Big E and I went with friends to see Patrick Makuakāne's San Francisco-based hula halau Saturday night.
The program was called "O'ahu: Confessions of an
The evening was an interesting and sometimes exciting blend of ancient hula kahiko, instrument and voice-accompanied hula 'auana and Makuakāne's unique hula mua or, progressive hula.
I was commenting to friend D that the upper bodies and hands looked a bit stiff, but upon reflection I thought that maybe the hands and upper bodies were supposed to look like that. I have to give Makuakāne credit, he is creating art out of the hawaiian diaspora and teaching both students and audiences a more nuanced view of hawaiian culture and the damage of colonialism.
Not everything worked, he can skirt too close to kitsch, but he got me good on a Princess Ka'iulani piece. I was apprehensive that we were going to be subjected to yet another nostalgic tribute as he introduced the setting with familiar images of PK. There were 2 sets of wāhine dancers, in traditional kahiko garb and somber, jewel-colored holoku.
The piece cycled through all styles of hula and ended with a hula mua, performed by the holoku-clad dancers to Cassandra Wilson's version of "Time After Time."
Wow. Haunting and evocative of familiar losses that resonate within our psyches in the spaces where no words exist, it was profoundly moving.
We don't have to try too hard these days to feel the imminence of leave-taking and loss.
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