Spirit Blossoms : Competitors Help Hula Troupe Perform After Leis Are Lost to Heat

The heat killed three feather-light leis--and, for a moment, eight dreams. For a year, the Hula Halau group had planned its performance--the dance of the five leis--for the E Hula Mau national competition at UC Irvine.

Sunday morning, the dancers opened their overnight delivery box of five rare flower leis--custom grown and cut in Hawaii--and found that the punishing sun had browned and wilted the jasmine-like pikake, the ilima’s 1,000 petals and the bright yellow pua kenikeni.

Seven dancers and their coach thought the dance was ruined, but that’s where the ohana (family) spirit kicked in. One dancer had rushed off to buy a replacement, a $4 purple crown lei from a stand. But the others were instantly draped in pretty flowers. Competitors offered their leis. A judge removed his and said, “Use my lei.” (The dancers’ leis are judged as part of the costume.)

The barefoot Hula Halau dancers--all women over 40--finished their hula in mismatched leis to loud applause.

“That’s the aloha spirit,” said relieved Hula Halau dancer Karen Toyoshiba, 55.

The group was among 14 that participated in the three-day competition and festival, which involved more than 500 hula dancers performing before a total of 10,000 people. Dancers, who ranged in age from 6 to late 60s, competed for prizes including trophies and ukuleles.

The second annual festival, one of the largest of its kind in the continental United States, was sponsored by Na Mamo--the Young Hawaiians of Southern California. President Dean Chow declined to say how much money he expected the festival to raise for the group’s programs, which include cultural workshops.

Judge Charles Ka’upu, a Hawaiian native, said the event’s high spirit made him feel like he was back home.

“The interest level is the same--maybe even more so because when you are away from home, you want to cling to those memories of childhood,” Ka’upu said. “Some of our kids back home take [the traditional arts] for granted.”

Performances included the oli, or traditional chant, which is accompanied by only a gourd or coconut drum, and costumes included loincloths for young men and short tea leaf skirts for young women.

The festival hall was sweetened by fragrant blossoms from the lei-making booth and rich with the hearty smell of teriyaki pork and traditional beef stew. Colorful festival-goers wore the maile, a sweet-smelling vine from Kauai, and kukui nut beads.

“It’s from the heart,” said observer Liz Irwin of Manhattan Beach. “You just have to look around and see how happy they are.”