beautiful island culture and way of life, with a group that pays respect to the deep cultural traditions.

Lexi
A New York native, Lexi has been dancing with 4 years. In addition to dancing with Lei Pasifika, she also danced with Tunui's Royal Polynesians in Honolulu, HI. She is also well versed in Ballet and Bellydancing. She is a Therapist, Adjunct Lecturer, and Grad Student. Her goal with LP is to stay connected with the Polynesian culture.

Jia
Born and raised in Massachusetts, Jia's venture to NY has led her to LP. She has been dancing Tahitian for two years with Lotus Music and Dance. She has a love for music and is a Global Business Affairs Specialist at ASCAP. Her goal with LP is to be a part of a tight knit community, learn deeply about a new culture, and portray a beautiful culture through studied physical movement that have been a personal challenge and thrill to learn.

Athena
Originally from Stockton, CA, Athena has been dancing for 10+ years in California. She has danced with Lehuananis and Te Poe O Patitifa before making her move to NY and working as a Staff Accountant in Manhattan. She wishes to learn more about the culture and improve on her dance skills and techniques through LP.