Dancing in the Sea of Life Hula Newsletter
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 | | Dawn at Kaaawa Photograph by Janet Clark |
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O ka pono ke hana 'ia a iho mai na lani.
Continue to do good until the heavens come down to you.
Blessings come to those who persist in doing good.
'Olelo No'eau - Hawaiian Proverbs & Poetical Sayings, #2437 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 15 years and older welcome!
Classes begin week of Oct. 13th
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
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 708-689-1220
or email
june.tanoue@zlmc.org
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5th Anniversary Celebration & Kanikapila A Success!
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What a beautiful afternoon we had on September 21st - our last performance on the Pa Hula with our special guests: Shasta Hud and Halau Hula O Puanani, Tina Eggert and Halau Ho'ohiwhiwa i Ka Pu'uwai, Kawika Mahoe and Hokulea Dance Academy, Karen Noelani Campbell, Leigh Bell, Hoapili, Elua and from NYC - Jason Poole!!!  
The performances were also a fond farewell to the Pa Hula since we are selling the house. Mahalo nui everyone for your beautiful and kind ALOHA spirits!!! |
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Congratulations
Hula Association of Midwest!
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 | Shasta Hud and Noelani Campbell - both members of
Hula Association of the Midwest
(HAM)
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Hawaiian Hula DaysOct. 10 - 12, 2014 Workshop with Uluwehi Guerrero Sold Out!!!  | Halau i Ka Pono represented at the HAM Ho'ike by Joy Cardino Morgan, Lori Murphy, Flor Penner and Betsy Puig.
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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. We had an amazing September! Your aloha makes a tremendous difference!!!
Special thank yous to:
Jason Poole, Connie Harris, Ed Leinartas, Shasta Hud and Halau O Puanani, Tina Eggert and Halau Ho'ohiwahiwa o Pu'uwai, Kawika Mahoe and Hokulea Dance Academy, Noelani Campbell, Leigh Bell, Ron Cabanada and Danny Yamamoto of Hoapili, Ruth Schneider and Tina Eggert of Elua, Sarah Evans, Nicole Sumida, Lei Dietmeyer, Joy Morgan, Betsy Puig, Lori and Jon Murphy, Moira Bryan, DeLacy Sarantos, Cissy Plekavic, Moira Bryan, Lisa Alamar, Brad and Brande Guisbert, Alex Yu, Kevin Niemiec, Janet Clark, Mike Craig, Mandy Hartman, Marti Matthews, Peter Cunningham, G. Brad Lewis, Robert Joshin Althouse.
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Photography by G. Brad Lewis
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 | | Pahoehoe - Kilauea Volcanoby G. Brad Lewis |
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 | | Kumu June Kaililani Tanoue |
The last three weeks have been so full and good. It began with a wonderful gathering of hula people and Hawaiian musicians in a joint performance on September 21st - the Autumnal Equinox - on the Oak Park Pa Hula. It was the last time that we formally danced hula on the mound, as we're selling our house. When the festivities ended, Connie Harris did a beautiful pule (prayer) and ceremony to formally close the mound. I loved that five local Hawaiian groups (singers and dancers) came to share that moment with us!
That weekend was followed by a 7-day silent meditation retreat. Then came another week during which I secluded myself in preparation for my Dharma Transmission to become a fully empowered Zen Priest and Zen Teacher. I didn't use my computer or iPhone during that last week which culminated in a wonderful Robe Ceremony this past Sunday.
During my seclusion, I got up at 4:15 am to meditate and then did Buddhist services in honor of our lineage of Buddhist teachers which trace back to Shakyamuni Buddha. I chanted sutras and the names of our male and female ancestors throughout the day, copied manuscripts and made 108 bows every evening.
I was a little concerned about being able to do the 108 prostrations. I did them slowly and rhythmically and noticed when I was worried about my performance. I observed when I procrastinated and how whatever story I made up about not doing them just added to my not wanting to do them. But, of course, I had to do them so I just leaped into bowing.
The first night that I completed them, I noticed I was breathing hard and was glad to have a chair to sit on. I also noticed how much more energy I had for sitting meditation and that my chest felt more open. Bowing is a good physical practice to accompany meditation.
On the second day I included a Hawaiian chant after the Buddhist services. As soon as I finished chanting, tears spontaneously arose in gratitude for my hula practice. I knew then that hula was my heart practice and realized it is so very much a part of who I am.
My week of seclusion and intensive practice culminated in a public Robe Ceremony on Sunday. At least 50 people attended. I was given a new robe by my teacher, my husband Robert Joshin Althouse. The robe signified my dharma transmission and a new title - Sensei (teacher). Then we danced hula that made me really happy. It was a beautiful and empowering day. So many people had supported me in different ways - cooking, cleaning, dancing, praying.
The next day, I slept in - the first day off in three weeks. When I awoke the first thing I did was look at FaceBook on my iPhone for an hour lying in bed.
Later on that foggy day, we went to the Art Institute of Chicago - the last day of the Magritte Exhibition. Magritte was a surrealist who believed in the power of his dreams and looked at the world in a very different way. I too am beginning to see things differently.
The great photographer, Peter Cunningham, was with us. Much to my delight, he said that foggy days are perfect days for photography! After lunch, we walked out to the Lurie Gardens - an oasis right in the midst of urban Chicago! Peter was right - the fall colors of the garden were magically enhanced by the foggy light and rain.
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My iPhone battery was almost gone, but I had my small Cannon PowerShot to use. I thoroughly enjoyed taking photos - what nourishment the garden gave to me. I saw one angle that was particularly enchanting - I wanted to take a photo on my iPhone to post onto FaceBook, and share it with you. So I took out my iPhone, and then I dropped it.
It bounced off of the retaining wall and dove straight through a little crack - like a champion Olympic diver - not touching either side of the crack. It fell perfectly straight into the water flowing under the deck. I stood there stunned. There was nothing I could do. My iPhone was gone!
 A very nice young man came towards me as this happened. He witnessed the whole thing and was almost as stunned as I was. He looked at me and said with empathy, "It's gone." I said, "Yes," still in disbelief. He said, "I'm sorry." I said, "Thanks" not knowing whether I should laugh or cry.
My world shifted a little again. When you lose something of value, there is a momentary change in awareness. Then I laughed out loud in disbelief at how my iPhone could have done such a perfect dive into the drink. Could this be a blessing in disguise? Maybe I need to start doing more face to face time with people. So, for now, I'm exploring living without my iPhone. We'll see how long that lasts.
Malama pono (Take care of body, mind and heart),
June Kaililani Tanoue
Kumu Hula
P.S. Here's a slide show of our Celebration of Halau i Ka Pono's 5th Anniversary. For mobile units click here . Here's a slide show of our romp in the beautiful Lurie Gardens, where I lost my iPhone. For mobile units click here. |
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Taupouri Tangaro, PhD, Kumu Hula
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 | Taupouri Tangaro doing Hei (ritual string figures of Hawai'i)
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In the early 1990's, I knew of Taupouri Tangaro when he was a member of Halau O Kekuhi and I was a member of Halau Hula Ka No'eau. Known then as Kaipo Frias, he was a strong, fiery dancer, and powerful chanter. He is the chanter on the rim of Halemaumau at the start of the Robert Mugge film Kumu Hula. His chanting is kepakepa - rapid and rhythmic - in a trance-like communion with the stark yet spectacular beauty of the place. It gives me chicken skin(goose bumps).
Taupouri is married to Kekuhi Kanae Kanahele Keali'ikanaka'olehaililani. He has a PhD in philosophy from Union Institute and University and heads the only program that offers an Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree in Hula at the Hawaii Community College in Hilo.
Taupouri wrote Lele Kawa - The Fire Rituals of Pele in 2009. The interpretations of the sacred fire texts are unique and compelling. Here is Part 2 of our interview.
June Tanoue: The image of jumping feet first into consciousness connotes courage and openness. Would you say more about this title of your book?
Taupouri Tangaro: We used to Lelekawa as children - to jump into a mountain pool feet first, slim as a needle, attempting to make as little a splash as possible. The mountain pools I grew up with were always dark, mysterious, unsure, and when I jumped in, I took a big chance of never coming up again, at least in the mind of a youngster with huge imagination...All kinds of people lived in there...
For me, to Lelekawa is to jump into the unknown and the murky; as an adult, it meant for me to jump into my dream-scape. I can jump into any mountain pool, but am I willing to jump into my own pool of murky memories and ancestral experiences...that sometimes communicate to me in monster-like images?
As an adult, I realized it was this very murky space of mine that was rich with information...years of jumping in, against all odds, eventuated into my very once-nightmares becoming my closest allies. From them I learn to listen to my inner voice and listen to the inner voices of others, should they call. Here is the openness to which you refer, dear June.
June: I've been dancing and chanting Ke Ha'a La Puna for a long time and your interpretation of the first line, "Puna is entranced by the wind," shakes my hula world. I have been feeling that every time I dance it - and now you have articulated it. The title of my newsletter is my internalization of that chant. That life is filled with pushing and pulling - and we can dance through that. Can you say more about the chant and your interpretation of it?
Taupouri: Iʻve been trained and exercised in chant translation and interpretation by Pualani Kanakaʻole Kanahele, my hula teacher. Step one was a conservative literal translation of the text from Hawaiian into English; step two was interpreting the literal into terms/phrases/thoughts that made sense to the 21st century reader; step three was to authenticate oneʻs personal experience (in this case, my personal experience) with the chant text.
It was Puaʻs belief that if we are going to permit our mind, body and spirit to embody the chant/text, we best understand what that chant means to the person dancing it. Ok, this is not the same as cherishing the chant for its historical value and an archive of traditional practices of an ancient people. What I learned from Pua was that I needed to have my own and very personal relationship to the dance if I was going to be really a true practitioner of ʻAihaʻa.
There is stark difference between dancing "about Pele" and "letting Pele dance through the dancer." The latter is what we call ʻAihaʻa; the former, Hula Pele. Here goes, it doesn't matter the text, it matters the dancer's relationship to text.
As far as Ke Haʻa La Puna goes, Pele soon falls into a profound sleep immediately after Hiʻiakaikapoliopeleʻs dance, giving birth to the epic dream, the kaʻao of Pele and Hiʻiaka..
I can relate to this mele hula in two ways. For one, the text refers to haʻa numerous times, and to haʻa is to serve as a medium for energy to alight and to come through into the human realm. The second, is my natural reaction to particular kinds of chanting/dancing...I actually doze off and go into another realm. Pua has learned this of me when she began training the "masses" in chanting...at first she gently scolded me every time I dozed off, but then she realized that something else was happening.
So Ke Haʻa La Puna, in this personal context, is less about the historical genesis of hula and more about the genesis of a process for jumping feet first into deep dreaming...returning enlightened.
June: You say that these rituals lead to heightened awareness - anything that we need to tread carefully around?
Taupouri: Iʻve always known this all my life, not sure from whom or from where, but here it is: Donʻt ask the question unless you are willing to offer up personal sacrifice for it (i.e., be careful for what you ask).
I believe that for some to dance "about" Pele is enough for them to feel connected to the deeper self. One of this ilk should be content with this. For those who were/are destined to ʻAihaʻa, be careful how one treads on sacred ground...it burns! To enter into the fullness of the myth is not a secular sitting around the camp-fire talking Pele stories. It requires onesʻ entire life commitment to it. It is both heavy and light, liberating and indenturing at the same time.
June: It's been five years since you wrote Lele Kawa. What new insights have come to light?
Taupouri: I have matured...some of my biases have changed...I went from brunet, to blond, to platinum, to copper, to short and now to curly long hair...the world has to keep up. Since Lelekawa, many of my decades-old dreams have manifested. I sometimes entertain the idea of just sitting to write, to author another window into the magic of the fire-world of creativity and connection...but perhaps I need to mature further into this idea.
June: How does this book relate to wellness?
Taupouri: We all dream...dream is the continuum...dream allows us to jump linear time because dreams are cyclic. Dreams ask one question of the dreamer: Who really are you?
In this fast pace-world of ours, most donʻt remember their dreams and therefore have a difficult time forming thoughts around the question, "who really are you/am I?" Who we are is typically defined by our society and this is not always for the well-being of the person/people being defined.
The profound process found everywhere in the indigenous world is to dream beyond the defined and manifest the dream. The dream wants a body, it wants to dance, it doesnʻt want to spend another physical life sitting at the bottom of the mountain pool hoping for recognition. When the body, mind and spirit functions equally in this current space well-being is achieved.
The hula ʻAihaʻa allows me to access my dreams and to manifest it for my own well-being.
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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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