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| Miss Aloha Hula 2014: Ke'alohilani Tara Eliga Serrao (Merrie Monarch Festival/Extreme Exposure) |
The Merrie Monarch Festival is a yearly celebration of the hula and the Hawaiian culture. This year's festival had 30 halaus completing for various titles including Best Kahiko, Best Auana, and Best Overall and took place on the at the Edith Kanakaʻole Stadium in Hilo. The 3-part competition was broadcasted of KFVE from April 24-26.
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| (Merrie Monarch Festival/Extreme Exposure) |
Thursday night was the Miss Aloha Hula competition. Thirteen halaus sent their best wahine dancers to complete for the coveted title. This year's title went to Ke'alohilani Tara Eliga Serrao (Pictured left during her auana performance) from the halau Ka La ‘Onohi Mai O Ha‘eha‘e under the direction of kumu hula and 1994 Miss Aloha Hula winner, Tracie Lopes. Serrao wowed audiences as she glided on stage during her kahiko and auana performances. Her kahiko performance was especially impressive, showing off her strong dancing abilities as well as her abilities in chanting. Watch her kahiko performance here.
Friday night was the kahiko round (aka traditional hula) and start of the group competition. The kahiko round, in my opinion, is always the most exciting one because the dances are very fierce. Best Kane (male) Kahiko went to halau Kawailiʻulā under the direction of kuma hula, Chinky Māhoe from Kailua, Oʻahu while the Best Wahine Kahiko went to the halau Ka Lā ʻŌnohi Mai O Haʻehaʻe under the direction of kuma hulas Tracie and Keawe Lopes from Koʻolaupoko, Oʻahu. However, my personal favorite of the night was the halaus from the Academy of Hawaiian Arts from Oakland, California under the direction of kumu hula, Mark Keali'i Ho'omalu. Both the wahine and the kane performance were breathtaking and fierce. Watch their performances below.
Saturday night (and final night) was the Auana round (aka modern hula). Auana is typically very elegant in contrast to the kahiko and groups were adorned in colorful outfits and flowers. Best Kane Auana went to the halau Ka Leo O Laka I Ka Hikina O Ka Lā under the direction of kumu hula,Kaleo Trinidad from Honolulu, Oʻahu while the Best Wahine Auana went to the halau Hula Hālau ʻO Kamuela under the direction of kuma hulas, Kauʻionalani Kamanaʻo and Kunewa Mook from Kalihi & Waimānalo, Oahu. Saturday Night was also award night. Kaleo Trinidad and his halau took home the big prize of Best Overall Combined and Best Overall for Kane while Tracie and Keawe Lopes and their halau took home Best Overall for Wahine. The rest of the results (2nd and 3rd place winners) can be seen here. I can't say I agree with some of the winners, but I'm also not surprised. The same kumu hulas win every year (just in an alternate order). It's always sad to see some deserving halaus be completely left out in the awarding process, but that's that. Nevertheless, the competition aspect itself is unimportant and the great thing about the Merrie Monarch is that it's a celebration of a beautiful artform, language, and culture.
Click the hyperlinks to watch the award winning performances.
References
http://mauinow.com/2014/04/27/2014-merrie-monarch-festival-results-winners/
http://bigislandnow.com/2014/04/25/kealohilani-serrao-named-miss-aloha-hula/
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