A Feast of 'Auna Hula

In modern Hula 'Auana, the sky can be the limit, whether the song is about surfing, motorcycles, or lost love.

Although there were many wonderful traditional performances, one piece of choreography that stood out was Kumu Hula (teacher) Mark Keali'i Ho'omalu's wahine piece about fishing.

With five gallon plastic buckets and bamboo rods, his halau enchanted the crowd with humor and bamboo syncopation.

The men similarly let out the stops with aloha shirts, motorcycle songs, and dancing a reenactment of great canoe voyages. Shown here is a tribute by one halau to King David Kalakaua, who restored hula to a prominent place Hawaiian culture after it had been banned by missionary influence.

It was a shame that the judges had to pick a winner, but the dancers and audience had a great time in the sharing of hula and aloha.