“People like to move their bodies, whether they’re 2 years old or 92 years old.”
The words of Center Stage Dance Alliance teacher Jasmine Serrano have been proven true during the Kupuna Hip Hop class she has taught every Thursday since late May.
Produced by fledgling performing arts nonprofit Malama Arts and sponsored by Island Naturals Market and Deli, the upbeat class at the Palace Theater in Hilo sold out its original 25 slots within days. But when up to 40 eager participants over the age of 50 dropped in to join the free dance party in the historic theater’s lobby, organizers happily made room.
“We’re not going to turn away any kupuna,” said Jennie Kaneshiro, president of the board at Malama Arts and vice president of the board at the Palace Theater. “We just couldn’t stop the momentum. People were like, ‘I brought friends!’ My classmates’ mothers are in here all over the place, and they’re just having such a great time.”
Lifelong Hilo native Kaneshiro came up with the idea for the elder dance class earlier this year with her friend and hairstylist, Tina Cook.
As they discussed what Malama Arts and the Palace could offer to bring the community together, Cook — who grew up dancing hula before branching out into salsa and samba dancing — said she wanted to learn hip hop from Kaneshiro’s 16-year-old daughter, Zoe Kaneshiro, a skilled dancer who assists in Serrano’s Center Stage keiki hip hop classes.
From the seed of that casual chat, Kupuna Hip Hop was born.
“I feel like 19, 18 (years old) in here,” said Cook, 61, said after a rousing Thursday class. “Movement has always been kind of central for me, so it’s been really fun meeting people I’d otherwise never get to meet, like Dianne. It’s been a really fun way to bring people into this institution.”
Cook’s new friend from class is 77-year-old Dianne Horwitz, who said she mirrors Cook’s movements to keep up with the complex dance routine taught in class.
“If I stay behind Tina, I’m OK,” Horwitz said with a laugh. “I’m her shadow — except when she goes this way, her shadow goes that way.”
In addition to Jennie Kaneshiro’s daughter helping to guide the class’s kupuna, the Kaneshiro ohana also has two matriarchs enrolled in the class: Jennie Kaneshiro’s mother, 75-year-old Cindy Goa, and her mother-in-law, Millie Kaneshiro, 79.
“We have a good time laughing at each other,” Millie Kaneshiro said of the weekly gathering where valuable longevity practices are hidden in endless laughter among new friends. “Just trying to move and then trying to remember (the choreography), that’s really good for us.”
Assistant instructor Zoe Kaneshiro commended lead instructor Serrano’s teaching style and patience with the kupuna, some of whom are mastering a brand new skill.
“She’s just doing a great job. The way that she’s breaking it down makes it really easy for them to grasp it,” said the youngest Kaneshiro. “The kupuna are doing an amazing job, too. For some, it’s their first time doing any dance, so it’s cool seeing them break out of their shell and be brave. It’s awesome.”
Serrano has been teaching all ages at Center Stage for almost a decade, but said this is her first time teaching kupuna. She said slowing down to teach moves she normally flows through quickly makes her more deliberate and conscious of her own motions. Serrano said she choreographs while keeping everyone’s varying levels of skills, past injuries or ranges of motion in mind.
“To have specifically this age demographic, I think people feel more safe because they are amongst their peers, as opposed to walking into a studio to take a dance class with a bunch of 15-year-olds who have been doing it since they were 4. It’s a little intimidating,” said Serrano. “The difference (between teaching keiki and kupuna) is the way I communicate to them: With kids, I’m much louder and more like a cartoon, and it’s like herding cats. With kupuna, we’re all adults.”
The weekly hourlong classes that began on May 22 conclude on July 3, when the kupuna will string together the diverse flow of choreography that’s been built upon each week to perform their full dance to the 2004 hit “1, 2 Step” by Ciara and Missy Elliot in front of invited family and friends.
Jennie Kaneshiro said it’s likely that Kupuna Hip Hop will become an ongoing offer for the community’s golden generation to come feel the beat at the Palace.
“Tina already told me her whole Zumba class and water aerobics class want to come join,” Kaneshiro said, smiling broadly from the endorphins an hour of dancing can bring. “The kupuna want it, and we’re not going to let them down.”
Email Kyveli Diener at kdiener@hawaiitribune-herald.com.