16 Oct The Hula Show: 25 Years of Hula

October 16-23, 2010 | Palace of Fine Arts Theatre

from Review: Na Lei Hulu I Ka Wekiu presents “25 Years of Hula” (StarkInsider.com)

In honor of its 25th Anniversary, Kumu Hula Patrick Makuakāne and his award-winning dance troupe, Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu, return to the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre for six performances only (October 16-24) with 25 Years of Hula, a retrospective that pays tribute to the company’s vast body of work. Featuring several of the most popular dance pieces from the past quarter of a century, Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu will also feature a full-length version of the newly commissioned piece, “Kumulipo” – a series of dances inspired by the epic 2000-line Native Hawaiian creation chant that is nature’s song of origin. “Kumulipo” was commissioned by a 2010 Individual Artist Commission grant from the San Francisco Arts Commission.

Known for their trademark hula mua – which brings the ancient Hawaiian dance form into the modern realm by setting traditional hula movements to decidedly non-Hawaiian music resulting in a theatrical experience that is visually captivating and culturally rich – as well as hula kahiko – the traditional pre-Western style of Hawaiian dance – Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu has garnered critical and audience acclaim throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. In 2006, Patrick Makuakāne was honored with the Malonga Casquelourd Lifetime Achievement Awards by World Arts West / San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival for excellence in ethnic dance. Most recently, the troupe won an Isadora Duncan Dance Award (The Izzies) for Best Company for their performance of Roberta Flack’s “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” at the 2009 San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival. The Izzies honor local dance artists and promote the diversity and vitality of the Bay Area dance community.

Among the pieces featured in 25 Years of Hula are “Hula’s Bar and Lei Stand,” a disco-inspired tribute to Honolulu’s most famous gay bar featuring Matthew Martin, one of San Francisco’s premier drag queens, “The Flower Duet” from the opera Lakme, in honor of King David Kalākaua, who was instrumental in reviving hula in the late 1800s after it had been banned by the missionaries and “Salva Mea,” Nā Lei Hulu’s iconic piece that reflects on the arrival of missionaries to early 19th century Hawaii.

25 Years of Hula will play six performances only at San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts (Bay & Lyon Streets). Performances are: Saturday, October 16 at 8 p.m., Sunday, October 17 at 3 p.m., Friday, October 22 at 8 p.m., Saturday, October 23 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, October 24 at 3 p.m. A one-hour family matinee designed especially for children and families is scheduled for Sunday, October 24 at 12 p.m. There will be an opening night champagne reception immediately following the performance on Saturday, October 16, as well as a gala benefit Lu’au and silent auction on Saturday, October 23 at 5:30 p.m.

MELE KUHIKUHI – SONG LIST
25 YEARS OF HULA
ACT ONE
Maikaʻi Ka ʻŌiwi O Kaʻala – traditional
ʻAuʻa ʻIa – traditional
Walk With Me – Moby, from the CD,album Wait for Me.
Lord'ʻs Prayer – traditional
Salva Mea – Faithless, from the CD single, "Salva Mea" (tuff mix).
pPost- production remix, Patrick Makuakāne.
The Flower Duet – Leo Delibes, from the oOpera, Lakmeé
He Aloha Nō ʻO Honolulu – Lot Kauwē
Aia I Waimanalo Kō Nuʻa Hulu – traditional
ʻAuhea Wale ʻOe E Ta Ua ʻUlalena – Nakulula
Aloha Ka Manini – Lot Kauwē
Hualālai – Dennis Kamakahi, from the CD, album Ka Pua Hae Hawaiʻi, by Nā Palapalai
Pāpālina Disco Megamix – Various artists, remixed by Patrick Makuakāane
History Repeating – The Propellerheads, featuring Shirley Bassey,
from the album CD, decksdrumsrockandroll

ACT TWO
Hānau Ka ʻUku Koʻakoʻa – traditional
Hānau Ka Iʻa – traditional
Hānau Ka Naonao – traditional
Hānau Ke Poʻo Waʻawaʻa – traditional
Ua Ao… Puka – Moby, from the CD single, "Go" (iIn dub mix).,
Post- production remix, Kris Kanoho.

Ka Pua Mohala – Puakea Nogelmeier
Every Time – Lustral
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face – Ewan MacColl, from the album CD, Best of Roberta Flack
The Gift (2010 Remix) – Way Out West, 2010 remix. P post- production remix, Patrick Makuakāne.
O Ka ʻAu Moana – Lucia Tarallo Jensen
Manu ʻŌʻō – traditional
Wanting Memories / Maikaʻi Nā Pua – Sweet Honey in the Rock / Manu Boyd
Aia I Pōliko – Patrick Makuakāne
Love U More – Sunscreem/Patrick Makuakāne