Ta’alili is the arts group led by Aloali’i and Tori Manley-Tapu. It has grown through an exploration of dreams, memories, and collective futurism. Their work spans stage performances, exhibitions, films, and conversations centered on themes of faces, language, and the dream world. Their first work, LEECHES, launched the 2019 Pacific Dance Festival and was met with an astounding hope for the next generation, offering an alternative way of organizing artists towards a more generative and restorative approach to collaboration in Aotearoa.

A significant milestone followed with the Etena Exhibition at Mangere Arts Centre, which led to their 2021 production Faces of Nature. This work united the Rewa All Stars from Manurewa High School with Ta’alili artists in a reimagined utopian dreamscape, marking the beginning of their journey into stage and film collaborations, culminating in Concrete Bloom (2022)

In 2021, Aloali’i and Tori were recipients of the Arts Foundation Springboard Award, recognizing their vision and leadership in the arts. From 2022 to 2023, they were choreographic residents with K3 Tanzplan, Zentrum für Choreographie in Kampnagel, Hamburg, Germany, where they created MANU MALO—a work that brought together artists from New Zealand, London, and Hamburg. This project later premiered at ASB Waterfront Theatre, with Aloali’i and Tori returning to the stage as dancers, headlining the Pacific Dance Festival 2023.

In 2024, they launched ETENA FEST alongside Upstairs Gallery, a 1.5-month festival featuring performances by five choreographers, dance workshops led by Ta’alili directors, an open-style dance battle, and community workshops in their local township of Titirangi. Since 2016, they have taught their Lofty Release and Loft Lab workshops, fostering a socially engaged solo dance practice in Austria (Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance), Germany, Aotearoa, and Australia (PERTH MOVES 2024-2025).

Ta’alili remains committed to nurturing the next generation of dance practitioners and stage artists. In 2025, they will launch their pop-up school and training program Undaground Fono in collaboration with their long-time creative partners, CONJAH.