4 Thursday, September 21, 2017 Island Beat Hawaii Tribune-Herald Amy Hanaiali‘i Gilliom benefit concert set at Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel Hawaii Performing Arts Festival will present Amy Hanaiali‘i Gilliom in concert at 4 p.m. Oct. 7 at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel. The concert is a scholarship fundraiser for HPAF’s 2018 Summer Festival students. Hanaiali‘i, a five-time Grammy Award nominee, has a long history in Hawaiian entertainment circles. Her grandmother, Jennie Napua Hanaiali‘i Woodd, was a star of Hawaiian music and dance in the past century. Woodd was one of the “Royal Hawaiian Girls” who entertained at the iconic pink palace on the shores of Waikiki starting in 1930. Then Woodd went on to the popular Hawaiian Room at the Lexington Hotel in New York City, where she inspired love of Hawaiian culture and music. She worked in Hollywood and taught Shirley Temple how to hula. And she was instrumental in creating a popular Hawaiian review at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas. “I come from a few lines of very strong women,” Gilliom said. “These women have instilled very strong beliefs and core values about taking pride in being a cultural entertainer.” Gilliom’s drama teacher at Baldwin High School on Maui strongly recommended classical training. “She encouraged me to audition for a college in San Diego, the United States International University and School of the Performing Arts,” Gilliom said. “I learned everything from ear training, voice, acting, tap, ballet, modern, to jazz dance. The school was exactly like the movie ‘Fame.’ Some really incredible entertainers came out of that school,” including Jamie Foxx, known then as Eric Bishop. Genette Freeman, HPAF director of development, states, “When I contacted Amy about performing on behalf of HPAF and told her about the Festival and what we do, she enthusiastically agreed, recalling the value of her own college performing arts training. To this day she continues to take voice lessons.” Gilliom has become a Hawaiian music legend in her own right. Winner of 22 Na Hoku Hanohano awards, she also is an accomplished businesswoman with her own line of signature wines. “I was doing a concert at this very big and beautiful theater in Napa called Lincoln Performing Arts Center. After the show, we went back to the vineyard that had sponsored the show. My partners now asked if I wanted to do a celebrity wine. I said of course, but only if I get to stomp on the grapes. “That first year we went from 200 to 3,000 cases of wine in six months.” Her wines will be featured at the Oct. 7 concert. Future plans include her own show at a Maui resort, telling the story of her family. “Preparing my new showroom is really a lot to have on my plate. I have 40 feet of holographic screens, we pipe in the fragrance of maile and pikake, ocean and rain. It’s spectacular. I start out with a Tina Turner song ‘Simply the Best’ and I end with Prince’s ‘Purple Rain.’ ”I take the audience back Amy Hanaiali‘i Gilliom is a five-time Grammy nominee. Courtesy photo in time to the original Hawaiian Room in New York City. Of course, I have traditional Hawaiian mixed in. It is a show no one has ever seen.” Tickets are $60 for general admission, $95 for upfront seating, which includes a reception after the concert. Visit www.HawaiiPerformingArtsFestival. org or call 333-7378. The concert is sponsored by the Holland Foundation and the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel. Proceeds go toward HPAF’s 2018 Summer Festival scholarship fund.
ib
To see the actual publication please follow the link above