Left Philly... Gone to Maui!
Hawai'i, Hula, Hips, Hooray!
Ok, so I know this blog is supposed to be about dance in PHILLY... but when a dancin girl from Philly gets hitched and honeymoons in Hawai'i... well, you get a blog post about Hula dancing. So sit back, relax, and imagine you're on the beautiful island of Maui, pina colada in hand.
My video features snippets of dancing that my husband (woohoo!) and I got to experience at the Royal Lahaina Luau in Maui. Now, some people pick on these luaus because they are not "authentic" enough. And in some ways, they are right. If you are looking for something *truly* Hawai'ian, this is not your stop, because this luau (and the other touristy luau's in Hawai'i) include not only Hawai'ian dancing (Hula), but also Tahitian, Maori, and Samoan dancing (NOT Hawai'ian). Then, of course, the dancing is performed as entertainment, which always takes away from the spiritual/religious aspect of many of these dances. All that being said, I loved every touristy, non-authentic minute of it, and no matter what anyone says, these dancers were talented!!!
Before I go on, I have to give a shameless shout out to Aloha Style Dance Studio for cultivating my love of Polynesian dance through years of classes, workshops, and performances. Having studied hula dance for years, finally seeing a hula show in Hawai'i was a dream come true...
Some Hula 101: The Hula dancers presented both Kahiko (ancient-style Hula in which there are only percussive instruments, and the singers use mainly one tone without melody) and 'Auana (which is the more modern style of Hula dancing, accompanied by instruments like the ukelele, more melodic singing, and even the English language). During some of the 'auana's, Hula implements (instruments) were brought out including the uli uli (the yellow and red-feathered instruments; think: Hawai'ian maracas), the Pu'ili (the split bamboo sticks) and the ipu (hollowed out gourd drums).
Now Tahitian 101: The Tahitian dancing featured o'te'a (ancient style, only percussive instruments, no lyrics - HOLY HIP SHAKING!), and aparimas (modern Tahitian dance with various instruments and lyrics). While hula leaves me feeling tranquil, bordering on spiritual, Tahtian leaves me like "damn...!" It's just exhilarating to watch.
I got so engaged in the dancing (YES! Seriously!) that I didn't take any videos of the Maori dance, but it was one of my favorite! The dancers all came out with traditional face-tatoos, and the men showed off the customary facial expressions that go along with the Maori dancing. Maori dancing hails from New Zealand and because it was an expression of strength and hunting skill (for the males), the men use wide-eyed and tongue-out expressions which were thought to scare away evil spirits or energy. I included a youtube video below, because it's so cool, and just indescribable without video.
The last type of dancing in MY video, before the fire dancing is Samoan dancing. I'd never seen Samoan dancing before. While it isn't as "OMG how do they do that with their bodies?!" as Tahitian dancing, and not as spiritual as Hula dancing, it's just-plain-happy dancing. This is not that surprising considering the host of the luau informed us that Somoans are known as the happiest people on Earth. Makes me want to add Samoa to my long ass list of places I want to visit.
In the end, it was an awesome night of dancing, authentic or not, and rejuvenated my love love love for Polynesian dance.
Article written by Hannah Lorenzo.
