 |
SCREEN CAPTURE / YOUTUBE
Taizha Keakealani Hughes-Kaluhiokalan was named Miss Aloha Hula for 2019. |
The best hula dancers and hula troupes were named in the Merrie Monarch Festival, an annual competition keeping Native Hawaiian culture alive.
The dances and chants performed by the competitors are not your parents' hula tourists flock to at the hotel luau's on Waikiki, Kaanapali or Poipu beaches.
The dance competition was held in late April in Hilo, Hawaii this year and crowned the title of Miss Aloha Hula to Taizha Keakealani Hughes-Kaluhiokalan from the Kalihi-based hula halau (hula school) Halau Hiiakainamakalehua based in Oahu, which has produced three of the last four winners.
“The energy, the feeling of even walking into the stadium, I could immediately feel just, I could feel my kupuna,” Hughes-Kaluhiokalani said. “I knew they were surrounding me, I knew they were coming out of me. It was a magical, magical feeling.”
EDITOR'S NOTE: Our sincere apologies for the delay in covering this annual dance competition. Views From the Edge was distracted this year because of political Trump and immigration news, but better late than never, right?
The dances and chants performed by the competitors are not your parents' hula tourists flock to at the hotel luau's on Waikiki, Kaanapali or Poipu beaches.
The dance competition was held in late April in Hilo, Hawaii this year and crowned the title of Miss Aloha Hula to Taizha Keakealani Hughes-Kaluhiokalan from the Kalihi-based hula halau (hula school) Halau Hiiakainamakalehua based in Oahu, which has produced three of the last four winners.
“The energy, the feeling of even walking into the stadium, I could immediately feel just, I could feel my kupuna,” Hughes-Kaluhiokalani said. “I knew they were surrounding me, I knew they were coming out of me. It was a magical, magical feeling.”
Hughes-Kaluhiokalani, 23, danced two styles of hula for the judges, kahiko (traditional) and auna (modern), and was given high marks for her proficiency in olelo Hawaii (Hawaiian language), eventually winning the Hawaiian language award as well.
The Merrie Monarch festival is the biggest of several hula competitions that help preserve the traditional Hawaiian culture and language, which is seeing a revival in recent years after being banned for decades by Christian missionaries.
Even if you don't understand the language, onlookers can see and feel the enthusiasm and pride of the energetic young dancers as they beautiful dance traditional and modern hula.
Winners were also announced in the group dances for men and women.
No comments:
Post a Comment