I've been a "hula sister" for a little over two months now and am loving it. I'm the only new addition to the Thursday morning beginner class in so many months, but a few visitors have joined for a class or two. The other hula sisters in the class, sometimes three, sometimes up to 5 more, have all been dancing for at least a couple of years. Kumu takes the liberty to use this class for the more experienced dancers to work on dances slated to be performed, like at a huaka'i (hula weekend workshop) on Lana'i (I couldn't make it) and now, an upcoming performance at the Waikiki Shell. The dances I've been learning are not simple dances, which has been challenging and very enjoyable, with no time to get bored.
Figure skating and a little bit of dance combined with a general love for choreography and music have enabled me to excel quickly. But, the body movements are very tricky. Plus, though I try and try, I just don't have naturally bendy knees. Bendy knees are important. I think it's got something to do with my femur being longer than my shin bones and some physics. Pretty sure. Yep. So, though I pick up the movements, timing, and remember the dances very well from week to week, kumu still has much to teach me.
The start of class, our warm-up, is a series of basic hula steps that we go through while kumu keeps the beat on the ipu. This is where my brain and my body don't always work together. Shifting weight, arms, legs, feet, head, direction, combination steps...a whole lot of concentrating. We are all pretty sweaty in the first ten minutes.
Apparently, I am supposed to set my foot down flat in our basic hula step, but according to kumu, I'm not doing that...I remember so many similar times while coaching my figure skaters...I'd repeat that the knee must be straightened or a toe turned out only have an exasperated, "I am straightening my knee/turning out my toe!" What an onlooker can see and what the person feels she is doing can be very different things. Kumu doesn't see my foot setting down flat, but that is exactly what I'm trying to do. I have learned not to argue with her, of course. It's not my natural tendency to do so, but I have witnessed other girls rebutting, only to be put in their places by our feisty, 76-year-old kumu. We all chuckle a little on the inside, and respect what she's teaching us.
Something of note: I say "girls" because that's how we refer to each other, as does kumu, but the ages include a couple of us in our thirties, one or two mid-forties, mid-fifties, and a couple who are 60+. Everyone moves pretty well, especially two girls nearing mid-life. Wow, I want to move my hips like they do! Granted, they've been dancing for more than 10 years, but still!
Recently, kumu informed me (she didn't ask) that the halau (school) will be performing at the Waikiki Shell during some big hula festival and that I was included. I was the only one who hadn't heard the news yet, and I was ecstatic! I never expected to get to perform in front of people! Hooray!
Our halau only gets a specific chunk of time to work with, and I believe that there will be 5 or 6 different dances all together, one by the keiki, one by my class, two by the advanced class, and a solo or other advanced number. Twenty-three of us will be wearing a purple muu'muu with white flowers on it. This dress has been worn for past performances, so there are only a few of us that need to get it. I tried not to laugh out loud when kumu told us that she'd put a call in to "her lady at the swap meet" then get back to us. Too funny that our dressmaker has a booth at the swap meet at Aloha Stadium.
Sung by my kumu, Ka'iliauokekoa is a love story from Kaua'i. Three
verses down, and one to go, I have a lot of practicing to do between now
and early November. The song is about 4 minutes long and quite
lovely. Most of the other girls in my class know the dance, or did know it last year, so this is more of a refresher. The choreography transitions smoothly and illustrates
the story beautifully, except for the motion to express birds. I look
like an albatross. Too bad the song is about a little bird and not an albatross. I haven't given up but have little hope of improving, as my arm length is not
flexible.
Pretty soon, Kumu will have us rehearse in front of a small audience, and also have at least one dress rehearsal. It all sounds ducky to me, but I wasn't exactly sure what I was signed up for until I googled it at home. The 20th Annual World Invitational Hula Festival is a much bigger event than I was expecting. Halau from all over the world come to participate. I noticed on the site that the event has been moved from the shell to the concert hall. I'm a little sad to get this news, though I didn't confirm it with kumu yet. The shell would be so much neater, but honestly, it'll be a fantastic experience either way.
Beginning this week, one hula sister, Luana, will be hosting an extra practice session at her house, so we can help each other learn and improve Ka'iliauokakoa. Luana is a super sweet Southern belle who is probably more than six decades old. She has definitely taken to living in the islands and with aloha.
I cannot wait to get dressed up properly and perform with the halau. In the meantime, my hips and feet have a lot of homework.
