Academy of Hawaiian Arts ENewsletter - Oct 2005 - Keiki- Hula

What We Hand Down to Our Keiki...Our Intentions

Sundee Amantiad, keiki hula instructor, assists an AHA keikikane (boy) with a hula noho (seated hula) taught by Kainani Hartnett (reflected in mirror).
It is often said that our keiki are the hula dancers of the future, therefore their hula is influenced by our teachings. So what exactly are we handing down to our keiki? Most obvious answers would be the dances of Hawaiian stories, culture and traditions, but before that, what we are really passing on are our intentions.
Kainani sharing a book about Hawai'i with the keiki class.	For example, the September newsletter article about the AHA Keiki Hula Team mentions that one reason why Auntie Kainani teaches is because she loves sharing the Hawaiian culture she was brought up in. Because of this love, consciously or not, her intention emphasizes culture, which is reflected and handed down in her lessons. From drilling uwehe's to bringing in poi for the class, her hula lessons pass on more than just hula and culture; they pass down to the children the intention that when you love and respect something so much, you want to share it freely.
But what happens when the teacher's intentions are unclear; when technical instruction of the dance is perfect, but there is something undeniable missing? Teaching hula by rote would hand down an intention of ambiguity and eventually render hula stagnant. The stories in hula are about things that were or are alive, and by nature, everything living evolves. As life evolves, as our keiki grow up, hula will evolve with it. Hula evolving doesn't mean losing sight of tradition or culture; it is just a reflection of our intentions in the changing of the times. The poet Richard Wilbur once wrote, "All we do is touched with ocean, yet we remain on the shore of what we know." At AHA we strive to go with clear intentions beyond these shores and that is what is handed down.
- by Jessica Joson