51st Annual Merrie Monarch Festival

This past week at work, Merrie Monarch was all my co-workers and I would talk about! Because we dance at night, some of us weren't able to watch it live at home. It's a good thing I have DVR! I didn't get to watch everything because I've been pretty busy, but what I did watch that was my favorite was Halau Na Lei Kaumaka O Uka of Kula, Maui under the direction of Kumu hula Napua Greig. I only got to watch their kahiko performance, which was on Friday, and it was beautiful! They won 2nd place for the wahine kahiko. This is the same halau that Miss Aloha Hula 2013 is from- Manalani English. She is so sweet and such a beautiful dancer. Becoming Miss Aloha Hula one day is definitely one of my dreams. Miss Aloha Hula this year to me was pretty boring. There's usually a dancer that stands out from the rest, but there was none this year. But overall there's always a halau that wows the crowd and that halau is the Academy of Hawaiian Arts of Oakland, California udner the direction of Kumu hula Mark Keali'i Ho'omalu. He is always the crowds favorite because of his originality in his dances. Because he's not traditional he doesn't every win or place in the top 5, so he pretty much goes for the entertainment. It's always exciting when his halau performs. And in case you didn't know, Mark Ho'omalu is the guy that sings Hawaiian Rollercoaster Ride in Lilo & Stitch! (Click on the following link to watch his halau perform: Academy of Hawaiian Arts).

Halau Na Lei Kaumaka O Uka: 2nd place wahine kahiko

Here's a throwback to 49th Merrie Monarch in 2012 when I (right) competed with Ilima Hula Studio. This is our kahiko.

Ilima Hula Studio auana 2012 (me far left).

Dancing in Merrie Monarch is definitely an honor and a privilege. Being able to dance on that stage where thousands of people have set foot to give it their all is a powerful feeling. It was definitely a memorable moment for me and I hope to go back and compete again.

Rockin' Hawaiian Rainbow Revue

You may know that every Friday in Waikiki there's the firework show. What you may not know is that with the firework show, there's a Polynesian show. It's at the pool of the Hilton Hawaiian Village called the Rockin' Hawaiian Rainbow Revue. There is paid seating around the pool, but honestly you can just watch it from outside and the view is just as good. I haven't done this show in a while because I've been in Maui dancing, but this past Friday I finally got to dance here. This is show is probably one of my favorites just because it's at a pool and the fireworks. It's very different from our other shows. The dances we do are very playful and we even bring up people from the audience to dance Tahitian with us. What's really cool is that for our final dance, which is Tahitian, we have to time the end perfectly so that when we motion up the fireworks will go off as if we set it off. This is my favorite part of the show! A lot of people like to come to Waikiki just to watch the fireworks and that's good too. They just park behind the Hilton Hawaiian by the lagoon, which is very hard to find parking, and watch it on the beach. In case you and your family wanted to watch the fireworks, they start at around 730.

Ka Wa'a: Legends of the Sea

Man, has the past few months have been so crazy with rehearsals. Tihati has opened another new show in Ko'olina, the first time Tihati has had a show on the west side- my side! Now I don't have to drive all the way to Waikiki through all that traffic for once. Too bad it's only twice a week.

This new show at the Marriott Koolina Beachclub Hotel is called Ka Wa'a: Legends of the Sea. It's similar to the other shows we have in Waikiki. What I like about it is that since it's on the west side, we do hula (kahiko and auana) that talk about the west side Ewa area. Since I'm from the west side, these dances are very special to me.

Every Mondays on the great lawn of the hotel, we have a teaser show to promote the Tuesday Ka Wa'a show. It's just three numbers- we do hula kahiko, Tahitian aparima, and hula auana with uli'uli (feather rattling gourd). Mondays show are free and open to the public. You just come to the great lawn, sit down and relax as the hotels activity coordinators talk story with you and we dance for you.

Tuesdays is a luau style show that is also on the great lawn. As guests come in they are greeted with a lei and have the option of taking a photo with our dancers. Before the show starts we have activities for everyone, including getting Polynesian tattoos (with a sharpie), lei making, kapa printing, ukulele lessons, hula lessons, and we also have vendors where you can buy Polynesian crafts. This show is probably the most interactive show we have on Oahu.

My favorite thing about this show is the sunset!

Kahiko costume for Tuesdays Ka Wa'a show.

Kahiko costume for Mondays