|
Join Our List
|  |
|
Please Like Us On Facebook!
|  |
|
|
A wonderful way to feel the energy of Hawaii, strengthen the mind-body connection, gently tone your body and your core, and enjoy dancing to beautiful Hawaiian music. No experience necessary. Men, Women age 15 years and older welcome! Tuesdays 11 am - 12 noon Saturdays 11 am - 12 noon
Kahiko or classical hula is dance to Hawaiian chanting. It's a deeper dive into the stories of the dance, the translations and application to life. Prerequisite -
2 months Beginning Hula Classes or permission of Kumu.
Age 16 years and older
Men and Women welcome Wednesdays 8 - 9 pm
Dance to the melodic melodies of Hawaii.
Men, Women aged 16 years and older
2 months experience or
Wednesdays
7 - 8 pm
All classes are held at our
sister organization:
38 Lake Street
Oak Park, IL.
For more information call 708-297-6321
or email
Check our
for the most current
Schedule of Classes
|
|
Breath of Hawaii -
A History of the Hula
Premiere a Success!
|
|
| |
Breath of Hawaii dress rehearsal, Madison Street Theatre. Photo by Edward Leinartas
|
|
| |
Jason Poole and Tina Eggert singing for us. Photo by June Tanoue
|
|
| |
Gracious Ladies at dress rehearsal. Photo by Edward Leinartas
|
|
| |
Saule and mother Kristina from our hula ʻohana (family) in Vilnius, Lithuania. Photo by Edward Leinartas
|
What a wonderful time we had last month at our Hula Concert "Breath of Hawaii" at the Madison Street Theatre in Oak Park!!! Mahalo nui loa to everyone who attended and helped make it a great success! We especially recognize and mahalo (thank) the following people for their generosity of heart and spirit:
* Jon Murphy for handling sound, lights and projection
* Tina Eggert for serenading in the lobby and singing with Jason on stage * Lisa Alamar for selling leis
* Czerina Salud for great social media
Drawing Prizes:
* Donna Mindrum & Julie Kase from the ZLMC Quilt Circle - a beautiful lap quilt
* Chef Shangrila - gift certificates
* Joellyn Romano - pearl necklace set, Quincy Jones signature line headphones, Vera Bradley tote, Classic Cinema gift certificate, pot of herbs
* Mama Miaʻs Pizza - gift certificate
* Liz & Kateʻs - pictures of Hanalei Bay
* Fly N Buy - gift certificate
Volunteers and Dancers:
Betsy Puig, Julie Kase, Donna Mindrum, Annie Markovich, Yuka Fujita, Junko Kobayashi, Karen Mansfield, Lori Murphy, Moira Bryan, Sarah Evans, Tasha Fouts, Theora Humphrey, Cecilia Plekavic, JoEllyn Romano, Jaida Rosenthal, Laila Rosenthal, Mariko Sumida Yu, Kailani Sumida Yu, Czerina Salud, Nicole Sumida, Saule Peseckaite, Kristina Lotuzyte, Mary Bryan, Delia Bryan, Edward Leinartas, Michael Cicchetti
|
|
Compassion of Hula Workshop at
Zen Center of Los Angeles
|
|
| |
Hula Workshop participants earlier this month in Los Angeles
|
"Zen students have a lot of fun when dancing hula for the first time!" said Kumu Hula and Sensei June Ryushin Kaililani Tanoue. She taught a Compassion of Hula workshop at the Zen Center of Los Angeles in early June. "They focused and flowed. Compassion is not only about moving toward pain but also about gratitude and joy and appreciating our bodies dancing in each moment."
|
|
|
Iʻve been feeling very sad about the mass shooting in Orlando this past weekend. I read about the forty-nine people who were killed in the nightclub and it felt so senseless to me - lives cut short because of hatred coupled with easy access to assault type rifles. We went to a Love Conquers Hate: Prayer and Solidarity Vigil for Orlando last night. It was organized by the Oak Park Community of Congregations and drew many people despite the 85 degree weather.
I saw a middle-aged woman holding a stack of orange signs that said, "WE CAN END GUN VIOLENCE." People were approaching her and asking if they could have one. She willingly gave signs to them. I also asked her for one. On the back it said "MOMS DEMAND ACTION FOR GUN SENSE IN AMERICA." This was a sign I believe in.
Questions have risen in my mind this week like "Why do we sell guns such as the Sig Sauer AR-15-type assault-style rifle in America, and what could they possibly be used for other than killing human beings indiscriminately as occurred in the mass shooting in Orlando?" Or "What about the twenty 6 and 7-year old children killed at their elementary school in Connecticut some four years ago?"
When the vigil ended, I walked home still carrying the sign. I noticed positive feelings coming to me from people who saw it. First I stopped in a crowded ice cream parlor to get an ice cream cone. I was looking for a seat but none was available. Then I noticed a young man seated, smiling and waving at me as he pointed to two extra seats at his table. So I sat there and we struck up a good conversation. He had seen the sign!
After ice cream, on the way home, I passed a scowling middle-aged African American man holding a young childʻs hand. He briefly acknowledged me as he walked by and I could hear him mumbling, "...end gun violence" over and over again. I passed an older African American woman with two young granddaughters walking to the grocery store. She was very friendly and stopped to chat.
I think itʻs time to get informed, get clear about the danger posed by assault weapons in our country. Then act. We can do whatever we put our minds to - even if itʻs not easy - like ending gun violence.
I remember we had rifles in the house when I grew up because my father was a hunter who provided wild game for our family. He took care of his guns and kept them under lock and key. My siblings and I were instructed sternly never to touch the guns. As he grew older he became very skilled at shooting - so much so he felt that hunting with a gun was unsportsmanlike because the game had no chance. So he gave up shooting with guns and took up the bow and arrow. He loved the challenge that brought him and that it put him on more equal footing with the game.
Often where there is bad news, there is also good news. We had a wonderful Breath of Hawaii hula concert a few weeks ago! Twenty of us worked very hard together to pull off this premiere especially in this last month. After hours of intense work, the 90-minute performance was over in a flash! There were many family and friends who came to cheer us on and were delighted to find an intimate glimpse of the history of the hula.
And now four of us are preparing to fly to the Big Island and then to the uplands of Waimea to join my kumu hula, Michael Pili Pang, and his students for the 30th Anniversary Homecoming on July 9th! Weʻre going to celebrate and meet our larger ʻohana (family) of hula sisters and brothers. Itʻs wonderful to appreciate how much the tree that Kumu Michael planted in Waimea thirty years ago has flourished.
Weʻre going to walk on the ʻaina (land) where the hula was born and grew. Weʻll feel the gentle breeze caress our cheeks, inhale the fragrance of the flowers and bathe in the healing waters of the Pacific.
The beauty of the land and the heart-felt aloha of the Hawaiian people inspired me to take up the hula 28 years ago with Kumu Michael when I lived in Waimea. With great fondness, I still remember - when I took his beginner class - dancing at Kuhio Hale. Iʻm so excited to introduce the Chicago "rootlets" represented through Halau i Ka Pono to their larger hula family. May aloha abound!
Malama pono (take care of your body, mind and heart),
June Kaililani Tanoue
Kumu Hula and Sensei
|
Halau Hula Ka Noʻeauʻs
30th Anniversary Homecoming Concert
July 9th
| | |
Kumu Hula Michael Pili Pang formed his halau in Waimea in 1986 and opened a second halau in Honolulu. During his career, he has graduated 22 Kumu Hula, who are now teaching in Waimea, Honoka'a, Kona, Hilo, Honolulu, and Chicago. Currently residing on Oahu, Kumu Pang moved from Waimea to Honolulu in 2002, to complete his Masters Degree at University of Hawai`i at Manoa. He became the first Kumu Hula to receive a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Dance, with an emphasis in hula.
Immediately after, he was appointed Executive Director to the City and County of Honolulu Mayor's Office of Culture and the Arts by then Mayor Mufi Hannemann. Kumu Pang now runs his halau in Honolulu and is a Lecturer at the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa Music Department teaching Hawaiian Dance and Chant.
|
| | Kumu Hula Michael Pili Pang dancing at Halau i Ka Ponoʻs fundraiser in Chicago last year |
The July 9th, concert will be a "homecoming" for Kumu Pang and over 20 of his past students.
Hula concerts by Halau Hula Ka Noʻeau were once an annual event in Waimea that often premiered new dance pieces. These new pieces were then presented in universities and theatres in New York City, New England, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, California, Alaska, Arkansas, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Japan, Taiwan, Korea and Canada.
This concert will also feature the halau of seven of his students, who are now teaching a new generation of hula dancers. "It's a little overwhelming to see how hula has touched so many lives", commented Kumu Pang, "my intention was to share hula, have fun and teach people to appreciate this cultural art form. I never imagined the hālau would grow so many branches".
Halau Hula Ka Noʻeau opened its doors in the summer of 1986 at the Hawaiian Homes Hall. In 1991 Pang built a halau five miles outside of Waimea town where his formative work and training of his dancers took place.
While Kumu Pang no longer conducts classes in Waimea, there are six kumu hula on Hawaiʻi Island that continue his work and will be part of the evening concert. These kumu hula and their halau are: Liana Aviero and Keikilani Curnan (Halau Waiau), Cherise Keʻalaaumoe Mundon (Halau Hula Keʻalaʻaumoe), Lelehua Maunahina Bray (Halau Maunalei), Alva Kaipolei Manu (Halau Manu Leʻa Hawaiʻi) and Paʻahana Roehrig (Halau Kaʻōpuʻu).
Joining the cast will also be Kumu Hula June Kaʻililani Tanoue and her Chicago group(Halau i Ka Pono).
The Kahilu Theatre is located behind the Parker Ranch Center in Waimea/Kamuela at 67-1186 Lindsey Road. Tickets are $20 & $30 (+ restoration fee) and available by calling the Kahilu Theatre Box Office at (808) 885-6868.
|
|
|
About Us|
| |
Successful Halau Fundraiser with Hawaiians Kumu Michael Pili Pang, Keikilani Curnan, Davin, Al, Ryan
|
Halau i Ka Pono means School that Cultivates the Goodness. We teach Hula which we define 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!
|
|
|
|
|
