Thursday, April 20, 2006

Time To Get Merrie

hula

In the world of hula, this is the biggest weekend of the year. The Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo culminates in a three-day competition that pits the best hula halau in the world in a winner takes all format. While to win the Merrie Monarch is the Holy Grail of Hula, just the chance to perform in the competition is every dancers' dream.

I competed with my halau, Na 'Opio 'O Ko'olau in the 1992 and 1993 Merrie Monarch Festivals. The last time I went was in 1998. I'd much rather be there this weekend than sitting here in Timonium.

2 comments:

[Follow Her Nose] said...

HI..not sure if you remember me? We danced for Uncle Mike & James and competed together as well, I think either in '92 or '93, can't remember the exact year. We all danced - my sister Beth, my mom Rita, aunty Danny and aunty Char & cousin Harmony..& we all competed in the same competition. I'm trying to find footage of our performance..know where I can find it? Thanks and nice bumping into a fellow dancer online - terra

ps: recently ran into Jad @ kahala mall...madness right? :)

onocoffee said...

Terra-
Don't think I could forget you. I think I can help you with the footage of our performance. The comments are moderated, which means I see and approve them before they are published to the site. Leave another message with your e-mail and I'll contact you directly.

I hear Char has a halau in Seattle? I saw Charmaine last year in Vegas and she was starting her own halau too. And I always seem to run into BJ at least once a year.