Hawaii Tribune-Herald Sunday, March 27, 2016 25 Merrie Monarch was and how it was started and its purpose. They were just so humbled and honored to be there on that stage. To step on that stage Ho‘ike night, a lot of them were humbled to tears. So, we can really feel that mana on that stage — a different kind of mana that we’ve felt before.” performance this “I wanted to highlight ‘the best of Nonosina’ throughout the past years, signature pieces that when people who know Nonosina think about us, they’ll be familiar with those pieces,” she said. “We have our own style of dance, of course, but music, as well, because Aloha Liufau said her company’s year will be a nod to last year’s 50th anniversary of Nonosina. Merrie Monarch Festival Participants! K&R ELECTRIC, LLC 222222444444555555777777 NNNNNNoooooohhhhhhoooooonnnnnnaaaaaa SSSSSStttttt...... •••••• HHHHHHiiiiiilllllloooooo •••••• LLLLLLiiiiiicccccc...... NNNNNNoooooo...... CCCCCC------222222777777555555333333666666 QUALITY, 24 HOUR, ISLAND WIDE SERVICE 557-3645 QQUUAALLIITTYY,, 2244 HHOOUURR,, IISSLLAANNDD WWIIDDEE SSEERRVVIICCEE RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL • SECURITY BUCKET TRUCK SERVICE MAINTENANCE • SOLAR Kyle M. Nakayama East Hawaii’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’Hawaii’s s BEST ELECTRICIAN 10 years running! we’ve produced a lot of music. And I’ll be ending it with a new piece that we’ve been working on this year.” Performing for the first time are the nonprofit Hawaiian Cultural Center Taiwan and Hula Halau O Lehua Taiwan, under the direction of Ann Fan, a student of kumu hula Nani Lim Yap. Fan, cultural adviser to the state of Hawaii office in Taipei, said Halau O Lehua is the first hula school in a Chinese community, adding the group’s contingent will include 50 people, mostly of high school age, who will fly 18 hours to come to Merrie Monarch. “These students, they are like a seed,” she said. “We have to plant the seed, so education is important. We are coming to exchange our cultures. All these young people will see what they see and open their eyes. What they gain will be valuable.” Fan described the group’s theme as “Light of Taiwan — Call of the Island: He Heahea Mai Ka Moku O Taiwan.” “We think the Merrie Monarch is like an Olympic stage,” Fan said. “Our group, we want to share what we’ve learned and what we know, and we believe the Taiwan aboriginal culture is connected to the culture of all the Polynesian Islands. Therefore, we come to the Hawaiian Islands to look for our separated ancestors, relatives and friends.” Fan said her group will highlight the past using traditional Chinese dance that she described as “graceful and elegant, the shadow of Hawaiian ‘auana dance;” the present, with indigenous Taiwanese (aboriginal) dance that she described as “powerful and spiritual, the shadow of Hawaiian kahiko dance;” and the future, with hula. Fan’s passion for Hawaiian culture, music and dance led her in 2014 to publish a book in Chinese titled “The Hula Treasures of Hawaii.” Maori performing arts from Aotearoa (New Zealand) also have proven to be a popular draw at Merrie Monarch. This year, the 2015 Te Matatini national champion kapa haka group Te Kapa Haka O Te Whanau A Apanui will perform, following last year’s showstopping performance by Maori troupe Te Waka Huia. Under the direction of Rikirangi Gane, Hone Wharepapa, Tamati Waaka and Puao Whauwhau, the group’s website describes the troupe as “a tribal-centred, Maori performing arts group situated on the East Coast of the North Island of Aotearoa/ New Zealand, within the tribal boundaries of Te Whanau, featuring songs and chants that ‘draw on tribal stories, heroes and customs for inspiration and hold us in good stead moving forward into the future.’” Te Kapa Haka O Te Whanau A Apanui also will perform in Sunday’s Ho‘olaule‘a at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium. Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribuneherald. com. HO‘IKE From page 24 Courtesy photo Dancers from Hawaiian Cultural Center Taiwan will perform traditional Chinese dance at the free Ho‘ike on Wednesday night at Edith Kanaka’ole Multi-Purpose Stadium.
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