LIHUE — For those who knew him, Kumu Hula Doric Yaris of Halau Hula O Haliileo was larger than life. Kumu Hula Puna Kalama Dawson described the Pakala native as “a gentle giant, fun-loving and a real sweetheart.” “I call
LIHUE — For those who knew him, Kumu Hula Doric Yaris of Halau Hula O Haliileo was larger than life.
Kumu Hula Puna Kalama Dawson described the Pakala native as “a gentle giant, fun-loving and a real sweetheart.”
“I call him a gentle giant because you never heard a harsh word come out of his mouth,” Kalama Dawson recalled. “Even though he may be upset, he would still try to find the humor in it.”
Yaris died in his sleep Sept. 17. He was 47.
“We’re still really shocked, but I believe that he put a lot of things into order to help his haumana (students) going forward,” Kalama Dawson said. “I’ve never lost any of my own haumana like him, so it is a real testimony to time because it spans years.”
Kehaulani Kekua, kumu hula of Halau Palaihiwa O Kaipuwai in Kilauea, said she met Doric in the late 1980s while she was director of guest services at what is now the Aston Aloha Beach Hotel. At the time, she said, Yaris “was a young and uprising entertainer and musician with an incredible voice!”
Kekua said she later worked closely with Yaris when he conducted a weekly Polynesian Show Revue in the former nightclub known as Gilligans.
“He loved Hawaiian culture, music and hula and had already formed a troupe for entertainment gigs,” Kekua wrote in an email. “Seeing his potential, and mainly, his incredible personality, sense of humor and genuine aloha, I hired him as a guest activities coordinator so that we could create more culturally related programs at the hotel.”
Yaris and his late wife, Arlene Momilani Gampon-Yaris, later established Halau Hula O Haliileo, which is based in Waimea.
During the fourth annual World Conference on Hula, Yaris was in charge of the Halauaola Hula and Music Concert Series, which featured halau and performers from all over the world on four consecutive nights of the conference. He led two huakai (cultural learning excursions) — one to Nohili near Barking Sands and the other to Kokee.
Kauai Film Commissioner Art Umezu met Yaris in 1983. He said he saw Yaris perform on a number of stages, ranging from a talent contest at Coconut MarketPlace where Yaris sang, “The Greatest Love of All,” to a free concert in Kilohana, where Yaris and three other singers sang “Aloha to the World” in front of 5,000 people.
“From his high school days to his many years as a successful musician and as a beloved and well-respected kumu hula, Doric always had a presence wherever he went, whatever he did,” Umezu wrote in an email. “He had passion. Passion for life. Passion for music. Passion for hula. Passion for pono. He lived every day to the fullest, despite his recurring challenges with his health.”
Kumu Hula Maka Herrod of Halau Na Hui O Kamakaokalani said he and Yaris developed a close bond over the years as they graduated through the ranks, established their own hula halau and traveled the world to share traditional hula methods and practices with others.
“He has done a lot of good work out there, and his thought behind this was that he was going to help Kauai flourish in terms of bringing people together who love the island, connect with the songs that we dance to that were composed for different places, and connect the dance to the moolelo, or story, and he was doing that with his students and through the workshops that he has held,” Herrod said.
Sherri “Puni” Patrick, alakai (guide) of Halau Hula O Haliileo, said Yaris was “the cord that tied all of our lives together.”
“His halau was the puuhonua, or safe haven, that we could go to or return to if life had put us on another path for a time, and everyone was always welcomed,” Patrick wrote. “We loved just being in his presence as he sat in his chair with his ukulele and ipu heke close by, ready to learn something new if the chord struck him.”
Yaris leaves behind his son Doric Kawaiola Yaris of Kekaha; mother Matilda Yaris of Pakala Village; sisters Woletta “Bobo” Laufenberg-Price, Faith Hickok, Cyndy Carter; brothers Michael Yaris and Jason Yaris; and numerous aunties, uncles, nieces and nephews.
A memorial concert celebrating Yaris’ life will be held from noon to midnight on Monday, Oct. 27 at Waimea Theater.
“He always found an open window when a door closed,” Kalama Dawson said. “He was so optimistic and so open. I will miss that feeling of nurturing that he did — that’s just the type of person he was.”
