International Waikiki Hula Conference

Aloha all! :) Although I have been dancing the Hula. But this is my first trip to visit the land of its birth. :) Thanks to International Waikiki Hula Conference, not only I get to brush up my Hula skills, I also get to have my own adventurous holidays in Oahu.

The conference was fabulous. I met a lot of new people and learn a lot of new things. I got to know this girl from San Diego, and we got close pretty fast since she is also alone on this trip. So, after the class, we went hula shopping together and went to watch some hula show on the beach! On that first day, I also met my hula teacher from Japan. :D I knew she is coming to the conference, but I bumped into her without contacting her! Which is nice.

On the second day of the conference, I had a lot of fun too. I took classes that teaches routines using Lei and 'Uli 'Uli.

Me and Kumu James Dela Cruz who taught me a choreographed Hula using Lei.

Me and Kumu Aukele Siangco who taught me the choreographed Hula using 'Uli 'Uli.

And most importantly, I performed in Hilton Waikiki that night. (A free hula show organized by one of the teachers.)

A picture with my friends who came to watch the performance at Hilton.

After the performance, I met up with my high school friend again, to catch a late dinner.

Here comes the last day of the conference, I loved it so much. I took a traditional Hula class in the morning with Kumu Momi Cruz-Losano. I took a class with Randy Kaulana Chang during the second session. I was amazed that he had his son to teach the class. (his son is only 20 years old!) 

And I met a group of hula people from Taiwan, and one of the girls, Rainy, introduced me to a reporter of a famous hula magazine in japan. The reporter said he will be interested to come and write a story on me Hula Dance Jakarta! Afterward I went home, and I went out again for the closing ceremony with my friends from the conference and some of my roommates from the hostel I stayed at! The closing ceremony is on the beach, its a concert. Concert lasted until really late, so I went back to sleep. But I had a wonderful time during the conference. I loved it.

What is the Hula Dance?

The hula is a Hawaiian dance. It tells a story with motions. The hula today is just thought of as an entertaining dance by many tourists, however it has a very long and interesting history.

The hula is not just a woman dancing with a grass skirt on and moving her hips in a provocative way. Hula means "dance" in Hawaiian language. The hula in fact began as a worship dance and evolved into a story telling dance that was accompanied with mele or chants. The hula was a way for the ancient Hawaiian people to tell their stories and have those stories passed down from generation to generation without writing them down. Hula is a form of expression, the telling of a story through hand gestures. It involves your entire body from your eyes to your feet. Every movement your hands make is the meaning of a word or phrase.

Hula dancers not only have to carry out the movements but most importantly they also have to pass the stories to audiences. :) That is the beauty of Hula. And Hula is the beauty of Hawaiian culture.

Welcome to Hula Dance Jakarta!

Aloha! :)

My name is Ishan. I am the founder of Hula Dance Jakarta. I created Hula Dance Jakarta to share my passion for Hula to people around me. I fell in love with Hula Dance and I want more and more people can appreciate and enjoy the beauty of this art of dancing Hula.

I currently reside in Jakarta, Indonesia. Please come and join us if you are in Jakarta! I will post some recent activities of Hula Dance Jakarta on this blog. And if you have any questions on Hula, please email me at huladancejakarta@ymail.com :) I would be happy to answer your questions.

xx,
Ishan