The odyssey of the Polynesian people — their journey to the Hawaiian Islands unveiled in song and dance — is retold with unsurpassed artistry in the latest "Creation: A Polynesian Journey," staged nightly except Wednesdays at the Ainahau Showroom of the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani hotel.

With pulsating syncopation and vibrant staging, authenticated with glorious costumes reflecting each society, this multimedia production also boasts periodic video of Madame Pele's beautiful fury in red and orange lava flows, ocean landscapes above and under water and other postcard images of paradise.

With sellouts in its 400-seat showroom, in an otherwise soft economy in Waikiki, the Tihati Productions endeavor is a bright beacon with good buzz backed by stellar performances. It's a winnah on all fronts.

Go see what the visitors are experiencing. It's unequivocally the best-ever Tihati endeavor in the company's 39-year run in Waikiki.

Volcanic images fill a background screen early on, with dancers enacting the process of creation. In this mythic telling, Adam is Sky Father and Eve is Earth Mother. They emerge through a portal akin to a magical feat. This passageway reappears in the show's closing, where Sky Father and Earth Mother depart.

A medley paying homage to flowers — the red hibiscus, the pikake, the yellow ginger — is shared with expressive choreography.

Hula is the basis of exemplary numbers tapping implements ranging from the bamboo rattles to the feathered gourd, with the women clad in classic ti-leaf skirts, the men in white trousers and long-sleeved aloha shirts. It's simple stuff, stunningly executed.

And then there's "Tiare A Tihati," a composition by Misty Tufono, a daughter in the Tihati 'ohana, reformatted with savvy input from kumu hula Anson Kau'ionalani Kamana'o of Merrie Monarch Festival-winning Hula Halau O Kamuela. It compares the beautiful women in the Tihati lineage with the Tahitian gardenia — the woman flowering and blossoming from the precious white, seven-petal French gardenia, worn by the dancers. In this section, Shylenn Hall depicts the legend of the first woman borne of the tiare flower.

Of course, the Tihati hallmark includes the rigorous artistry from other Polynesian realms.

The Maori New Zealand segment — when the men do the haka dance, with painted faces and tongue-wagging — always is a crowd-pleaser.

The Tahitian section is one of the most passionate, and raucous, with thunderous drumming and frenetic dancing. It is intense, sizzling with fire and commotion.

The Fijian component is atmospheric with the fans, spears, multicolored skirts and the fearless and formidable Anapogi Tevaga bringing the legend of the god Lutunasombasomba to life with intense emotion.

And the Samoan fire dance, enacted by Afatia Thompson in the show I caught, includes a little bit of fire-eating before the twirling of knives, and remains a feat that visitors rigorously applaud because of its spontaneity and that edge of danger. Samoan slap-dancing precedes the knife dance, providing comedic fun.

Kale Chang was narrator-vocalist in the performance I saw. He is a seasoned singer in his other life, doing other realms of music, but is your savvy tour guide who navigates you through the odyssey.

Ensemble dancers, trained in all facets of the Polynesian experience, include Keao Crabbe, Pilialoha Gaison, Shylenn Hall, Shandell Kinimaka, Kuulei Manoa, Sarah Noyle, Tepa Yarborough, Howard Jeremiah, David Kaihenui, Christopher Latronic, Joseph Pauole, Anapogi Tevaga and Micah Tiedemann. The house band, led by Iele Eseroma, includes Kalama Koanui, Lloyd Chandler and Eric Laufiso.

The esprit within the company is a time-honored asset that characterizes the Tihati troupers, challenged to make a banquet hall feel and flow like a theater.

Thus, as the Tihati 'ohana approaches its 40th anniversary in 2009 as a Waikiki show producer, "Creation" is a major achievement — and a ray of sunshine amid the clouds in Waikiki.