The inspiration for the cello score I developed for Folktale came from conversations with the creator Surjit Nongmeikapam and his choreograpahy while in residence at his studio space Nachom Arts Foundation Manipur in Imphal, India. Particularly compelling to me was his exploration into a tribal or indigenous movement vocabulary that communicated universally while still maintaining rooted in an inherently Meitei (Manipur tribe) identity. I worked with the melodic contours and grounded expressions of my own indigenous Hawaiian 'oli (chant) to tell in music the story of the opening choreography. This opening sequence where the dancers, connected hand to shoulder, move as one fluid entity, recalled to me the early Hawaiian folktales of navigation and resettlement. The result was an expression of the relevance, remembrance, and futurism of indigenous creative expression.