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Patrick Makuakane, the artistic director of the Na Lei Hulu I Ka Wekiu haulau (hula dance group), acts as emcee, singer and dancer for The Hula Show: Stories of the Lehua. Photo courtesy of www.naleihulu.org.
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Bringing Hula into the 21st Century
By Brian Kluepfel
Special to Asian Week
If you want a show that reverently bows to the ancient tradition of hula, well, The Hula Show: Stories of the Lehua might not be for you. But if you want to see something that blends old-school hula with contemporary music and dance forms, and doesn’t mind playing for a few laughs, then I’d encourage you to see the two-hour production.
Patrick Makuakane, the artistic director of the Na Lei Hulu I Ka Wekiu haulau (hula dance group) continues to mix and match the modern and ancient, East and West, creating a cultural collage that is informative, respectful and dares to be funny. He calls it hula mua, or contemporary hula. Acting as emcee, singer and dancer, Makuakane runs the show with a sense of pride and humor that the audience can’t help but feel.
It is clear that the halau has great respect for the hula and its centuries’ old history: the opening number of this year’s show is an eye-opening spectacle dedicated to the myths of Pele and Hi‘ iaka. The dancers perform a hula kahiko, which honors the lehua flower (hence the name for the show), at the same time paying tribute to the fire goddess Pele. One can’t help but feel transported to the rain forests of the islands as the show opens and a cool, flower-scented mist spreads over the audience.
The group segues smartly into “Hula in Red,” another tip of the hat to the sacred, scarlet flower, with striking costumes.
But all cultures and art forms survive by blending new with old, and Makuakane’s group never forgets that. After a humorous monologue explaining Linda Ronstadt’s affection for the group, the troupe dances a hula to her classic “Blue Bayou.” Another nod to the torch-singer tradition is a seductive one-person hula to Etta James’ tune “At Last” — the dancer suggestively interpreting the blues number in a sequin gown.
The centerpiece of the first act is another cultural collision, this one happening somewhere between Krishna and Kauia. Makuakane explained the fortuitous meeting between his dancers and an exuberant group of Hare Krishnas in Golden Gate Park one year as the impetus for this dance, which is performed to a Boy George tune and features guest dancer Yasmen Mehta.
A tone of reverence balances the laughs. A warm-hearted backyard barbeque is the backdrop for a tribute to the classic music of Gabby “Pops” Pahinui, and a historical prologue sets the stage for a touching tribute to Queen Emma, the 19th-century Hawaiian who inspired many chants, including some performed here.
The show kicks into overdrive with “Read My Hips,” Makuakane and a dancer showcasing all the basic pelvic movements that comprise the hula, before the theater swells with the hip-hop of Eminem, and a hysterically-executed, butt-shaking tribute to the provocative side of dance. And if this number proves anything, it’s that dancers of all sizes and shapes can shake a tail feather. The dancers are even outfitted like the diminutive rapper, in white tank tops and baggy jeans.
If that number leaves the audience laughing, the show-closer can’t help but bring a tear to the eye. A video featuring a hula to “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” is followed by a nod to the late Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole, (“Bruddah Iz”) — a distinctive Hawaiian interpretation of two American classics found somewhere over the rainbow.
The Hula Show 2002: Stories of the Lehua, plays this Friday and Saturday, Oct. 11-12 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 13 at 2 p.m., at the Palace of Fine Arts, 3301 Lyon St., San Francisco. For more information call 415-647-3040, or got to www.naleihulu.org.
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