Hula Kahiko returns to Volcano Art Center

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The Volcano Art Center’s 2017 Hula Kahiko series continues at 10:30 a.m. March 18 with a performance by kumu hula Pele Kaio with Unukupukupu, presenting students of Unulau and Papa Hu‘elepo.

The Volcano Art Center’s 2017 Hula Kahiko series continues at 10:30 a.m. March 18 with a performance by kumu hula Pele Kaio with Unukupukupu, presenting students of Unulau and Papa Hu‘elepo.

Kaio, a Hawaii Community College Hawaiian Studies instructor, combines ancestral knowledge with the rigors of academia.

More than just the performative folk culture of Hawaii, these dancers express hula as a process for deep inner reflection and analysis. Through hula, they define and exercise their unique contribution to this world we live in.

The performance will take place in a one-of-a-kind outdoor setting at the kahua hula (platform) in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Audience members are encouraged to bring sun/rain gear and sitting mats. National park entrance fees might apply.

Taking place in conjunction with this month’s hula kahiko performance, join kumu hula Ab Valencia and members of Halau Hula Kalehuaki‘eki‘eika‘iu on the lanai of the Volcano Art Gallery as they share “Na Mea Hula” (all things hula).

Come learn a hula, use various hula implements and try your hand at lei-making. Experience the different aspects that play an integral role in the life of the hula dancer. This cultural demonstration is hands-on and family friendly.

These free events are supported in part by a grant from the Hawaii County Department of Research and Development and the Hawaii Tourism Authority, and individual funding from members of the Volcano Art Center’s ohana.

The Volcano Art Center is a nonprofit educational organization created in 1974 to promote, develop and perpetuate the artistic and cultural heritage of Hawaii’s people and environment through activities in the visual, literary and performing arts.

For more information, visit www.volcanoartcenter.org or call 967-8222.