Background
Born in 1950 of Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Porou descent, Huata was the third son of Wiremu Te Tau Huata—a chaplain to the Māori Battalion during World World War II—and Ringahora Hēni Ngākai Ybel Tomoana.
Born in 1950 of Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Porou descent, Huata was the third son of Wiremu Te Tau Huata—a chaplain to the Māori Battalion during World World War II—and Ringahora Hēni Ngākai Ybel Tomoana.
Huata was a central figure in the renaissance of the Māori performing arts In 1983 he founded the Kahurangi Dance Theatre and Te Wānanga Whare Tapere o Takitimu (the Takitimu Performing Arts School), and was responsible for the establishment there of the first degree programme in Māori performing arts In 1985 he was a group leader at the Te Maori exhibition in San Francisco.
Awarded a Fulbright scholarship in 1995, Huata travelled to the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee to study African history and dance.
Huata died at his home in Napier in 2015.