Hula performance
The night we went out to dinner with friends and family for local (divinely delicious) sushi, we also went to a hula dance. Like so many other public events, everything shut down when the pandemic hit Kona. Normally they held a once a month free-to-the-public open air hula demonstration. Since it was the first one after everything had opened up, the attendance was excellent. As you can see from the pics and videos, we were in for a treat!
Skirts are made by each individual dancer the day of the dance. Constructed of tea leaves harvested that morning, each skirt takes about 40 leaves to complete. All of the dancers are local folks and the lei’s are fresh flowers which grow in huge abundance in the wild as well as cultivated all over the island. Through the movement of feet, hips and hands, each dance tells a story. Age, body type as well as newest dancers to the most experienced were all present on stage. We were - like everyone else - enamored with the 10 year old girl who has obvious talent and passion hula. The musicians are local as well and famous for classical Hawaiian music. Alim got his Hawaiian music ‘fix’ for which he was longing ever since obtaining our flights. Enjoy!