24 May Patrick Makuakāne on Balancing Tradition and Innovation

Emily Wilson | sfcv.org

Patrick Makuakāne is the founder and artistic director of the Hawaiian dance company, Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu (“the many feathered wreaths at the summit, held in high esteem”). He recently joined with Saddle Road Productions to form the group Eō. In April, they released their first single, Hānau, about the birth of the Hawaiian Islands, from the album of the same name, which comes out later this year.

Makuakāne, who has received several Isadora Duncan Dance Awards as well as a lifetime achievement award from the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, is known for combining disparate elements in hula — he has included opera, drag queens, and electronic music in his shows — as well as one telling the story of the colonization of Hawaii. His annual shows sell out the Palace of Fine Arts, and he’s performed on the streets of New York City and San Francisco, Burning Man, and San Quentin Prison.

In a video interview, Makuakāne talked about how he joined up with Patrick and Scarlet Eskildse from Saddle Road Productions (when they did some traditional Hawaii music in the style of lindy hop), making his first album, marrying disparate things to create dialogue, some dances being like precious family heirlooms that should be left alone, and the best compliment he ever got about his work.