15 Oct Hula travels from Burning Man to Times Square at SF’s Palace

by Claudia Bauer October 15, 2018

Over three decades, hula choreographer, dancer and teacher Patrick Makuakāne has brought his dance company everywhere from Burning Man to airplane aisles to San Quentin State Prison, where he leads dance gatherings for inmates.

Opening Saturday, Oct. 20, Nā Lei Hulu’s new show, “I Mua: Hula in Unusual Places,” celebrates and advances his company’s artistic journey.

Innovating while respecting tradition is a tricky balance, but Kumu Hula (hula master) Makuakāne, who is also a co-artistic director of the San Francisco Ethnic Dance festival, achieves it. Driven by a deep love of the art form he grew up with on Oahu, he brings to it a curious spirit and a master’s sense of storytelling — not to mention a cadre of marvelous dancers.

“I Mua” combines pieces inspired by Black Rock Desert and San Quentin, a work accompanied by soprano May Kehrani singing “The Flower Duet” from Léo Delibes’ opera “Lakmé,” and pieces set to electronica, pop and Bette Midler.

The Palace of Fine Arts, however, turns out to be a not-unusual place for hula, which got center stage there during the 1915 World’s Fair. “I Mua” shows how far hula has journeyed in the century since.

Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu: 8 p.m. Saturdays, Oct. 20 and 27; 3 p.m. Sundays, Oct. 21 and 28. $15-$200. Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, 3301 Lyon St., S.F. 415-392-4400. naleihulu.org

Read more at https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/dance/hula-travels-from-burning-man-to-times-square-at-sfs-palace