Wai Ola, ʻAukele And The Waters Of Life

Rhythmix Cultural Works
March 18, 2023 2:00PM & 7:00PM

Hula Kiʻi is a critically endangered tradition of Hawaiʻi which features the use of carved or crafted images in the story telling and movements of hula. It is one of many genres of traditional Hawaiian dance.

The hula kiʻi and other forms of hula faced extreme suppression during the 19th Century. Hula was not the only aspect of Hawaiian culture to endure the negative impacts of colonization. Heiau (spiritual temples) were overthrown and religious artifacts destroyed as the very foundations of Hawaiian lifestyle were violently disrupted. Nonetheless, the hula in its many forms survived, including the tradition of hula kiʻi.

As a result of a 2021 Choreography Award granted by the Gerbode Foundation, The Center for International Dance, in association with Kumu Hula Kiʻi Mauliola Cook (holder of the lineal tradition of Kumu Nona Beamer and hula haumana of Kumu Hula Victoria Holt Takamine) and Kumu Hula Kiʻi Maile Loo-Ching, (hānai daughter of Kumu Nona Beamer and director of the Hula Preservation Society), is introducing this unique art form here in the Bay Area.

Photo by Mike Teruya
Kumu Hula Kiʻi Mauliola Cook, Kumu Hula Kiʻi Maile Loo-Ching and Kekupu Loo-Ching

The Project

Nā Kumu Hula Kiʻi (hula kiʻi teachers) Mauliola Cook and Maile Loo-Ching journeyed from Kauaʻi and Oʻahu to California to work with members of Hālau Ka Ua Tuahine of Berkeley.

The first of these visits was focused on the creation of the kiʻi (puppets)    using rocks, shells, fibers, and other natural materials. Each dancer was encouraged to make her own unique kiʻi, including their garments and adornments. There was specific attention given to learning how to hold and animate the kiʻi. Nā Kumu (teachers) shared a number of beautiful mele (songs) and hula.

There was considerable discussion on the history of the kiʻi tradition as well as a primer on challenges of water rights both in Hawaiʻi and here in California.

Our second visit with Nā Kumu encompassed deepening our understanding of the mele (songs) and choreography as well as working on the technique of how to hold and dance with the kiʻi.
During the two years of the project, our dancers met for weekly practice and the lead artist and Nā Kumu met monthly on Zoom to clarify logistics for the culminating performance.

We have recently been engaging in weekly joint rehearsals with Nā Kumu zooming in from Hawaiʻi to observe us and offer notes on what they see.

The outcome of all this will have Nā Kumu visiting us once again to take part in a unique presentation that involves a fusion of the arts: dance, song, puppetry, the crafting of traditional regalia & adornments as well as storytelling.


Program

The Legend of ʻAukelenuiaikū

ʻAukele is the 11th and favorite son of Ikū, the chief of the celestial land of Kuaihelani. His jealous brothers threw him into a pit where he encountered his ʻAumakua (ancestor), Moʻoinanea. She gave him otherworldly gifts and powers which helped him to secure Peleʻs older sister Nāmakaokahaʻi as his wife. A journey into the spiritual world brought him into possession of the Waters of Life, which bestowed awareness, forgiveness and love on ʻAukele and his entire ʻohana (family).

Oli Welina
The Kumulipo
The Sons of Ikū
ʻAumakua
The Journey
Nāmakaokahaʻi
Pule No Ke Kala
The Waters of Life

Where the River Meets the Sea

A call to the oceans and the sweet waters of the world and a reminder to cherish these precious resources.

Te Moana
Words & music by Teneta Kong-Fou

Ka Wai Sweet
Words & music by Māhealani Uchiyama

Tribute to the Late Kumu Hula Kiʻi
Auntie Nona Beamer

Ka Pua Lehua O Pāhoa
A song for Auntie Nona composed by Nathan Kahikolu Kalama.

Hawaiian Puppetry is Reborn!

E Ola E Nā Kiʻi E

Composed by Charles Auliʻi Mitchell of Oʻahu, who was raised in the hula tradition of his mother Kumu Hula Harriet Aana Cash and his grandfather Charles Kahiwahiwa Cash. He perpetuates carved kiʻi practices and wrote this oli to celebrate the rebirth of hula kiʻi in modern times.

Lead Artist Meridith Kawēkiu Aki and her daughter Avery Kamalei Aki, and their kiʻi.

Nā Kumu

Kawika Alfiche - Kumu Hula and Traditional Sound Elements
Mauliola Cook - Kumu Hula Kiʻi and Cultural Consultant
Maile Loo-Ching - Kumu Hula Kiʻi and Cultural Consultant
Māhealani Uchiyama - Kumu Hula and Director

Lead Artist

Meridith Kawēkiu Aki

Guest Artists

Kekupu Loo-Ching
John-Mario Sevilla as ʻAukele

Nā Mea Hula Kiʻi

Avery Kamalei Aki, Meridith Kawēkiu Aki, Clarisse Tēhau Choy, Catherine Lokomaikaʻi Dea, Lora Kēhaulani Dinga, Emily Hinareva Hawkins, Grace Kaʻimi Kang, Gerisa Makaʻala Macale, Elaine Mālino Mo, Amber Poliʻahu Saberton, Pamela Līʻula Saberton, Amy ʻIlikea Santana, Mariko Maunakahu Soto, Fonda Lanakila Yoshimoto-Reed

Nā Mea Hula

Lauren Polinahe Aczon, Aura Ahulani Aparicio, Angela Pūnihi Bao, Megan Nōhea Dwyer, Asatu Hall, Sarah Kaʻohuleilani Hawley-Snow, Lily Kaʻeo Hill, Monica Alaula Kagdis, Irene Puaʻiti Klein, Usha Lingappa, Deidre Poʻerava Manansala, Zara Purotu Manansala, Alexa Leihulu Nakahira, Lynne Manawa Ogawa, Beth Pao, Catherine Kalāheo Porter, Lynda Kamālie Roti, Elayne Kaleikini Ryder, Mojia Shen, Susan Takami, Kyoko Tomita, Juanita Kōnane Wilson, Amanda Moanilehua Wong, Shania Makanoe Yamada-Lee, Linden Young

Nā Mea Hoʻokani a Hīmeni

Alan Kekoa Aki, Miles Keanu Aki, Victor ʻAnapa Manansala, Ashley Waiʻolu Moore, Kristin Lauaʻe Rissanen, Chris Trinidad, Māhealani Uchiyama

Production Manager

Sonia Lōkahi Pina

Scenic Design

Aaron Sencil

Sound Engineer

Patrick Simms

Design & Construction of Moʻoinanea

Lora Kēhaulani Dinga & Pamela Līʻula Saberton

Regalia Design

Clarisse Tēhau Choy

Regalia Construction

Clarisse Tēhau Choy, Lokomaikaʻi Dea, Lily Kaʻeo Hill, Grace Kaʻimiloa Kang, Irene Puaʻiti Klein, Lynne Manawa Ogawa, Amy ʻIlikea Santana, Juanita Kōnane Wilson

Adornment Design

Elaine Mālino Mo, Lynn Manawa Ogawa


Artist Bios

Meridith Kawēkiu Aki was born and raised in Berkeley, CA. She began taking dance classes at the age of 2 years. Throughout her childhood she learned many different styles of dance, including many forms of “world dance”. In 1993 she took her first class from Kumu Hula Māhealani Uchiyama and has continued ever since. In 2006 she became an ‘alaka’i of Kumu Māhea’s Hālau Ka Ua Tuahine. With Hālau Ka Ua Tuahine, Kawēkiu has performed throughout California and internationally, appearing in venues ranging from the Hollywood Bowl and Kū Mai Ka Hula of Kahului, Maui, to the Heiva celebrations of Tahiti, French Polynesia and Te Papa Tongareva, the National Museum of New Zealand. She has attended the world conference on hula, Ka ʻAha Hula ʻo Hālauaola, on the islands of Maui, O’ahu, Kaua’i and Hawaiʻi.

Kawika Keikialiʻihiwahiwa Alfiche is the Kumu Hula for Hālau o Keikiali'i and Director for the Kaululehua Hawaiian Cultural Center in South San Francisco and Napa and has been teaching hula and Hawaiian cultural arts for 29 years. With a mission to preserve and perpetuate all things Hawaiian, Kawika spends his life learning, teaching, and sharing his culture through the hula and cultural arts and continues to teach throughout the globe. His first Kumu Hula was Tiare Maka-Olanolan Clifford of Hanalei, Kauaʻi. After her passing in 1992, Kumu Kawika became haumana of Kumu Hula Harriet Kahalepouli Keahilihau-Spalding of Keaukaha, Hawaiʻi who had Kawika open his own Hālau in 1994. Aunty Harriet’s kumu was her grandmother, Mary Ahiena Kekuewa, who was affectionately known as Mama Fujii. In 1996, Aunty Harriet had Kawika fall under Kumu Hula Rae Kahikilaulani Fonseca of Hilo, Hawaiʻi – an ʻūniki (formal graduate) of Uncle George Lanakilakeikiahiali`i Naʻope, a hula master and treasure of Hawaiʻi. In March 2007, Kumu Kawika was one of six to be a part of Kumu Rae’s first and only ʻūniki.

Mauliola Cook holds an MFA in Theater and Dance from UH Mānoa. She belongs to Hālau Pua Ali’i ‘Ilima and is a grateful haumana to her Kumu Hula, Victoria Holt Takamine and Jeffery Takamine. She has led the Kaua’i based class of their hālau for the last 22 years. Mauli began her studies of hula in Honolulu in 1978 with the late Rose Joshua. While teaching at UH Hilo Mauliola was privileged to study with the Hālau o Kekuhi for two years. When earning her MFA she was fortunate to study under Kumu Hula Kaha’i Topolinski as well as Kumu Hula Edward Kalāhiki. Mauliola met Auntie Nona when she first arrived in the islands in 1978. Auntie Nona was a cherished mentor and beloved Auntie to her in all aspects of life and hula. Mauliola was awarded an apprenticeship grant from the Hawaiʻi State Foundation on Culture and the Arts in the early 1990s to study hula ki’i with Auntie Nona. Their year of study unfolded into myriad opportunities to perform and teach hula ki’i throughout the islands. Since Auntie’s passing Mauli has been blessed by a rich friendship with Auntie’s hānai daughter Maile Beamer Loo. Together with Maile, Mauliola has enjoyed sharing performances and workshops of hula ki’i, on the continent as well as in Hawai’i, often in collaborations with Kumu Hula Auli’i Mitchell and Kumu Hula Kapono’ai Molitau.

Maile Loo-Ching and her hānai (adopted) mother, the late hula master, composer, storyteller, author, and teacher, Auntie Nona Beamer, founded the non-profit Hula Preservation Society (HPS). For the last 23 years, Ms. Loo-Ching has led HPS’s efforts to build a library hand-in-hand with our native elders, digitally documenting hundreds of hours of “talk story” sessions and public programs with the elders sharing of their lives as Native Hawaiians in the dynamic yet challenging 20th century in Hawaiʻi. The resulting archive exists nowhere else in the world and is a resource for teachers and learners of all kinds. In addition to leading the work of HPS from its Office & Archives in Kāneʻohe, Hawaiʻi, Maile perpetuates the Beamer style of hula and the traditions of Auntie Nona through her hālau. This tradition includes Hula Kiʻi, or Hawaiian Puppetry, which was one of Auntie’s most treasured forms of ancient hula. Auntie Nona’s kiʻi protégé is Mauliola Cook, and together Ms. Loo-Ching and Ms. Cook have taught and shared kiʻi on the islands of Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, Maui, Molokai, and Hawaiʻi. She is the Kumu of Hālau Hula ʻo Kahoʻoilina Aloha (The Legacy of Love) of Kāneʻohe, Hawaiʻi where she helps teach children the joys of life and the stories of Hawaiʻi through hula.

John-Mario Arcilla Sevilla, from Maui, is a hula student of Hōkūlani Holt and June Ka‘ililani Tanoue; he recently began studying with Kawika Alfiche. Currently the Director at Large at Luna Dance Institute in Berkeley, CA, he previously was the Visiting Scholar at NYU’s Asia Pacific American Institute and directed 92Y Harkness Dance Center, Dance Education Laboratory and NYC Ballet Education. He has presented his choreography at The Atlantic Theater Company, The Met Museum, LaMaMa, Movement Research, Harkness Dance Center, Dance Theatre Workshop, Lower East Side Tenement Museum, The Asia Society and Bronx Academy of Art and Dance. He has danced in the companies of Pilobolus, Alison Chase, Murray Louis and Alwin Nikolais, Anna Sokolow, among others.

Māhealani Uchiyama is an award-winning dancer, musician, composer, choreographer, recording artist, author and teacher. She studied hula under Kumu Hula Hoʻoulu Cambra and primarily under Kumu Hula Joseph Kamohaʻi Kahāʻulelio. She is the founder and director of the Māhea Uchiyama Center for International Dance (MUCID) of Berkeley, California and is Kumu Hula of Hālau Ka Ua Tuahine. She is the creator and director of the Kāpili Polynesian Dance & Music Workshops. She holds a BA in Dance Ethnology and an MA in Pacific Islands Studies from the University of Hawaiʻi, has led performance tours to Tahiti, New Zealand and the islands of Hawai’i, and has taught workshops throughout the United States and Mexico. She has taught Hawaiian Language at Stanford University and authored the Haumāna Hula Handbook for Students of Hawaiian Dance, and The Mbira, An African Musical Tradition (both published by North Atlantic Books / Penguin Random House). She has released numerous collections of Hawaiian and Tahitian music, and her CD A Walk by the Sea was awarded a Hawai’i Music Award for Best World Music Album. She has been honored by the City of Berkeley with a proclamation declaring January 22, 2019 as Māhealani Uchiyama Day. Ms. Uchiyama has served on the panel of judges for the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival and the Tahiti Fete of San Jose and Hilo. She is the former President of the Board of Directors of World Arts West and former Co-Artistic Director of the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival.

Wai Ola
ʻAukele and the Waters of Life - A Celebration of Hula Kiʻi

is made possible by a 2021 Choreography Grant from the Gerbode Foundation. We thank Rhythmix Cultural Works for partnering with the Mahea Uchiyama Center for International Dance for this production.