It was a near-cloudless night on the South Side in Po’ipu, and a postcard-perfect evening for the Ka Leo club for welcoming visitors and kama’aina to the Sheraton’s Mai Tai reception. Guests overflowed from the outdoor lanai onto the grassy
It was a near-cloudless night on the South Side in Po’ipu, and a postcard-perfect evening for the Ka Leo club for welcoming visitors and kama’aina to the Sheraton’s Mai Tai reception.
Guests overflowed from the outdoor lanai onto the grassy embankments and milled on the ocean front walkways to take in the music, view and hula.
Framed by the coco palms cast against the Pacific and lit by the setting sun, Hula dancer Roxanne Pascua of Halau Hula o Hali’ileo opened the performance with a hula kahiko (traditional hula) and invitation for all to enjoy the show. Musicians DJ Yaris on bass, Joyce Okinaka on lead vocals and ‘ukulele and Michael Keorte on guitar and vocals then began a performance of primarily traditional Hawaiian numbers accompanied by dancers, including Pascua, with her daughter Makena Pascua and Natasha Arruda. Keorte served as emcee for the performance giving colorful explanations and stories behind the Hawaiian compositions. Keorte’s narration ranged from explaining the metaphor of the mountain shielding a flower from the wind in the Reverend Dennis Kamakahi’s love song, “Pua Hone,” to humorously informing the crowd that this was indeed the proper time of year to request “Mele Kalikimaka.”
Keorte said visitors often mistakenly request the Christmas song in July, noting, “now is the time of year we can play this song.”
At one point the band did depart from the traditional Hawaiian repertoire to sing a country-style number, “My Canadian Girl,” dedicated (naturally) to the Canadians in the audience.
Kumu hula Doric Yaris (father of DJ Yaris) and the Ka Leo Club have been performing on-island and internationally, including Japan, for more than 10 years, Yaris said. Previously they were at the lu’au show at the Grand Hyatt , but currently they perform from 5-6 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday nights at The Point at the Sheraton and from 5-6 p.m. Tuesdays at the Kaua’i Beach Resort in Nukoli‘i.
