The Volcano Art Center’s Hula Kahiko program continues at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday with a performance by Halau Mauanlei under the direction of Kumu Hula Lelehua Maunahina Bray.
The performance is part of a year-round series sponsored by the Volcano Art Center at the kahua hula (hula platform) near the Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
Lelehua Maunahina Bray was born in Kealakekua. Named after her great grandmother, Lydia Maunahina Dusson-Bray, a composer, entertainer and hula exponent, she was destined to be a part of hula.
Bray ‘unikied (graduated) in 2001 from kumu hula Michael Pili Pang and taught within his school for five years before taking the reins of her own halau in 2009. Halau Mauanlei is located in Kealakekua and shares hula with students from keiki to kupuna.
The halau participates in many community events throughout Kailua-Kona and Hawaii Island. Bray’s mission has always been to teach others to love and embrace the traditions and the art of hula passed down to her.
“My contribution to my community is to share hula as I have been taught from my lineage,” she said in a press release.
The performance takes place in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and entrance fees apply.
These free events are supported in part by the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, through appropriations from the state Legislature or grants from the National Endowment for the Arts.
The presentation is presented authentically in an outdoor setting, rain or shine, without electronic amplification.
Audience members are encouraged to bring sun/rain gear and sitting mats, and to arrive early as parking at the Visitor’s Center is limited. Additional parking is available at the Steam Vents parking lot.
The Volcano Art Center is a nonprofit art and 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.
To donate to the Hula Arts at Kilauea programs or to find out more information, please contact Emily C. Weiss at gallery@volcanoartcenter.org, visit www.volcanoartcenter.org or call 967-8222.