Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 29, Number 9, 1 September 2012 — Rare workshops to honor 2 hula masters of the last century [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Rare workshops to honor 2 hula masters of the

last

century

ByTreenaShapiro Vicki I'i Rodrigues and Joseph Kamoha'i Kahaulelio danced at the edges of the Hawaiian Renaissance of the 1900s, creating unique hula stylings that reflect the changing of the guard and a renewed sense of cultural identity. It's easier for those who danced with Rodrigues and Kahaulelio to show, rather than tell, what sets these two hula masters apart. "They were part of (the transition from) that old kind to that new kind of hula," explains Leina'ala Kalama Heine. Heine uses her arms to further demonstrate how a deep comprehension and understanding of hula allowed her Auntie Vicki and Unele Joe to add sophisticated stylings to the traditional techniques commonly taught today. On Oct. 4 and 5, four of today 's leading kumu will share what they leamed under Auntie Vicki and Unele Joe at a hula symposium that perpetuates the hula style and cultural traditions of the two renowned masters. The classes aren't for beginners - experience in hula is necessary, and in some cases knowledge of the Hawaiian language is, as well. However, master kumu hula Leina'ala Kalama Heine will also give a lecture on Rodrigues' and Kahaulelio's leg-

acies that is open to the puhlie. Heine says that attendees ean expect to learn some of the stylings specific to Rodrigues' and Kahaulelio's disciplines. The four kumu leading the symposium - Heine, Leimomi Ho, Kealoha Kalama and Kepo'omaikalani Park - will conduct individual workshops, eaeh reflecting the time span they danced under Rodrigues and Kahaulelio. "All four of us have either been in their tutelage or danced for them," Heine said. "We all were schooled in their disciplines and techniques. And we all performed with Auntie Vicki and Unele Joe." Few kumu left ean say the same, whieh is why Hālau Nā Pualei O Likolehua has partnered with the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement to ensure the masters' legacies endure. "If we don't continue it, then their legacy of hula is gone," Ho says. "We need to keep their traditions alive, and as taught to us, the best we ean." Basic techniques ean be taught by any accomplished kumu hula, but Rodrigues' and Kahaulelio's respect for the art and cultural traditions drove their creativity andled to their distinctive disciplines. "In the '40s, the '50s, the '60s, if you had a teacher, you would be able to spot the dancer of that teacher because of their styling and technique, and that is how you would be able to

relate what school they eome from," says Heine. "Today everyone looks like everyone else because of a matter of convenience and not being creative enough," Heine observes, though she and Ho quickly add that there are exceptions - kumu who have distinguished themselves with innovative styles of their own. The symposium should help attendees gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between teacher and technique. "My whole thing is to bring back the thought that when you teach and when you dance, you honor the one that eame before you in the way you do the presentation of what they taught you," Heine explains. Only a chosen few were invited to

study under Rodrigues and Kahaulelio. They generally taught no more than eight dancers at a time, demanding absolute commitment from their students. "They were renowned. They were the best in their field at that

time," Heine says. "Everything that they gave, they gave from the heart." They were strict teachers who expected to be followed, not questioned. "Growing up with them, there were no if, ands or buts. You were just seeing and you were just doing," Park says. "It's a generational thing that is passed down from these two great people and being in their presenee and just doing what is told to you and understanding the whole essence of continuing it, and why." Heine relates, "If we didn't get it (Unele Joe) would get angry and you never wanted to see him angry" - or Auntie Vicki, either, all three interject - "because of their temperament, like throw the ipu (drum) across the room or the pū'ili (bamboo rattles) eome out and whaek the feet," Heine says. "Today people would say it was abusive, but that was how they taught." The recollection makes Heine, Ho and Park laugh without a trace of bitterness. Ho notes that today people pay for hula lessons, while Rodrigues and Kahaulelio never charged them a penny. "It was shared with us so willingly, so more so we made it a point that we would remember," she says. "They were giving their lives to us." ■ Treena Shapiro, afreelance writer, is aformer reporterfor the Honolulu Star-Bulletin anel Honolulu Advertiser.

www.oha.org/kwo | kwo@OHA.org NATIVE HAWAIIAN » NEWS | FEATURES | EVENTS

Hula workshops > What: The Hula Stylings of Vicki l'i Rodrigues and Joseph Kamoha'i Kahaulelio, a rare

two-day workshop by kumu hula from the hula genealogy of the 1900s masters > When: Oct. 4 and 5 >Where: Hawai'i Convention Center > Cost: lndividual classes $75-$150, or a $350 package is available > Also: Free lecture by Leina'ala Heine Oct. 4 at noon > lnfo and registration: email events@hawaiiancouncil.org or eall Coranne Park-Chun at (808) 596-8155

CULTURE

Top: Joseph Kamoha'i Kahaulelio - Courtesy: īhe Oueenie I /entura Collection, Hula Preservation Society, bottom: Vicki l'i Rodrigues,- Courtesy: īhe Kent Ghirard Collection, Hula Preservation Society

Kumu hula Leina'ala Kalama Heine, left, Leimomi Ho and Kepo'omaikalani Park, along with Kealoha Kalama, not shown, will lead workshops on the teachings of the late hula masters Vicki l'i Rodrigues and Joseph Kamoha'i Kahaulelio. - Photo: Andrew Pezzulo