MERRIE MONARCH HULA FESTIVAL, 2007
ALOHA! These are pictures of the April 11 ho'ike (in essence, a hula show or exhibition) from the 44th annual Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo, April 8 to April 14, 2007. I have many lovely pictures here for you to enjoy — to see them all, just click the "hula" category tab in the sidebar to the left.
There are two forms of hula:
— kahiko, the ancient hula with mele, or chant, which are records of cultural information). Kahiko portrays the raw life force. Highly primordial, kahiko conveys power, sensuality, sexual prowess, and a deep reverence for natural balance. It is a worship of the gods.
— 'auana, on the other hand, is a modern, song-accompanied hula. Merrie Monarch features a separate competition for each style. This ho'ike, however, is a non-competitive night that is free to the public every year.
Here are images of 'auana, as performed by the Japanese ensemble, Halau O Mehanaokala:
Japan has a surprisingly large number of hula practitioners, numbering well into the hundreds of thousands. Halau O Mehanaokala features precise and meticulous 'auana that is a tribute to the hula practice, as well as stunning costumes. Although I took these photos with a zoom lens from high in the bleachers, they turned out surprisingly well. What really knocked me out, though, was to process these digital images on a full-size display, where I could witness the dancers' radiant faces for the first time. Clearly they adore 'auana. Look at how they beam! Beautiful.
I will continue to post my photos from this year's Merrie Monarch Festival, so please check back, or sign up for email updates (using the sidebar element beneath my picture and bio) to see what's new.
Wishing you a beautiful day,
Bill Brent
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