An island is born of dance

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Lowen Patigayon and fellow dancers go through a miniperformance from the second act of "Hanau Ka Moku: An Island Is Born." The production, a collaboration between the Tau Dance Theatre and Halau O Kekuhi of Hilo, is heading for Honolulu this weekend. Earlier performances on Maui and the Big Island drew both praise and criticism. Photos by Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

Jackie Ni'i is one of the performers in "Hanau Ka Moku: An Island Is Born." The tale of creation plays Saturday at the Hawai'i Theatre.

Jackie Ni'i and Steven Taketa perform in "Hanau Ka Moku: An Island Is Born." 'Hanau Ka Moku: An Island Is Born' Featuring Halau O Kekuhi and the Tau Dance Theatre 7:30 p.m. Saturday Hawai'i Theatre $8, $18, $33, $48 528-0506

The modern dancers chant in Hawaiian.

It's a groundbreaking blend of hula and modern dance, maintaining age-old hula tradition while embracing theatrical techniques. Its intent is to tell a tradition-bound story of creation in a way that communicates with purists as well as with young moderns.

"Hanau Ka Moku: An Island Is Born," which has drawn both praise and criticism from audiences in earlier performances on Maui and the Big Island, finally makes its Honolulu debut Saturday at the Hawai'i Theatre.

And it comes with a big buzz, because hula dancers do things in it that hula dancers never have done before, like rolling on the ground. Similarly, modern dancers expand their artistry to include, gulp, chanting.

It is a culturally significant, three-act collaboration between Halau O Kekuhi of Hilo, led by the eminent guardians of island tradition, sisters Pualani Kanahele and Nalani Kanaka'ole, and the Tau Dance Theatre of Honolulu, the modern dance ensemble led by Peter Rockford Espiritu.

"The rolling-on-the-floor thing is never part of the hula tradition and never will be," said Kanahele, one of the movers and shakers of this cultural phenom. "It's part of the vision for this piece; so it's just part of this performance only."

The unlikely movement depicts a bottom-of-the-ocean moment, when the dance details steam stacks on the ocean floor, said Kanahele. "The dance shows how these steam stacks build, how the creatures live around the steam stack, with bamboo poles representing the steam stacks. As they blow, there's ground movement — the rolling on the floor."

Espiritu, who is accustomed to having his dancers leap and roll, had choreographed some sections involving halau dancers.

"The rolling-on-the-ground thing is not Hawaiian, and I got to thinking that they'd hate me. It was something that we had to really work on, so after the Maui and Hilo performances, the Kekuhi folks asked me to fly over to Hilo and give stretch classes, to share how we do it (in modern dance) to avoid bumps and bruises."

It was give and take from the get-go, when the groups intertwined to create the first-ever dance drama embracing a Hawaiian story element rooted in the tradition of change and intersecting with modern techniques of theater.

Kanahele, who works with sister Nalani Kanaka'ole in upholding the integrity of hula, said the hula roll ultimately "felt comfortable. It required trust, and a lot of creativity on our part, to make it work," she said.

"But both our groups (Kekuhi and Tau) are very much into dance forms. He gave us a chance to push the envelope a bit. And even though we're in hula for generations, I don't think we fully anticipated the possibilities of this dance form to reach a new level. No, it's not tacky. Though some of what we do is a little weird. I mean, there are movements we cannot do in hula that Peter can do in modern dance."

Intertwining two dance concepts was no picnic.

"The process came out of the new text of the chants, which tells the story of the new island, Lo'ihi, being formed off the Big Island," said Espiritu. "I would fly over to the Big Island on a regular basis, maybe 30 times last year, to videotape the dancers in action. My company would rehearse with the help of video."

Tapes of the Tau performers were given to the Kekuhi 'ohana for similar scrutiny.

"It wasn't till a week before the premiere show on Maui last year that we actually had a full-on rehearsal," said Espiritu.

He features 12 dancers; the halau has 14.

Espiritu said the collaboration has resulted in mutual respect, but not without effort and patience.

"Both sides were so intense," said Espiritu. "I think that the cross, the understanding, has provided both sides with a better understanding of the creative process. All I know is that they are the salt of the earth; they are so rooted in tradition and culture, I had the utmost respect for them."

It was not so easy to win the respect, said Espiritu, who initially felt like an outsider.

"Auntie Pua was fairly receptive," he said. "I think she and Auntie Nalani are very intuitive people. But Auntie Nalani, I swear, didn't talk to me for a good part of the year; I could feel her stare. When they came over for my 'Ladies Night Out' concert, Auntie Nalani said something really profound about Martha Graham, one of the great modern choreographers of our time. After that, we were just fine."

Kanahele said the partnership helped opened up her eyes and soul.

"Sometimes, as artists, we box ourselves in more than necessary," she said. "But we've really grown, I think, doing this project. We're looking at this as a totally different element from what we're used to. We love and worship the eruption sites, which has to do with our journey in life, our journey into the open ocean, where this new island hasn't surfaced yet. This dance has given us a chance to be creative, to do this new chant and dance."

Espiritu said he respected the protocol of a hula 'ohana and he did his homework to fit, to try not to offend, to understand.

"There really wasn't any apprehension, because they did welcome me, but I did, and still do, tread cautiously. It's all about respect and understanding someone else's culture."

Kanahele and Kanaka'ole are part of the hula legacy left by their late mother, Auntie Edith Kanaka'ole, the revered kumu and chanter and, in some circles, the goddess of all things relating to hula. It's no accident that the site of the annual Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo has been named in Edith Kanaka'ole's honor.

Kanahele has kind words for Espiritu.

"Peter is very creative; he's avant garde in his movement. It's exciting for us to be working with him, because we almost never do things outside of hula. Here, we do everything; the words (chants) are ours, but the dance is sometimes his."

Espiritu talks about taking this show on the road, to the Mainland, to continue the journey in 2004 and further expand the vision of the concept of creating something new. Not just the island, but the dance.

But Kanahele thinks her halau could go, but she'd skip the Mainland tour.

"These bones are getting old," she said.

But she supports the vision and the boldness of the collaboration, no matter what the kupuna or critics say.

"The project really opens your eyes. The reaction has been either you really like it or you don't like it. And that's all right. We know we like it, and that's all that matters."