Hawaii News and Island Information

Sunday, September 18, 4PM, the internationally acclaimed Hālau O Kekuhi kicks off Kahilu Theatre’s 36th Presenting Season.

Hālau o Kekuhi is the hālau hula (classical dance company), and the center of cultural knowledge for the Edith Kanaka’ole Foundation (EKF). The cultural beliefs and practices in which the EKF is anchored radiate from the traditional practices of the hālau that can account for eight generations of kumu hula.

The hālau is celebrated for their mastery of the ‘aiha‘a style of hula (dance) and oli (chant). The ‘aiha‘a is a low-postured, vigorous, bombastic style of hula that springs from the eruptive volcano personas Pele and Hi‘iaka, characteristic of Hawai‘i Island’s creative forces. They have earned local, state, national, and international recognition for their art.

The leadership of the dance company is currently transmitted through matrilineal succession and with the passing of Edith Kanaka‘ole, her daughters Pualani Kanaka‘ole Kanahele and Nālani Kanaka‘ole assumed the role of kumu hula. In 2007, Pualani relinquished her position to her daughters, Kekuhi Keali‘ikanaka‘oleohaililani and Huihui Kanahele-Mossman, who along with Nālani, are now the kumu hula of the hālau.

The Kahilu Theatre doors open at 3pm for the performance and there will be food and beverages available for sale at the Kahilu Theatre bar. This show concludes the opening weekend of the Kapa Kahilu exhibit, which will be on display in the Kahilu Galleries.

Tickets are $68 / $58 / $48 / $20 and available for purchase online at http://www.kahilutheatre.org, by calling (808) 885-6868, or at the Kahilu Theatre Box Office at 67-1186 Lindsey Road, Kamuela, HI 96743, M-F 9am to 1pm.

This performance is made possible by The Hawai’i Council for Humanities & The Hawai’i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, and by generous sponsorship from Kate Bell, PhD & Tom Blackburn, PhD, Concepción S. & Irwin Federman, Jim & Susan Mori, Sherm & Elaine Warner, and Fairmont Orchid.

The Kahilu 2016/17 Hawaiian Series is sponsored by Hawaiian Airlines and KAPA Radio.

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