Winners of the ninth annual Moku O Keawe International Hula Festival were announced last month to an enthusiastic audience at the Hilton Waikoloa Village. ADVERTISING Winners of the ninth annual Moku O Keawe International Hula Festival were announced last month
Winners of the ninth annual Moku O Keawe International Hula Festival were announced last month to an enthusiastic audience at the Hilton Waikoloa Village.
Pakahi (solo) Awards were presented for Wahine (age 13 to 45) and Wahine Halau divisions. Wahine Halau and Pakahi performed the ancient hula kahiko on one day, and modern auwana hula on another day, and scores were combined to determine overall winners.
Makua (women age 36-54) competed as soloists in auwana only. Kupuna group and solo winners (age 46 or older) also were announced.
The top-scoring Wahine Halau was Halau Hi‘iakainamakalehua, with na kumu hula Robert Ka‘upu and Lono Padilla. From the same halau, Caitlin Ka‘opuiki was named Miss Hula Pakahi, and Pristina Louis took the Makua solo honor.
Altogether, 15 halau from Hawaii and Japan competed in the three-day event, which also featured Hawaiian cultural workshops and and an extensive Made-in-Hawaii Market Place.
Winners of the 2014 Moku O Keawe International Hula Festival are the following halau and individual dancers:
Kupuna Wahine Pakahi Waikoloa: first, Hula Studio Malulani, Sayuri Ito Sensei; Kupuna Wahine: Setsuko Fukushima, Mele: “Mahina O Hoku”; second place, Ku‘u Pua Lehua Nani, Keiko Ito Sensei; Kupuna Wahine: Sanami Hayashi, Mele: “Ka Nohona Pilikai”; third place, Hula Studio Na Lei O Hoku, Mineko Ichihara Sensei; Kupuna Wahine: Toshiko Toshi, Mele: “Lei Ana O Manoa”; Kupuna Wahine Halau: first, Halau Hula O Kawaimaluhia, kumu hula Keoni Jenny, Mele: “Kapi‘olani Paka”; second place, Ke Ala O Ke Ao Cultural Arts Studio, na kumu hula Kahikina Ah Sing and Kalani Ah Sing, Mele: “Kau‘ionalani”; third place, Halau Hula O Makalapua, Mutsuko Fujimaki Sensei; Mele: “Lei Ko‘ele”; Makua Pakahi Waikoloa: first place, Halau Hi‘iakainamakalehua, Na Kumu Hula Robert Kaupu and Lono Padilla, Prestina Louis; second place, Halau O Kawaimaluhia, kumu hula Keoni Jenny, Heidi Hart; third place, Halau O Makalapua, Mutsuko Fujimaki Sensei; Yukari Takahashi, Wahine Solo, Miss Hula Pakahi Waikoloa: first place, Halau Hi‘iakainamakalehua, Na Kumu Hula Robert Ka‘upu and Lono Padilla, Caitlin Ka‘opuiki; second place, Halau O Ka Hanu Lehua, kumu hula Kamaka Kukona, Aleahnani Makuakane; third place, Halau Pukamaikala, Yukiko Toyama Sensei; Fumi Hirakata; Wahine Halau: first place, Halau Hi‘iakainamakalehua, Na Kumu Hula Robert Ka‘upu and Lono Padilla; second place, Halau O Ka Hanu Lehua, kumu hula Kamaka Kukona; third place, Ke Ala O Ke Ao Cultural Arts Studio, na kumu hula Kahikina Ah Sing and Kalani Ah Sing.
The Moku O Keawe International Festival is sponsored by the Moku O Keawe Foundation, a private nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing, enriching and educating the practice and development of hula and its associated arts.
Sponsors included the Waikoloa Beach Resort, Hilton Waikoloa Village, Waimea Music Center, Sig Zane Designs, Na Makua Designs, Traditions Hawaii, Big Island Candies, Sushi Shiono, Waiola, KAPA Radio and others. For more information, visit www.MOKIF.com.
