Sopapelu Tipo Fatiaki was born in 1982, the son of Rev. Irava Fatiaki and Maria Fatiaki and the youngest of three sisters and two brothers. He was born in the village of Lopta in Rotuma.

He has always been passionate about dancing and joined the Oceania Dance Theatre in 2001, where he developed his talent under the tutelage of Allan Alo, the renowned Samoan choreograher.

Sopapelu has toured internationally and throughout the Pacific region for dance conferences, workshops and collaboration with other dance groups. He has worked with international choreograhers such as Richard Digoue from the Niyan Dance Company in New Caledonia; Cathy Livermore, Head Tutor with the Contemporary Dance programme at Whitireia Performing Arts (Welligton); Nirmala Madhava, chief choreographer at the Prabhath Academy for Music & Performing Arts (India); Selina Vada and Lucy (Australia); and Indra Utama, dance director of the Academy of Music and Dance in Padang Panjang, Western Sumatra (Indonesia).

Sopapelu (in back) dancing with four women

Sopapelu has also taught at Veiuto Primary School preparing the students for the annual Tadra-Kahani stage competition (junior category), which they have won four years in a row. In 2007 he will be replacing Alan Alo at Monfort Boys Town, winners in the senior category, where he will introduce dance performances of "The Prodigal Son"or "Le' Fesau Ta," his latest masterpiece.

The production fuses traditional with contemporary dance styles, with an operatic musical setting featuring my Sopapelu's own singing.

In his own words, "Dancing makes me feel more alive and my spirit is always uplifted whenever I dance."

His future plans include going to Brisbane to study dance.

From U.S.P. Website (January 2010)

Sorpapelu Tipo Fatiaki
Oinafa, Rotuma, Fiji Islands
Choreographer/Professional Dancer/Costume Designer
Studying toward a Diploma in Youth Development Work

 “Dance is a beautiful expression of who I am as it allows me to know my feminine self more”. Sorpapelu is no stranger to the arts scene in Fiji and the region having choreographed for a number of dance groups in the Pacific and collaborating with local and international choreographers. Sorpapelu loves classical music and uses this genre as a source of inspiration to choreograph just about anything. In May 2008, he scooped the award for Best Contemporary Solo at the “Fiji Dance Competition” held in Suva and the following month, Sorpapelu represented Fiji as the only contemporary soloist at the “Dreaming Festival” in Brisbane-Australia. Pelu as he is better known by his colleagues, co-choreographed for the contemporary category that represented Fiji to the “10th South Pacific Arts Festival” held in Amerika Samoa. In 2005, Pelu toured with the ODT to Wellington-New Zealand for the “Dance Moves Conference” at the Tepapa Museum. In 2003 and 2004, he played the lead role in one Allan Alo’s Dance productions titled “Tatau” (Samoan Traditional Tattooing). Sorpapelu created his original debut dance production titled “Le’ Fesau’ta- The Prodigal Son” in 2007 held at USP. He has also conducted outreach programs for youths who have taken an initiative to form dance groups in the western territory of Viti Levu namely “Maurea Dance Group” and “Tafaga Entertainment Group” conducting dance workshops. Pelu taught winning schools for the “Tadra-Kahani” (annual school dance competitions) like Monfort Boys Town and Veiuto Primary School taking home awards for Best Choreography, Best Costume and Best Set Design to name a few. Mr. Fatiaki has travelled with the ODT to South Africa for the ACP Summit in Johannesburg in 2002 and China for the “1st Asia-Pacific Youth Arts Festival” in Shenzhen. “I hope to inspire youth to continue to be real and to be honest in what you do as artists’ especially as it serves to strengthen and build communities”.