Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 17, Number 6, 1 Iune 2000 — Silver, going for the gold [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Silver, going for the gold

B y Paula Durbln > Robert cazIMERO'S Hālau Nā Kamalei is 25 years old this year and the gentlemen are eelebrating this anniversary with a double concert at the Hawai'i Theatre on June 10 and 11. Jk

"There's so mueh left to talk about and so mueh left to do," Kumu Cazimero explained the two-part format. "I thought 25 years deserved two nights, the silver part and the gold part. Silver the first night because it's 25 years. And the gold is the goal another 25 years. So many entertainers

have been part of our 25 years. The t stars would light up the skyMarlene Sai, Ho'okena with

Manu, Tony Conjugaeion, Gail Costa, the Brothers Cazimero-and that's only few. Then, on the second day I going to have some of the guys who danced from the very beginning and no longer dance. Hopefully

on stage there would be 40 or 50 of them." Nā Kamalei was bom one year after Maiki Aiu Lake graduated Cazimero in that famous initial class from whieh the Hawaiian renaissance exploded. In the late 1960s, the now-leg-endary Aiu had been directed by her elders to pass on her hula knowledge before she married musician Kahauanu Lake. So she advertised for students interested in learning the legacy handed down to her through Lokaha Montgomery. More than 20 Hawaiians answered that ad, but Robert Cazimero, who was already working regular gigs with his brother Roland and Peter Moon as the Sunday Mānoa, wasn't among them. "I had met Maiki when I was in high school and she had told me that someday I would want to train and she would be my teacher. I did go to her and I danced with her for a while but then we were asked to take a little break for something we did. Years later when the Sunday Mānoa was to do Kanikapila at the university, Peter wanted her to do her kahiko. She said she'd be glad to, but that 'Robert would have to eome back to class and he would have to bring

an ipu with him.' And I went in with 'Ala (Leinā'ala Kalama Heine) when that 'ūniki class was already a year old." But he caught up and, as he puts it, "I was happy as a elam." It was Aiu who directed Cazimero to teach only men. "You have a lot of hula sisters, they ean take care of the girls," she said. The halau got started at Kamehameha Schools where Cazimero whittled a group of 47 down to 1 1 boys he immediately entered in the King Kamehameha Day competition - only to see them disqualified, something he insists to this day was his own fault. "I was focusing on who I was rather than what I was doing," he said, still apologetic after all these years. "It was a great lesson for me but it was devastating for the boys. They still take it personally." Since then, Nā Kamalei has won so many competitions, its kumu has decided the troupe will only go to Menie Monarch every 10 years. Nā Kamalei's winning style is a direct reflection of its kumu and his perfect mastery of his own kumu's heritage. Yet, said Cazimero, who astonished audi-

ences with his showmanship in the 1970s, "I'm the first one who will tell you I am not traditional, and I am not ashamed of it. The only thing that makes me traditional is the fact that Maiki Aiu trusted me enough to graduate me." Still, many would insist Maiki Aiu's tmst in Robert Cazimero was wellplaced. If he dazzles, it's without dishonoring his hula legacy. "I remember Edith McKinzie who put it so well after judging a Kamehameha Day competition. She said, 'No matter how far out he has taken the hula, he knows when and how to retum to the tradition that is his foundation,'" commented Manu Boyd, who has danced with Nā Kamalei since 1978. "Don't forget where it comes from," Cazimero said, when asked what advice he would give to the new generations of kumu hula. "Anyone ean be creative, but especially with hula, know you're roots." ■ Ticketsfor Nā Kamalei 's double concert ean be purchasedfor $50 at the Hawai'i Theatre box office. According to Cazimero, ticketsfor a single night's performance will go on sale closer to the concert date.

Kumu hula and halau hula celebrate 25 years together with a brand-new CD, "RCHNK" (Robert Cazimero and Hālau Nā Kamalei). *

PHOĪO: COURTESV Tht MŌUNĪAIN APPLE COMPANY^fck