Hawaii Tribune-Herald Island Beat Thursday, October 20, 2016 9 POHAKU From page 7 five continents — working on different projects from opera and film to television. “But there was a voice in me that wanted to be stating my own stories through dance,” Morgan says. “I was always curious about hula because that was the start of my dance life.” Morgan’s mom grew up in Honolulu and his father was raised in Kaaawa on Oahu. Morgan danced hula as a child with his five sisters, two brothers and one cousin in California, where his parents — both Marines — were stationed. As the youngest of his siblings, Morgan was the cute keiki who came out swinging a pair of poi balls and eliciting audience participation when the family would perform at parties and community gatherings. For a time, Morgan stopped dancing all together, but picked it up again when he was a high school student. He decided that dancing would become his life’s work when he left the University of California Irvine after his sophomore year. It was when Morgan started his professional contemporary dance career that he realized how much he longed to connect his body of contemporary work to his Native Hawaiian artistic and personal roots. He began researching ideas for this dance piece more than a decade ago. The Hawaiian word for stone, “Pohaku” is partly inspired by Morgan’s late cousin, kumu hula John Kaimikaua, who passed away just two weeks after Morgan received a grant that allowed him to study under him. But Morgan didn’t let the opportunity pass him by. He received an extension for the grant and traveled to Hawaii a year after his cousin’s death. He studied the traditions of hula and the culture of the Hawaiian people under the haumana of his late cousin, all the while collecting “stones of knowledge” that he brings to the stage in the dance piece, and which he also carries with him through life. “I left that trip feeling like I had a really interesting kuleana to not necessarily carry on the work of my cousin, but to become a vehicle for new audiences to learn about the Hawaiian people. I had this unique opportunity to share our stories with people who might not know what really happened to the Hawaiians. This was the start of ‘Pohaku.’ “There are several different parts that are all progressing toward a singular story. It’s my family’s story. It’s the history of our land and our people. What happened in Hawaii with the overthrow of the monarchy actually set in motion a chain of events that resulted in me having a very different life than what I might have had.” The show premiered nearly 10 years after the death of Kaimikaua. It features Morgan as a solo dancer accompanied by live music from kumu hula Elsie Kaleihulukea Ryder of Kaimikaua’s Halau Hula o Kukunaokala and classically trained electric cellist Wytold. “The story Christopher wants to tell is very deep and I think it will hit many Native Hawaiians in a significant way, especially those who have been separated from their cultural roots,” Ryder says. Other collaborators include projection designer Sareen Hairabedian and scenery by kapa maker Dalani Tanahy. Morgan says he hopes local audiences will see a little bit of their own story in “Pohaku” and understand how much time and care he put into the project. “I think there’s something for all of us in it, whether or not we were born or raised in the islands,” he says. “For me, it’s very personal and very emotional. It’s the fulfillment of some dreams — that kuleana I was talking about before.” It’s also a physically demanding piece for Morgan, who spends the entire hour dancing as well as speaking to the audience. And at every performance stop, Morgan gathers stones from that location, returning them back to that same site when the concert is done. He notes how at every site, this intentional ritual has brought together people of all cultures and backgrounds. “It’s also why this work is so important and why I’m so excited about it,” Morgan says. “I think it’s laying a foundation that goes much deeper than “Pohaku” • Tickets for the Kahilu Theatre performance are $68, $48, $38 and $20, available for purchase online at www.kahilutheatre.org, by calling 885-6868 or at the theater box office from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday through Friday. • Presale tickets for the UH-Hilo PAC performances are $25 general; $20 discounted; $12 UH-Hilo/Hawaii CC students and children 17 and younger. At the door, prices are $30, $25 and $17. Call the UH-Hilo PAC box office at 932-7490 or order online at artscenter.uhh.hawaii.edu. just the one-hour performance.” UH-Hilo PAC manager Lee Dombroski agrees. “Pohaku is a really beautiful piece,” she said. “Christopher has done an amazing job of mixing movement, projections and dance — both modern and traditional hula — to create this piece. You really feel like you are on a journey with him through his own personal discovery of culture and place and where he is in his artistic life.” Dombroski, who has seen early versions of the show, says the audience will be riveted. “It’s a challenging task because it’s just a solo artist on stage with two musicians,” she explains. “But Christopher has done a nice job of integrating all these parts — the dialogue, the images and his movement. He is able to incorporate modern dance and traditional hula together so that neither loses its integrity as an art form.” “Pohaku” was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts. It is a national Performance Network Creation Fund Project co-commissioned by the Maui Arts & Cultural Center in partnership with Dance Place and NPN. ONE GALLERY an artists’ collective Art & Wine Classes 961-2787 $35 onegalleryhawaii.com Photo: SAREEN HAIRABEDIAN
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