The swaying of the arms from left to right and the hips from side to side in hula dancing has a particular story to tell.
Hula dancers from the University Hawaii Club will present several of those stories at the club’s 28th annual Hawaii Club Luau on Saturday at McArthur Court. The event’s theme, “The Stories of Our Past,” is meant to show the importance of family, acceptance and love in Hawaii’s culture.
The luau includes a buffet dinner featuring traditional foods such as Kalua pig, which is traditionally roasted in a hole dug in the ground and lined with banana leaves; poi, a starch pounded from taro root until it is a cream; haupia, a coconut gelatin dessert; and teriyaki chicken with pineapple. The dinner will feature singing and music, which will be followed by the hula show and a concert with Three Plus, a popular Hawaiian reggae band.
“The whole show centers around telling the stories and what they mean to Hawaiian people,” hula dance choreographer Jennifer Chee said. “It’s putting the stories to dance.”
One of the dances will tell the story of volcano goddess Pele, and how she fought and killed her sister because of a man they both loved. Other stories are about mermaids and the adventures of ships at sea.
Chee said the dancers have been practicing for the event since January, and that the club expects students from other northwest universities to attend.
“It brings a very valuable culture to the University,” she said.
Luau Coordinator Brittany Valdez said the event will be a positive experience for members of other University student groups because it is good to know about different cultures, even if someone was not born in America.
“It gives our club a chance to show what our culture is about,” Valdez said. “It’s more than beaches.”
Chee said club members’ families are sending traditional foods, clothing and handmade crafts from the Hawaiian Islands for the luau. Hawaii Club members will be selling different items, such as
flowers, juices, jellies, crafts and macadamia nuts.
Tickets are available at the EMU ticket office and are $15 for students and $20 for community members. Doors open at 4:30 p.m., with the dinner starting at 5:30 p.m. The hula show will begin at 6:30 p.m., and the Three Plus concert will follow at 9 p.m. Club members said guests will be greeted at the door with leis and lots of love.
“It’s cheaper than buying tickets to go to Hawaii,” hula dancer Rona Malasig said.