Dancing in the Sea of Life Hula Newsletter
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Punalu'u Photograph by Janet Clark
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'Upu mai nei ke aloha.
A sudden yearning to see a loved one.
'Olelo No'eau - Hawaiian Proverbs & Poetical Sayings, #2883 Collected, translated and annotated by Mary Kawena Pukui
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A wonderful way to feel the energy of Hawaii, gently tone your body, strengthen your core, and enjoy dancing to beautiful Hawaiian music. No experience necessary. Men, Women age 16 years and older welcome!
Mondays
6 - 7 pm
Tuesdays
11 am - 12 noon
Saturdays
8:30 - 9:30 AM
Men, Women aged 16 years and older. 6 months experience or permission of Kumu. Dance to the melodic music of Hawaii.
Wednesdays
7 - 8 PM
Go deeper into the culture of Hawaii through the chants and hula of Hawaii. Men and women age 16 years and older. 6 months experience or permission of Kumu.
Wednesdays
6 - 7 PM
Check our website for class schedules.
All classes are held at our sister organization:
Zen Life & Meditation Center
38 Lake Street
Oak Park, IL.
For more information call 708-297-6321 or email
june.tanoue@zlmc.org
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Upcoming Halau i Ka Pono Free Performances
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Free Hula Show featuring Classical and Modern Hula
and Tahitian!
Millenium Park's
(big white tent near the Bean)
Saturday July 12th
1 - 2 pm
AND
Saturday, August 23rd
1 - 2 pm
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Halau News
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Congratulations to Czerina Salud and Dwight Sora on the birth of their baby boy Jack born July 5th (6 lbs 4 oz, 19 inches)!
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Look for a Tahitian Workshop with Lori Murphy teaching sometime in August at Halau i Ka Pono.
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MAHALO NUI LOA/
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!
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 A heartfelt mahalo (thank you) to everyone who helps Kumu June and Halau i Ka Pono. Your aloha and support makes a tremendous difference!!! Special thank yous to:
Christine Steyer and Bellissima Opera, Martha Kasten, Marta Johnson, Ron Lettofsky, Franco Martorana, Ryan de Ryke, Paul Geiger, David Robbins, Chris Nemeth, Charlie Rossiter,
Wendy and Raymond Mitchell, Leneah Forest, Eleanor and Celeste Cohn-Eichner, Rob Eichner, Pam Bennett, Ed Leinartas, Janet Clark, Shay Niimi Wahl and Robert Joshin Althouse.
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Happy Interdependence Day!
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Painting by Shay Niimi Wahl
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Honu by Robert Althouse
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 | | Kumu June Kaililani Tanoue |
When a yearning comes up to see a loved one, it's best to follow it with action. I went to Portland, OR early last month to visit my best friend who is seriously ill and in hospice.
We met in 1978, a couple of years after I moved to Portland. I had the privilege of starting the Portland Interagency Food Bank and worked as its executive director for a decade. Part of my work there helped establish a statewide network of food banks called the Oregon Food Share. These later merged to become the Oregon Food Bank - very important for Oregon's hungry.
Throughout that decade my friend was my confidante and support. I even lived with her and her family for a few months as I finished my work with the food bank.
At the end of 1986 I decided that it was time to move to Los Angeles to live with my boyfriend and a year later we were married at the Zen Center of Los Angeles. My best friend was my matron of honor and her two little ones were my flower girls. My niece Melanie, age 6, did a beautiful set of hulas at the reception.
It felt good to be back in Portland - visiting old friends and admiring the many trees. I remembered we used to sing in Girl Scouts, "make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold." Old friends are precious as gold indeed.
When I saw my friend there - even though it had been about 13 years since I had seen her in person - I felt that no time had passed. There's a timelessness that happens between good friends. The only way that I could tell she had aged was that her hair was a lighter shade of gray. The warmth and easiness we had with each other as I massaged her feet didn't come from words.
During my visit, I spent some time in nature to renew myself. The International Rose Garden is at its prime in June with roses of almost every color of the rainbow in bloom. My first day there was a sunny one. I walked about a mile and a half through Forest Park on a path lined by ferns and surrounded by tall trees until I reached the Rose Garden. Oh joy! The air was heady with the scent of a multitude of roses.
I visited the Japanese Garden on another day. The weather was a bit drizzly and foggy- typical Oregon weather that I remembered so well. The Japanese Garden is stunning in its simple yet elegant beauty. Everywhere I looked there was beauty. There was also a traditional Zen garden built in the style of Zen monasteries in Japan.
I also visited the gorgeous Chinese Garden with its wonderful tea house. This was my first visit to that garden. The Chinese sense of beauty is different from Japanese. The Chinese use ornate rock formations and buildings with curved up roofs. The courtyard was full of a lattice-work of pebble designs with moss growing in between. There were also sweet smelling flowers everywhere.
I traveled 90 minutes north of Portland to visit the Great Vow Zen Monastery in Clatskanie and its Jizo Garden. Clatskanie is quite rural - almost reminding me of Hamakua. Two lane roads were common as I found my way to the monastery, formerly an elementary school. I joined their Sunday program which included meditation. Then I toured the grounds with founders Chozen and Hogen Bays. They've made a beautiful Jizo Garden set in a forest complete with moss carpeted paths. Jizo is the protector of women, children, and travelers in the six realms of existence. Jizo is also said to be the patron saint of lost causes because he never gives up. There were many Jizo statues, for children who died, set everywhere in the forest.
Portland is a very enlightened city. Recycling there is very important. At the airport signs encourage you to keep your empty plastic bottle and fill it inside the terminal. The water spigots automatically pour water when you hold your bottle on the right spot. An electronic sign also tells you how many bottles have been saved as a result - over 9,000 by the time I lifted my bottle to the spigot. That made me smile even though I was sad to be leaving my friends and especially my best friend.
Oregon has legalized medical marijuana, and she is trying the cannabis oil to treat her cancer. Evidently the oil cuts off blood supply to the tumor and causes it to die. So this is our hope. I'm glad I visited my dear friend in my former home. I continue to send prayers and love to her for total health and well being.
Malama pono (Take care of body, mind and heart),
June Kaililani Tanoue
Kumu Hula
P.S. Here's a slide show of my Portland visit and another for my visit to the Monastery and Portland's Heart of Wisdom Zen Center. For mobile units click here for Portland slide show and Monastery slide show. |
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JoEllyn Romano
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 | | JoEllyn Hoey Romano |
JoEllyn Romano was raised in Melrose Park, IL, a prominently Italian-American town. Her mother, Mary Jane, is Italian and her father Jim, is Irish. JoEllyn was surrounded by lots of people speaking Italian growing up and lots of great Italian food. She speaks Italian, has 3 younger brothers, and a younger sister. Her husband, Guy, is also from Melrose Park. They met at a pool party. He pushed her in, she yelled at him and then they fell in love!
JoEllyn is also a passionate gardener. Her garden is on the Villa Park Garden Walk this July 20th. She is part of Halau i Ka Pono's performance class. Here is JoEllyn Romano telling us a little more about herself.
I am very proud of my heritage. My Irish Grandfather, Thomas Hoey, and Italian Grandfather, Joseph Carlino, emigrated to this country for a better life. They arrived here dirt poor (my Grandfather Tom came here with only $17.00 to his name!), but they both worked hard, and ended up doing very well for themselves. I am very proud of the fact that they worked hard to have a better life, and they succeeded in doing this. Working hard is an ethic that my grandfathers embodied, and this ethic was instilled in me by my parents.
I started learning hula when I was 30. I always thought hula was beautiful, and decided I wanted to learn it. At the time I was dancing as a ballerina in a ballet company, and I was looking to do something very different from ballet. I feel very lucky and privileged to study with June, and to dance in her performing class, as June is an excellent teacher (and dancer) and she gives us a very well rounded hula education. She teaches us to dance, some Hawaiian culture, and has taught us other aspects of Hula, such as lei making and costume making.
I am passionate first and foremost about being a good Mom to my daughter, Natalie. After that, I am passionate about dancing. When I dance is when I feel the most alive and happy. In addition to dancing with June, I also dance in a tap dancing troop, and with 2 musical theater groups.
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About Us | |
Halau i Ka Pono at "Many Traditions - One Heart," March 30, 2014
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Halau i Ka Pono means School that Cultivates the Goodness. We teach Hula which is defined as the art of Hawaiian dance expressing all that we see, hear, taste, touch, and feel. Hula and healing go hand in hand in our Halau. The dance connects us to the grounding energy of the earth and opens us to the warm spirit of Aloha (love). Come join us! We have wonderful introductory classes for adult beginners! No experience necessary.
Contact Kumu June at june.tanoue@zlmc.org for more information. May your lives be full of aloha blessings!
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