POIPU — The Ori Uvira Dance School will be hosting its fourth hoike Saturday.
POIPU — The Ori Uvira Dance School will be hosting its fourth hoike Saturday.
The evening will feature traditional Tahitian dancing from students throughout Kauai as well as special guests.
Ori Uvira’s Kumu Nic Kameakua said his students will be focusing on two dances, the Otea and the Aparima.
The otea is accompanied by drums and chants. One of the drums is a piece of hallowed out wood that students hit on with a mallet.
The other dance they’ll be performing is the Aparima.
“Apa means to mimic and rima means hands,” Kameakua said.
This dance will be accompanied by guitar and ukulele music as well as singing and dancing.
The name Ori Uvira means to dance with electricity and lightning. Kameakua said when there’s rain and lightning, it excites people to see the storm.
“We are hoping people feel the same way when we dance,” he said.
Kameakua teaches two classes per week, one at Kapaa Elementary School and the other at Kaumakani senior center. When he’s not teaching, he said he is traveling to teach or to oversee his competitive dance team at international competitions.
Saturday’s performance will be at the Grand Hyatt Kaui Resort and Spa at 5 p.m. Saturday Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door.
