LIHU‘E — When the 34th Queen Liliuokalani Keiki Hula Competition opened Thursday, Kaua‘i hit the stage for the first time in a decade. Under the direction of kumu hula Leina‘ala Pavao-Jardin, 18 dancers will be cheering on hula sister Breeze
LIHU‘E — When the 34th Queen Liliuokalani Keiki Hula Competition opened Thursday, Kaua‘i hit the stage for the first time in a decade.
Under the direction of kumu hula Leina‘ala Pavao-Jardin, 18 dancers will be cheering on hula sister Breeze Pavao when she opens at the solo hula competition, Thursday night at the Neal Blaisdell Center on O‘ahu.
“The last time Kaua‘i was involved in this competition was when I was a little girl dancing hula,” Pavao-Jardin said while gathering the young dancers of Halau Ka Lei Mokihana O Leina‘ala, Wednesday at the Lihu‘e Airport. Kaua‘i last attended in 1999.
Kaua‘i will be well-represented at the three nights of competition that wraps up Saturday night. One of the numbers all the halau will dance in is “Aia i Hanalei” in the kahiko phase, Pavao-Jardin said.
“This song is about Hanalei, and each of the 23 participating halau has to present its interpretation of this number,” the kumu hula said.
The young dancers and their families have been working hard leading up to their departure, spending the weekend finalizing costumes and rehearsing their performance numbers.
“It’s been crazy busy,” one parent said at the airport. “But the excitement of traveling and performing and competiting at this next level shows on their faces.”
Joining the dancers and the halau’s kumu hula will be four chaperones, all former hula and Tahitian dancers — Tammy Pu‘u, Jennie Balisacan, Sherri Ephan and Fran Basuel.
The dancers making the competition include Emily Melchor, Kaitlin Sandal, Jaedyn Pavao, Breeze Pavao, Taelor Sagucio, Annie Funaki, Amber Pabustan, Tiffany Ishibashi, Cherish Pascual, Noelle Lovesy, Rylee Pavao, Kristal Pascual, Melia Takakusagi, Nalani Ventura, Kukana Pulawa, Nika Tapucol, Gabrielle Balisacan, Kylie Wong and Kaila Harris.
The junior chaperones for the group include Jaena Shaffer, Ellene Ruiz, Tiani Harris and Heu‘i Bandmann.
For those who are not able to attend the competition on O‘ahu, KITV-4 will be airing the program at 7 p.m. July 31 and Aug. 1.
