Hui O Hula

There are many good reasons to dance, and having fun may be one of the best. Dancing keeps the body moving while also asking the mind to remember rhythm and motions. Research has found that dancing may benefit balance, mobility, cognition and mood. Add music and friendship and it becomes exercise that doesn’t always feel like exercise.

Hui O Hula offers hula dance lessons twice a week: Tuesdays at 1 p.m. in the upstairs Mirror Room of Clubhouse 6 and Thursdays at 1 p.m. in the conference room at the Optum Health Care Center next to the pharmacy. All are welcome. Wear comfortable clothing that allows easy movements. Dancing barefoot is traditional, but soft socks or dance booties during practice in class are fine. People can also dance seated.

This summer has been busy for the dancers, who have gone from garden parties to healthcare centers, neighborhood gatherings and community events, sometimes fitting more than one performance into the same day. They also share aloha alongside the musicians of Coconut Breeze, proving that live island style music and hula make good partners. Dancers helped celebrate the birthday of Mutual 12’s Marina Tesla. Sometimes the happiest hula performances are not the ones with a stage, curtains or microphones. Dancers also performed at Extended Care Hospital of Westminster for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic; at the Los Alamitos Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center; and have continued a longtime tradition of entertaining at the North Seal Beach Community Center Senior Lunch Café. On Aug. 21, the dancers will perform at the Seal Beach Health and Rehabilitation Center’s luau party.

For class information, call or text 562-338-1502.

Hui O Hula dancers perform at retired teacher Jan Marshall's 80th birthday party at a Lutheran Church in Huntington Beach. The Hawaiian-themed afternoon was a preview of more celebrating to come, as she and her family headed to Honolulu after the festivities.

Roland Phillips