Hula dancers express ideas through movement
Hui O Hula offers Hawaiian dance lessons and practice every Tuesday and Thursday starting at 1:15 p.m. Tuesday’s class is taught upstairs in Clubhouse 6. On Thursday, dancers usually meet at Veteran Plaza. If the weather is bad, they hold class in a room at Clubhouse 3. All, regardless of skill levels, are welcome. For more information about classes, call 562-431-2242.
Traditional hula should be danced or performed barefoot, however, people may also wear a pair of soft booties or socks for practice.
The current class subject is Naupaka, composed by Virginia “Gann” Carter. Carter was a good friend of Auntie Nona Beamer—a well-known and beloved Hawaiian cultural educator and hula dancer extraordinaire.
The hula to this song is especially meaningful because in Leisure World, Hui O Hula dancers follow the Beamer family hula dance style. Carter met Beamer while enrolled in Colorado Women’s College during the 1940s. She became close to Auntie Nona and the entire musical Beamer clan. Thus began Carter’s interest and influence in Hawaiian music.
This week, dancers are learning how to express the words to this love song with their hands such as turning their palms by their eyes to express “gentle eyes, radiant like pearls,” and rubbing the throat to “indulge in your beauty.”
It is never too late to learn to dance. Hui O Hula welcomes all.
—Jojo Weingart
Hui O Hula dancers give a champagne toast to LWer Chung Cha Lewis during her 80th birthday celebration. A festive party planned by loving family and friends included tributes, music and dance.
