so I went to MM for the first time last nite, went to see the MAH competition and some thoughts came into my mind about hula....bare with me since some of these are thoughts and some of these are just funny quotes i came up with while watching....first since it was the first competition i seen, lets talk about Miss Aloha Hula....-first - interestingly enuff, I kinda realized that you watch and observe and take in more "Hula" on this night, then when you're at Kahiko or Auana nites....i know theres more dancers and more halau performing on those other nights....but because of the increased number of dancers on stage, you watch other things...you watch cooridination, synchornization (sp hehe), you watch how the dancers interact with each other as has been planned, you watch the effects of these plans and how well everyone looks together....those are all cool and all, but really, if you want to see "Hula", you watch a single dancer dance...you see more of the dancer's emotion, their certainties and uncertainties, you can sense her relationship with the song...her relationship with the ho'opa'a...the relationship with her and her moves...you sense more "Hula" then you do on the other nights...i guess its like....(sorry for the odd comparison) if Jet Li was to fight Jackie Chan...you can find out more about the person if they're one-on-one...if its just Jet Li vs Jackie Chan - but if Jackie had a whole gang fighting with him against Jet Li, it's hard to sense how they fight and what they're really doing, its a group effort and some things are seen, but a lot of aspects are lost or hidden on purpose within the group.-second - I applaud all the dancers, as it's a hell of a task, to step up there, infront of your peers (hula sisters/other hula dancers), friends and family, strangers, and a group of experts (the judges) and dance. I can't imagine how that is.-third - [i know youre thinking - ho sheeze hows this guy, talking so much about hula, who the hell he think he is? haha im surprised if anyone actually reads this far, but eh, I'm bored at work, I live in Hilo, I dont have that much frens out here to talk to, so im gonna keep on writing! haha] to me, as I've roamed around in this activity very briefly, but do a lot of things closely related to Hula in a Hawaiian perspective, i'd have to break it down like this....there is different aspects to Hula - physical stuff (i'o) - stuff we can see....the movements, the smiles, the sounds/chants (k i know this isnt' physical but im gonna throw it in there for now...). then theres the emotional - thoughts and feelings in the dancers mind/body and then theres the spiritual - which is kinda hard for me to explain, but im hoping ull sense it when im finished writing this.... so my thing is this....Hula at a competition when there is judges judging you, they can see and here that first category, they judge the movements and the dance, and they judge the sounds and how well the two go together...they, being highly respected experts, can probably sense the emotional feelings going on within the dancers...but if im not mistakened, the spiritual is not for the judges to judge...its something between the dancer and herself...the dancer and her aumakua/akua that she has relations with, and its between her and the song...i ku'u wahi mana'o, it can only be sensed and judged by the dancer herself, her aumakua/akua that she has relations with, and the song. To me, this is the most important part of the dance...without this spiritual aspect, the hula is just another broadway production, Hawaiian style. Hula without the spiritual, is not hula. It is a dance, yet not hula. if you want to tell the story with your hands, do so, but without the spiritual, its story time at the library and nothing more. and Im not complaining about the MAH competition, I'm actually applauding those that do have that spiritual aspect of their dance present...and I'm also saying, no matter what the judges say, the one thing that has to be judged, was judged, by you the hula dancer, your aumakua/akua that you have a relationship with, and the mele itself. and while it didn't count to any rewards or prizes or points in the competition, if you did good with the spiritual side of it, you made yourself, the gods and the mele happy!!! good job!!!k lawa for now...
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