FAMILY MATTERS
Just don't say 'no' when called on to hula
By Ka'ohua Lucas
I've always loved to dance.
I was never shy about waltzing around our house, mimicking Ginger Rogers.
Hoping to nurture a hidden talent, my mom registered me for a ballet class. I was 3 years old, then, but doing pirouettes around the room just wasn't my cup of tea.
So mom signed me up for hula. Now there was an art form I reveled in.
You would think that after more than 20 years, I would have amassed an endless hula repertoire.
The list is quite short.
I was reminded of this recently, when our family celebrated the 80th birthday of our longtime friend, Aunty Kay.
Two dozen of us gathered at The Willows. A pair of musicians played old-time Hawaiian favorites while various members of the family were called up to dance.
If you've been dancing hula for a while, you and every other dancer know that there are several important points of hula etiquette.
These may not be listed anywhere, but I'll break the code of silence and share them.
No. 1: Never have the musicians choose a song for you, unless they have been previously briefed or are familiar with your hula repertoire. (If this is broken, move to subsequent points.)
No. 2: If the musicians assume you know the number and invite you up to dance, go!
No. 3: Look flattered and graciously move toward the stage. You may not know the song, but act as if you do. Never let on that you don't know the song.
No. 4: If you are unfortunate enough to be called upon and do not know the number, fake it. Let's hope there are no other experienced dancers in the group who recognize that you have re-choreographed a traditional hula. And if they are there, they will understand. They've been there before.
No. 5: Never ever turn down an invitation to dance, because if you do, you will be continually picked upon to dance by the musicians or emcee.
"And, now, we would like to call up Ka'ohua to do a number for us," my brother announced, gesturing in my direction.
"Yeah, come on, Mom," my 12-year-old winked. "Do your favorite!"
My husband leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Are you going to do that same old limu number?"
(By "limu," in this case, he meant "stale.")
"Yes!" I hissed, and nodding graciously in the direction of the musicians, I regally took my place in front of them.
"And now I would like to do one of my all-time favorites." I smiled at our Mainland friends. "I Kona."
As I danced to the strum of the 'ukulele, guitar and bass, I floated across the stage. No one in the audience with the exception of my family and, oh yes, the musicians, knew that this was the only hula I could remember.
But whether I knew the hula or not, I would have danced anyway, remembering what Aunty Mary Kawena Pukui wrote: When one wants to dance the hula, bashfulness should be left at home.
Or as my dad used to say, "Don't think of yourself. You are giving pleasures to others."
Ka'ohua Lucas has an 18-year-old daughter and two sons, 12 and 8. She hold a master's degree in education curriculum and instruction, and is as an educational consultant on Hawaiian curriculum. Write: Family Matters, Island Life, The Honolulu Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802; e-mail ohana@honoluluadvertiser.com or fax 535-8170.
