Hui O Hula: Hawaiian Dance Club

Hui O Hula wishes a happy early May birthday to dancer Yumi Kaneko, who has been dancing with Hui O Hula for 19 years. In the group’s recent “ho’ike,” or exhibition, held on April 18, Kaneko had a very playful role in a hula about King Kalākaua. In this hula, called “He’eia”, the king, who was said to be an excellent surfer, is described surfing the waves, the crest of the waves, and returning on the diagonal waves, back to the shore.

Kaneko entered dramatically with her sarong, hat and sunglasses, ready for a day at the beach. As the hula begins, she tells the story, along with other dancers, of the king as he surfed. Occasionally teacher/dancer/surfer Jojo Weingart surfed along on the waves next to Kaneko, and they criss-crossed playfully on the waves.

As teacher Weingart is traveling for a few weeks, senior dancers will be teaching basic steps during classes, which are held on Tuesdays from 1-4 p.m. in the Mirror Room, upstairs in Clubhouse 6, and on Thursdays from 1-4 p.m. in the Optum Health Care Center conference room. There will be no class held on May 7, as the club will be dancing for the senior luncheon at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church in Los Alamitos. For more information, text or call 562-544-7697.