whoops, got distracted by my retreat and forgot to respond to this...
Quote:
Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel
thanks grace, that was very interesting. i've never seen (real) hawaiian dance before. is it true that the dances are actually a gestural language and that each dance tells a specific story ?
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From what I understand (and I am no expert), the hands do tell a story, but hand movements for the same song can be vastly different, depending on the kumu who created the dance. So each hula is specific to the kumu who taught it, with regards to the movements chosen to represent the meaning of the song.
Case in point, my daughter dances a hula kahiko (traditional... kahiko means "old") honoring the beauty of Queen Liliuʻokalani. The movements they do are very different than the movements of other halau Iʻve seen perform the same song. Itʻs all up to kumu interpretation.
Kumu = teacher