Spring 2026 Workshops

Nico San Nicolas is the Tane instructor (male Tahitian dance), lead Tahitian drummer, and Siva Afi (fireknife) performer for Hiti Mahana Polynesia, a premier Polynesian Dance group located in Cocoa Beach, Florida.

He is of Chamorro descent (Guam) and was surrounded by music from early childhood, playing guitar and drums for his father’s band. It was through Polynesian arts where he quickly taught himself how to play the various polynesian instruments as his sister Jacinta needed a musician for her group Hiti Mahana in 2010.

Over the years, Nico has traveled across the world in pursuit of refining his skills, all the while absorbing knowledge from various resources. He has gone to California, Florida, Hawaii and Tahiti to workshop and study under various musicians such as: Tiana Liufau, Mitch Asuncion, Keali’i Bush, and Carlos Tuia. Nico has formally taught Tahitian Drumming classes in Denver, Colorado for Halau Kalama prior to moving to Florida where he leads the musicians for Hiti Mahana in Cocoa Beach, Florida.

​​Jacinta Maʻae is the Raʻatira and Artistic Director of Hiti Mahana, with two locations under her direction based in Cocoa Beach, FL and San Antonio, TX.

Originally from the South Pacific island of Guam, Jacinta started dancing as soon as she could walk. She grew up dancing with halau in California, Guam, and Texas. She started dancing professionally in 2007, and created Hiti Mahana with her family in 2010. Since then, she has learned and trained from many sources, such as Tiana and Riki Liufau of Nonosina, Moena Maotui, Tehani Robinson, and Tahia Cambet, as well as many other well respected ʻorometua.

Jacinta is a current member of Pupu Here Solo Competition Team under the direction of Kanani Asuega. She is also a current student of Moenau Rivera of Poly-Lingual Reo Tahiti, an online Polynesian language program she became a part of during the pandemic. She was even named one of the top Reo Tahiti students of 2020.

Jacinta has led her pupu ʻori in group competitions throughout Florida and the mainland. She has trained many of her students to compete in solo competitions, where many of them have placed. More recently, Jacinta led her group to Hura Tapairu Manahini and entered several soloists in the ʻOri Tahiti Nui competition in Tahiti in 2022. She believes in the importance of visiting the fenua, learning from the source, and to always remain a student of this beautiful art form.