dance

The operator of a lūʻau in a residential area of Honolulu said he plans to continue his business despite city officials ordering him to stop. At the end of February, the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting gave Karl Veto Baker until March 30 to correct the violation. Baker said he created the lūʻau to bring back representation of Hawaiian culture. HPR's Cassie Ordonio has more.

The 61st annual Merrie Monarch Hula Festival wrapped up in Hilo over the weekend, and residents are already looking forward to next year. Every year around this time, residents in this rainy town know exactly what to expect. HPR's Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi was in Hilo for the festivities and has this story.

Hālau only get seven minutes to perform each number on stage at the Merrie Monarch Hula Festival. To ensure precise timing, some kumu hula on Oʻahu created a replica of the Hilo stage in vacant retail space in Kalihi. HPR’s Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi reports.

The host town of Hilo is preparing for the influx of hula dancers and hula fans to the 61st annual Merrie Monarch Festival. Organizers expect dancers from more than 20 hālau hula across the islands and as far away as California. HPR reporter Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi has this story.

Some Native Hawaiian organizations want to show locals and visitors alike that Hawai‘i's culture is more than tikis and coconut bras. In recent years, there's been a push for more all-Hawaiian shows to help educate visitors on Hawaiian history through storytelling, dance and song. HPR's Cassie Ordonio reports.

Hundreds of dancers will descend on Waikīkī this weekend to take part in the Aloha Ball. The ballroom dance competition is one of two held each year in the islands and sanctioned by the National Dance Council of America. The Conversation spoke with Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin about the competition and Meredith's new dance studio.

We revisit the opening of the exhibit featuring Queen Lili‘uokalani, a kumu hula who shares his reaction to being named an innovator in his field by a national foundation, a woman on a mission to raise awareness about global warming who brings a polar bear puppet to O‘ahu, and a trailblazing Hawaiʻi rap group's impact on local culture.

Each year, the MacArthur Foundation awards fellowships to a handful of people at the top of their fields from science to the arts. This year's recipients included Patrick Makuakāne, a kumu hula based in San Francisco, for "uplifting Hawaiian culture and history." The Conversation's Catherine Cruz spoke with him about the surprise achievement.

Stunning costumes, modern dance, and environmental issues come together this Friday at “Oh My Goddess!,” the IONA Contemporary Dance Theatre's new production. It showcases modern representations of four powerful Hawaiʻi goddesses: Pele, Hi’iaka, Namaka, and Poli’ahu.

In Hawai’i most are familiar with the title of Kumu Hula, a master of hula who leads students in the protocol, poetry and practice of hula, and who guards and teaches the wisdom of Hawaiian culture.