Blather, rinse, repeat

I realized I had never gone into the last night of the Hula seminar. Well, it was wonderful, as Sunday nights usually are when I spend them with Kawehi's group. My wonderful friend JoNathan wasn't there, but some of my other wonderful friends and extended family were, such as Kawehi, Kamai and Kahea. Also there were the girls I call the titas (Julia, Jonna and the other two whose names I can never seem to hold on to,) some Hula buddies from Ohio (or Wisconson?) a few more folks from Kawehi's group, Uncle Ernie from the band (beautiful falsetto, clear as a bell,) Leigh (who drove us all to Walmart last May,) Noe, another "honorary long distance halau member" of Kawehi's group, and Kumu Johnette, Kumy George's alaka'i. This night we all just sat around in the emptied out dining hall. Kahea had a CD player and it's just an informal ho'ike. Claudine and I showed up around 6 with Chinese food, while most of the others had pizza. Then we just all started to dance. I love watching Kawehi's group because they all move as one, in fluid and powerful movements that I so hope to master someday. I brought along my own performance CD and we had the 'uli'ulis with us, so we did A Kona Hema, Pearly Shells (we were talked into it!) Waikiki Hula, and I did O Keahi A Lonomakua. One of the best moments of the evening was when we started A Kona Hema and I heard Jonna (whom I absolutely admire,) call out, "This is Sonny Ching! Oh, you girls rock!" And, admittedly, the applause I got for O Keahi A Lonomakua. Other hightlights included: Free footrubs for all in attendance from Kawehi (wow, that was awesome!) Noe's makeshift ipu (she used a tin box top,) while Uncle Ernie sang for her; Auntie Johnette dancing while we all sang Kaulana Na Pua for her (no one had that on CD); Kawehi's group doing the firs tone from MKH's first CD (my favorite chant by him of all time); Leigh taking a sip of her water, laughing, and spraying it everywhere and then saying that she was doing a Hula "about the spray of the sea!" (which made me laugh so hard that my stomach ached for about an hour); and really just being with Hula brothers and sisters.

The night ended with Kawehi singing a love song to Kamai while playing the ukulele.

Some pics from Saturday and Sunday:

( Keali'i's exhausted class during a break. )

( Keali'i's class photo. Claudine and I are towards the left, second row from the top. )

( My lovely friend Uncle Dennis dancing at ho'ike Saturday night. )

( FABULOUS picture of Kahea dancing while Keali'i chants. )

( The inspiring Marie Cassidy (93 years old) and her Hula sister Sue Gould (70 something?) dancing at ho'ike. ) Aren't they gorgeous?

( Saturday night's after show show. )

( A new friend, Uncle Arthur, who took Claudine and I out to dinner on Saturday. ) He took a nice picture of Claudine and I that I'll post as soon as I have time to scan it.

( Claudine and I doing the single most bizarre step in A Kona Hema during Sunday night's informal hui. ) You rarely see crossed legs in Hula, but that's Kumu Sonny for you. Geez, I really miss him.

( Kawehi, Kamai and their group dancing at Sunday night's informal hui. )

You can see how chilled out and mellow and just plain lovely that evening was just from those photos, I think. I've got some videos, too, but I'm not sure they have a place here in public. People dancing, choreography, stuff like that. You have to respect that perhaps not everyone wants their Hulas broadcast. Anyway, it was a relaxing night, and to be surrounded by all that Aloha was a joy.

It made me really start to consider the difference between contentment and stimulation. I really do think that you need a little bit of both. Sunday night I was tired, but content, relaxed, totally zen. Comparatively, on Tuesday during the 30 Seconds to Mars concert and after party, I was hyperstimulated, frazzled. Out of my comfort zone, yet having a blast. That's healthy, I think. Right?

Anyway, I have some more pics from Tuesday, some that I took and didn't feel comfortable posting until I spoke to some of the folks in them, and some that I'm in but didn't take. (Surprise!!)

( Jared, the adorably sweet Matt Wachter, Tomo, and the winners of the ball. )

( Jared's silly hat. ) If I may take a moment to squee like a fangirl? Jared is a good-looking man. Honestly, he could be wearing a pelt of rotting animals and he'd still look good.

And the two pictures someone else took that I ended up in:

( That's me on the left of the makeshift stage talking to the Dracula guy while Jared talks to the crowd. )

( That's me on the right, admittedly having a TEEHEE JARED!!! moment. Sorry. ) I actually think I look not too bad in that photo, for it being a shot that I had no idea was being snapped.

Anyway, that's my re-cap of the last night and my pic spam for today. ^_^

Last night's ho'ike was overall very decent, aside from hearing the news that Kawai Cockett died a month and a half ago. That bummed me out sort of for te rest of the night, because I love his CD and have done some Hulas to his songs. Combined with the loss of Kumu George, it's just been a bad time for Hawaiian music and dance.

There was onlyone number where people were wearing silly cellophane skirts and looked like a backyard party, but other than that, it was stellar. Everyon eseemed really impressed and I know I was. Claudine and I stayed a little while for impromptu ho'ike after the show, listening to the band and watching people dance. When that happens, I always get frustrated because I never know these traditional numbers that everyone else knows. neither did Claudine, and we started to wonder, how is it that these people know all of this and we don't? Do they go to seminars where they've taught traditional numbers? Or to they have their kumu (or teacher, or leader, or whatever,) choreograph it? Because we don't choreograph our own stuff, and when it comes to traditional stuff, I think we should. Bu for a halau that only gets together once a week, and we're usually reviewing stuff we're trying to master. So I don't know if we, as a halau, will ever get there. But I'm thinking I might get some of my own music and make up a Hula or two this way I could join in those ho'ikes and have something to do when everyone is pulling me up to dance.

Today's class was THE BOMB. I *heart* Keali'i. The first one he did was Ipo Lei Momi, which means Sweet Pearl Necklace but is really about doing it. There's no two ways about it. The kaona is right there on the surface. On the other hand, it's such a clever song, that even the kaona has kaona. And the dance itself is just flirty and sexy and everything I always thought it should be. I'm thrilled with it. Then we broke for lunch, where a bunch of dancers tried to convince me that I was not, in fact, finished with dating and looking for relationships. Dude, seriously, pau. I'm not saying it to be coy or to sound like a bitter single, but because I really love where I am. Why is that so hard to grasp? And everyone was like, "You'll change your mind when The One comes along," and I'm like, there is no The One. There's just the one you happened to meet. There could be hundreds of The Ones, you just didn't meet those Ones. Is all, dude.

Between classes I did manage to kiss Keali'i, although actually he gave me a kiss this time. he doesn't realize it, but this is my good luck charm. Everytime I have a class with Keai'i, I have to get a kiss from him so I can have a safe flight home and maybe even good luck for the next two years. (I only get to see him every two years. But every year he gets more and more popular, and with people all lined up for autographs, trying to catch him for a word was like trying to catch Jared last Tuesday (And both are way too adorable and, for different reasons, entirely unattainable to mortal women. ;D ) But I did manage to catch up with Keali'i, and I thanked him for teaching a Hula to one of my favorite songs by him.

Anyway. So the next Hula was that brutal Hula noho, and it actually wasn't as brutal as I thought it was going to be. Either that or my thighs are just stronger from Kung Fu. The worst is that it hurts the top of your feet and you startto get sock burn or rug burn. (Or if you're outdoors, grass burn or worse, cement burn. OWIE! Let us never do Hula noho on cement!) We weren't given music for this chant and so, deciding that we wanted to practice this at home right away, Claudine and I went back to the hotel room and recorded ourselves. She did the 'ui'uli rhythm and I did the chant. It's all good.

Now we just hang around till dinnertime or until later informal ho'ike. Hopefully we could catch up with Kawehi's group (Kawehi calls me "long distance halau member,") and at least watch them all dance and have fun and stuff. And maybe learn something if we're lucky.

On Wednesday before we all left for this seminar, we got an email from Aunie Cheryl telling us that Kumu George Holokai (Kumu to the Kumus as he is known) had become illand was in the hospital, unable to come and teach us, but that his alaka'i and cousin, Johnette, would teach in his place. Claudine and I (and most people) had signed up for his two hour lecture last night, as well (Keali'i's, too,) and Johnette had to give the lecture, too. So there we sat, with Johnette seeming very down with a lot on her mind, as she told us the story of Kumu George's life and Hula. About twenty minutes into it, I nudged Claudine and wrote in my notebook to her, "This sounds like a eulogy." It was. Johnette told us a few minutes later that Kumu George had died Wendesday night. Shocking, but still not entirely unexpected by the way she had seemed when talking about him. So that opens up this trip on a pretty major downer. I never met the guy, but he was well loved in the community and Il sorry I never did get a chance to study with him.

Keali'i's lecture was superfly interesting, on the place names of Maui. I know it might now sound interesting, but in Hawai'i place names have very specific meanings, and they actually gave me some cool story ideas, too.

Today was Johnette's class, and she seemed entirely overwhelmed, which is to be expected. She hadn't planned on teaching this, and certainly not without her kumu and family member. The first two dances, thugh not too compex, did have a lot of weird an dunexpected rhythm changes, and therefore (because most Hula is in 4X4 or 2X4 all the way through,) some bizarre weight shifts between verses. It was confusing and not a little frustrating. The second song is really cool, though, so I hope I can remember it from my rushed notes.

Tonigh is ho'ike. We're not performing, but we do at least get to relax and watch everyone else perform, so that's nice for us. Aww, who am I kidding, I really wanted to perform and I wish we were. >_> Claudine is not so keen on it.

Tomorrow we've got Keali'i's class, and it ends up that he's teaching one song that I've wanted to learn since the first time I heard it. It's on of his own, a very naughty mele ho'oipoipo, which is a song about doing it. (Claudine says, "Call it a song about the embrace of your lover or something!" I tell her, "But it's not about that. It's about doing it, plain and simple." Truly. The kauna is barely kauna, it's all right out there. "Don't make noise while I'm groping you, or you'll wake up the birds" kinda thing.) It is a totally fun and adorable song. Then after that is his 'uli number. We don't have music for that one oddly enough. Looks like I'm going to learn how to chant it and then record that. It's also a hula noho, meaning, on your knees. And since w're only learning it, it's on your knees for hours. In Hula noho, you don't get to rest your butt on your heels, either, and you rarely get to kneel straight up. So figure that one. You're holding all your upper body weight in your thighs. For hours. But he does let us have breaks, or atleast that's what the students he had today are saying.

Now, WTF with livejournal being down? How the hell am I supposed to post this?